It's the third set of the game. Both teams look utterly exhausted, but determination is radiating off each and every one of them. They have all put their whole effort into this game. The audience has been on edge since the beginning. No one knows who is going to win and go on to the finals. The Shiratorizawa game already ended in the other gym. They won by a landslide like everyone predicted, but this game is not going how people were predicting. Many of Oikawa's fans who are sitting near by believed that Aoba Johsai was going to easily cinch the spot in the finals, but its turned out much different.

Karasuno has changed. Asahi had told me how hard the team had worked to grow and improve, but this is beyond my expectations. They just keep pulling insane plays from their new bag of tricks. I guess playing dozens of games against top schools from Tokyo changes you.

"Why didn't we ever do that?" Yui exclaims when Nishinoya jumps over the line and sets the ball.

"Because I could never do that," I mutter. "I'm terrible at setting. Nishinoya must have practiced for days to be able to pull that off.

"The rest of them as well," Mei comments.

"Yeah, we could have never pulled off a synchronized play," Yui adds. "These boys really pushed themselves. I just hope it wasn't all for nothing in the end."

I look over at Oikawa. It doesn't look like his knee is hurting him which is good, but exhaustion is clearly written on his face. I bite my lip.

He wants this win just as much as any of the Karasuno boys. He worked so hard for this. He pushed himself to try and get better almost damaging his body while in the process. I know its selfish, but I don't want to see either team lose. The heartbreak on the faces of the boys last time they lost to Aoba Johsai and how torn up Tooru was after he lost in the finals made my chest hurt.

Wow this sucks.

It's now Karasuno's game point. Everything seems like it's going in slow motion as Kageyama sets the ball to Hinata. Yui grabs my hand and grips it tightly. Three blockers jump to stop the orange haired first year as Oikawa stands in the back, ready to receive in the off chance it gets through. Hinata hits it, making the ball tip off one of the blocker's hands. It goes rocketing towards the floor, hitting Oikawa's hands and flying out of bounds.

Its silent in the gym, then suddenly a roar resounds and the Karasuno players are leaping on top of each other.

They won.

Yui and Mei cheer from beside me and I join in as well as my eyes meet with my brother's. I give him a big smile and he puts a hand on his forehead, an astonished look on his face. His attention is then taken by Nishinoya who is jumping up and down in front of him, yelling something probably about the game.

My attention also moves subconsciously to the Aoba Johsai players, and my smile drops. Oikawa stands in the center of the court, his head down. The rest of his team is walking off the court and he follows, giving Iwaizumi, who hasn't moved, a pat on the back. I wish I could do something, but I don't know what to do.

He's probably blaming their loss all on himself since he touched the ball last. He's probably telling himself that he should have done better as the setter and as the captain. I remember Yui blaming herself when we lost since she was captain and thought it was her responsibility to shoulder it all.

I want to go to him, but I know I shouldn't. He should be with his team now.

There's nothing I can do, and I hate it.

We start to head down to the front entrance and pass by the Aoba Johsai team in different states of grief. Two boys are talking quietly to each other while packing up their things. Iwaizumi is silent as he leans against the wall, arms crossed with his head down. He glares down as if it was the floor's fault for his defeat.

I instinctively look around for the usually bubbly captain, but find no trace of him. He's not with his coach or in the midst of his teammates.

Where is he? Is he okay?

"He took a walk," I hear a voice say. Iwaizumi is now looking up from the floor and at me.

I understand what he means and thank him. Telling Yui to wait for me at the entrance, I jog down the hallway, looking for the most vacant area of the building. That's where he's most likely to be, and that's where I find him. Oikawa is leaning against a wall, facing it. His forehead and forearms lean against the white sheet rock as his fists clench and unclench. He seems to hear my footsteps approach and looks up. Our eyes meet; my worried ones to his pained ones.

Neither of us say a word as he takes a step toward me and wraps his arms around me, pulling me close and burying his face in my neck. I stay silent as I return the hug, holding him tightly. His hands fist the back of my shirt as I slowly rub circles in the small of his back. He shakes slightly, and that's when I realize he's crying. I've never seen him cry before. He's even told me before he's not really one to cry a lot.

I've seen Oikawa upset before and have needed to comfort him, but this is different. I know volleyball is his everything, and it hurts to see him like this.

I reach up and lightly run my fingers through his hair. I wish I knew what to say right now. I wish I knew how to make him feel better. He's told me before that I always know the right things to say to cheer him up, but now I'm lost for words.

"Oikawa." A voice calls down the hallway, making the setter step away from me. I look up at him to see a smile plastered on his face already. His signature grin is wide, but his eyes are still red.

The fake smile he always uses to hide his true feelings is back.

I then look over to see who interrupted us to see Iwaizumi standing down the hall.

"I'm sorry, but it's time to go," Iwaizumi tells him.

"Okay," the boy in front of me nods. "I'll see you on Monday, Asu-chan."

***

The rest of the day passed in a flurry of activity. Mom and I congratulated Asahi with a delicious dinner when he got home, and Mom told him that she was taking the Saturday off to go see his game. That made him extremely flustered, asking her if it was alright taking off work. She told him that she would rather support her favorite son.

"Mom, I'm your only son," he told her.

"Doesn't mean you can't be my favorite still," she replied with the cheeky grin that I inherited from her.

I also got a letter from my second choice school. My heart broke again to see I didn't make it into that school as well. I fought back my tears as we celebrated Asahi's win. This was a happy day for him. I didn't want to spoil it by being upset. I instead cried in the shower, where no one could hear me. It calmed me down and made me feel a bit better to get my emotions out.

The next morning, Asahi left to meet with his team before the game and Mom and I met up with Yui to head to the gymnasium. Once there, Yui and I parted ways with my mom when she noticed Daichi's and Suga's families. She joined them while Yui and I met up with the rest of our team who all decided to come and support the boys today. The twins thought of the idea to give them a good luck charm, and we made Yui give it to Daichi just to give that couple a little shove in the right direction.

A lot of kids from our school actually came to support the boys as well, which is surprising since the school never cared about volleyball until now. The boys really appreciate it though. You could see it on their faces.

The game starts and we see immediately how difficult this team is going to be. Karasuno barely scraped a win from Aoba Johsai, and Shiratorizawa easily beat them a few months ago. I can tell this will be just as nerve wracking a game as yesterday, and I don't like that.

Everytime Karasuno seems to get the upper hand during a volley, Shiratorizawa somehow pulls the rug out from under them. The boys are being driven into a corner that seems to have no escape. Coach Ukai calls another time out and the teams jog off the court.

"Do you think he might have figured out a strategy?" Yui asks me.

"I hope so," I sigh. "Cause at this rate, we're not looking too good." I lean forward, propping my head on my hands and elbows on my knees. The students from Shiratorizawa are loud as ever, doing chant after chant to support their team. I gaze out at the other audience members. Some of the players' families are here along with a few others. It's not really crowded at all except in the student sections. In a particularly empty part of the stands there sits one person all by themselves. I squint a bit, lifting my head slightly as my heart skips a beat.

I swear that looks like Tooru.

***