What are the odds

30

It was the first match of the year, it had been a few months since what was now referred only to as 'the incident'. Ennoshita was the team captain now, with Tanaka as his vice. The new first years looked up to the two just as much as the previous first years had looked up to Daichi and Suga, this was something that regularly made Tanaka puff out his chest in pride while the other second and third years rolled their eyes fondly.

Both Tsukishima and Yamaguchi were healed well enough to play again, not without the stern directions to swap out if they needed to, Kageyama and Hinata were just as invested in volleyball as they'd ever been, if not more so, Nishinoya was just as determined to not let a ball drop to the floor as ever before, if not more so as he trained one of the new first years to follow in his footsteps. Kinoshita's arm was perfectly healed as he cheered his team on from the bench.

Asahi, Suga and Daichi, having finished high school, were in the stands, nostalgia weighing heavily alongside the happiness of seeing almost everyone playing together and okay.

Things were different now. Even if to outside eyes, everyone looked back to normal, the team knew that that would never be true.

You could see it in the way that Yamaguchi began limping after overexerting himself despite his foot physically being healed and in the way that even though Tsukishima's insults were still thrown around like dollars at a strip club, they were no longer laced with the same malice that he once used to protect himself from growing attached. You could see it in the way Kageyama would rush to Hinata's side after being away from him for long periods of time; although apparently, the setter considered the few hours they were in classes to be a long period of time. To an outsider, they would just look like an overly affectionate couple, at the start, the rest of the team thought their constant need to be near each other was for Hinata's comfort. When Kageyama had a panic attack in the changing rooms because Hinata wasn't there yet, wasn't where he was meant to be, they saw that that wasn't the truth.

Since coming to that realisation, no one commented on their constant need to be near each other.

You could see how things had changed when Hinata would fuss over every little scratch or bruise, a newly ingrained need to ensure any and every injury wouldn't be life-threatening. You could see it in how everyone else let him do so.

You could see it in how Nishinoya would get quiet sometimes, stuck in his own mind, or how he would wake up in the middle of the night gasping for breath as images of his team dead in a crumpled school bus plagued his dreams. You could see it in the guilty sad way that Tanaka often found himself shaking his head when someone said "remember when..." his memories having not fully returned. Majority of them had and according to the doctors, this was best-case scenario. The rest of his still-missing memories are most likely lost forever.

You could see it in how Ennoshita lead the team, a skill he was forced to hone in a terrifying situation but one that meant he was able to become the best captain he could possibly be.

You could see it in how the third years came back to watch every match, Daichi and Suga's hands intertwined. And how the three of them would often pile into one bed in their new shared apartment after a nightmare or exhausting day.

You could see it in how none of them were afraid to ask for help from one another, in how a strong bond had formed between them all.

You could see it in how Kinoshita sat on the sidelines in every match, dressed in his uniform and all healed but refusing to play.

But mostly, you could see how the effects of the events were still present in the yet unclaimed jersey branded with the number 8. You could see it in the lingering looks filled with worry that each team member gave the unused locker in the change room.