Team Meetups!

Yo! You give me power stones and reviews Ill give you a kiss?

Hows the deal? Good right?

After all I just dont kiss anybody. 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The awkward silence from Hinata's bold declaration lingered in the air. You could practically hear a tumbleweed rolling by. The gym, once filled with mild chatter was now as silent as a library during finals week.

And then—

"Hey, hey, hey!" Tanaka suddenly bellowed, slamming his fist into his palm with a wide grin. "The newbie says he's gonna be the ace!" He jerked his thumb toward Hinata, eyes brimming with amused disbelief. "You've got some nerve, huh?"

Before anyone could react, Sugawara casually shrugged, ever the diplomatic voice of reason.

"Well, it's good to have ambitions, right?" he offered with a sly smirk, clearly enjoying how the situation was unfolding.

The corner of Hinata's lips curled upward in a calm, confident smirk.

"It's not ambition. I am an ace," he stated evenly, with an almost unnerving certainty. "I've been playing as one for the past four years at my coaching center." His eyes were steady—composed yet sharp, like a predator eyeing its prey.

The temperature in the room seemed to drop by a few degrees.

Kageyama, who had remained quiet until now, slowly turned to look at him. His cold, piercing stare was practically radiating condescension.

"This shorty…? An ace?" His expression said it all.

Hinata's eyebrow twitched. Oh-ho. That look. That classic 'are you even serious?' glare. The same face middle school teachers would make when students claimed they "studied" but still bombed the test.

The corner of his mouth curled into a mocking grin. He turned toward Kageyama, his eyes narrowing slightly.

"Oh, I'm sure your teammates love you," he deadpanned, cocking his head slightly. "What with that charming mug of yours."

For the first time since meeting, Kageyama's eye twitched slightly, caught off guard by Hinata's casual sass.

Daichi, sensing the tension threatening to blow the roof off the gym, clapped his hands together loudly, drawing everyone's attention.

"Alright, alright, enough!" he barked, his voice carrying the weight of authority. "Let's not start a fight before you've even played a single match, yeah?"

With a calming exhale, Daichi turned toward Hinata and motioned for the team to gather around.

"Since you're new, let me give you a proper introduction," he said, making eye contact with both Kageyama and Hinata.

As they formed a loose circle, Daichi's voice took on a steadier, more serious tone, addressing the group.

"Karasuno... We're neither strong nor weak," he began. His eyes scanned the team, pausing momentarily on Kageyama, whose potential he was already aware of. "We're somewhere in between."

"Once, we were a team that went to nationals," he continued, his voice carrying a faint trace of wistfulness. "We were a powerhouse—unstoppable. But now... we're just part of the top eight in the prefecture."

The room fell into a solemn silence, the weight of the team's current standing sinking into everyone's minds.

"That's why, from now on, we're going to fight our way back." His eyes hardened, determination flashing in them. "No more being called the 'Fallen Crows.' We're aiming for nationals."

Hinata listened carefully, his eyes flickering over the faded memories of Karasuno's golden age. The nostalgia in Daichi's voice stirred something in him. He knew the legacy of the school from the anime, but now... being part of it firsthand made it feel real—personal.

But what Daichi didn't know was that while he was already aware of Kageyama's potential, he was completely unaware of the monster standing right next to him.

The gym door creaked open as the rest of the team began to file in.

Daichi also introduce Yamaguch and Tsukishima to the team since they were also new.

Yamaguchi greeted with a casual wave.

Tsukishima strolled in behind him, his signature unimpressed look plastered on his face. His eyes immediately narrowed when they landed on Kageyama.

"Oh-ho," Tsukishima's smirk widened devilishly, "If it isn't the 'King of the Court.I didn't know we were holding royalty tryouts today,"

The mocking title dripped with sarcasm, and his tone was nothing short of smug.

Yamaguchi, "Tsukki! Stop It!" 

Kageyama's fist clenched slightly, his knuckles faintly white. His piercing glare locked onto Tsukishima, and for a brief moment, it genuinely looked like he was going to leap across the court and strangle him.

But before that could happen—

"Oi." Daichi's sharp voice cut through the tension. "No fighting. We're starting practice."

However, Tsukishima's eyes then drifted toward Hinata—who had remained quiet the entire time, watching the interaction with an amused look.

The blond middle blocker arched a brow, taking in Hinata's shorter stature. His lips curled into a condescending smirk.

"And who's this?" he sneered. "What's a middle schooler doing in high school? Lost your way, kid?"

The mockery was blatant, a deliberate jab at Hinata's height.

But Hinata... didn't flinch.

Instead, he slowly turned his head toward Tsukishima, calm and composed, his amber eyes unblinking. His lips twitched into a small, casual smile, but his eyes were cold—sharp.

He stared straight into Tsukishima's soul.

"We'll see."

The simple, almost emotionless reply sent a small shiver down Tsukishima's spine, though he quickly masked it with a scoff of indifference.

But deep down, he was slightly unnerved. There was no cocky retort, no childish comeback. Just calm, piercing confidence—and that was far more unsettling.

Daichi, still sensing the rising tension, clapped his hands to get everyone's attention.

"Alright! Warm-ups! Now!" he ordered. "And after that, we're doing a 3v3 match. We need to know where our freshers stand if we want to build a team."

The team grumbled lightly but quickly complied, stretching and jogging around the gym.

Hinata and Kageyama exchanged brief glances as they warmed up. Kageyama's eyes were still narrowed, sizing him up.

After 15 minutes of warmups, Daichi finally called out the teams.

"Alright, teams!" he barked.

"Team A: Hinata, Kageyama, and Tanaka."

"Team B: Tsukishima, Yamaguchi, and me."

Tanaka, already bouncing with excitement, threw an arm over Hinata's shoulders and grinned.

"Oi, shrimp! You'd better be as good as you claim! No slacking, got it?!"

Hinata just smirked.

"I could say the same to you, senpai."

Tanaka froze mid-bounce, blinking twice.

"Huh?"

Kageyama's eyes subtly widened in mild surprise at how casually Hinata threw that back at Tanaka.

The orange-haired spiker simply stretched out his arms and cracked his knuckles, looking completely unbothered.

Meanwhile, Tsukishima smirked from across the court, still mockingly eyeing both Kageyama and Hinata.

"The king and the shrimp? This'll be over quick," he sneered.

But Hinata's eyes were already sharp and locked onto him.

The match hadn't even started, and yet he was already seeing the court—analyzing, planning.

As Hinata turned his back, his voice rang out evenly, calm and composed.

"We'll see."

And for the briefest moment—Tsukishima felt a chill crawl down his spine.