It was the day. Finals. Center court. 5 set match. Karasuno VS Shiratorizawa. No one expected Karasuno to advance so far, the flightless crows had recovered their broken wings. They will fly faster, stronger, higher, and they wouldn't be stopping.

"Okay, make sure you get as warm as you can. Misaki, Kiyoko, may I have a word?" Ukai instructs the team when they're in the court and then turns to the 2 of you. You glance at each other and follow the sensei.

"Kiyoko-san, I know you're the official manager as of now, but I'm thinking of letting Misaki-san stay on the bench with me and Takeda today. She has first-hand experience with Ushiwaka and I'd like to make use of her knowledge." Ukai scratches his neck unsurely, you and him both knowing that it wasn't really fair for the third year.

"Ah, I'm sure Shimizu will be better-"

"No. I understand." she smiled and pat you on the back lightly, but you felt guilty and looked away from her.

"Hey, Haru. You're gonna have to get used to the bench, and I'm trusting you and Yachi to take care of these monkeys for me! I'm counting on you!"

Now, you are now face to face with the goddess. She seemed just slightly sad, but for the most part, she was relieved. She gave you her signature perfect smile and nodded at Ukai who thanked her for being understanding.

"Ukai-sensei, we're all warmed up!" Daichi approaches and informs us, then the rest of the team gathers.

"We have serving, spiking and receives to do but we need to wait for the other team.For today's finals, Misaki-san will be on the bench." Ukai says and Shimizu adds on.

"She's more useful for the game today, don't give her a hard time and...do your best..." she blushed and bowed, pulling Yachi away to go to the stands. The boys were extremely touched by her words and almost teared up.

"Anyway, where's Shiratorizawa?" Kageyama looks at the opposite side of the court, still empty.

"Those bastards. Just cuz' they're the strongest team in Miyagi prefecture they think they can show up late?" Tanaka scowls, putting his arm around Kageyama. You noticed Hinata glaring at the doors.

"SHIII-RA-TO-RI-ZA-WA"

"SHIII-RA-TO-RI-ZA-WA"

The doors swung open and the cheers from the stands grew louder and louder. The entire Karasuno team whipped their heads towards the guys in purple, the intense aura that surrounded them captivated the team in black.

They're here.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

WHAM!

"Nice kill, Wakatoshi-kun!"

You heard a voice say. You quickly turned around and saw Ushijima walking off the court with a red-haired male. The spiker looked up and noticed you immediately, with a surprised expression.

"Haru-chan?"

"Oh, Wakatoshi-kun! Hey!" you greeted and skipped over to him.

"It's been quite a while. I didn't know you were in Karasuno."

"Yeah! They're going to beat your ass Wakatoshi-kun!"

"No, we're going to Nationals."

"Nah."

"Yes."

"Cold as ever, Wakatoshi-kun."

"Anyway, I hope to play with you at All Japan training again."

"You can count on it!"

You could have swore you saw the poker-faced Ushijima smile for a split second, then he walked off with a strong presence. You hurried back to Karasuno's court as they were finishing up their final warm-ups.

"You guys have come a long way! We're finally here at finals and if we win this, we'll advance to Nationals! I'm sure that's something you all want, so play and win for your opportunity." Takeda briefs the boys and brings up the mood.

"Don't forget our new rotation and always think of new plays. Connect the ball and don't panic." Ukai reminds the boys who nod fiercely. You stood beside the 2 coaches who then turned to look at you, prompting you to add on.

"Uhh... I don't know if I'll be able to match Shimizu's standards, but I'll be doing my best, so I in turn expect everyone to give it their all out in the court!" you encouraged, gripping your notebook and pen in hand tightly.

"YEAH!" the team chimed. You had a new burst of confidence, knowing that you all deeply believed and trusted one another.

BEEP!

The whistle went off and the boys took their places on the court. You timidly sat on the bench beside Ukai and gulped nervously. Noya took notice of that and quickly whispered in your ear.

"You look more scared than we do. Don't worry, the promise will be fulfilled." the libero smirked. Instantly, you felt your nerves melt away, the only thing in sight were Noya's glinting eyes and the sound of your heartbeat in your ears. Calm, slow and steady.

"You got this, Yuu!" you smirked back and watched as he walked onto the court with confidence.

You opened your notebook and clicked your pen, looking at the opposite side of the net.

It was Ushijima who was serving first. He did his run up smoothly, the ball floated in the air for a little bit and then came straight down to the middle of his palm. The loud echo if the contact rung throughout the whole arena as it flew directly to Noya's arms.

I got it. The libero thought, positioning his arms perfectly at the ball. As expected, the timing and positioning were all correct, but the ball flew right out of his arms and out of the play area.

You watched as the ball bounced away pathetically, remembering how long it took you to get used to the spin. You sighed but still had hope in your heart that he'd soon get it with ease. Noya smirked at the server on the opposite side of the net.

"Hello, lefty."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

(disclaimer!! this isnt the exact description of the game, i tweaked it to fit my story! watch Haikyuu to enjoy the actual game :D)

WHAM!

Another serve charged at the libero. He quickly stuck his arms out and the ball came in contact, but like the last time, the ball flew all the way out. You noted down in your notebook the points scored by Ushijima and huffed. 2 service aces so far.

"Gomen. Give me 3 tries. I promise I'll get used to it." he held up 3 fingers, he knew the game was riding on his shoulders to get the ball up. Tsukki, Kageyama, Tanaka, Daichi and Asahi looked at Noya and smiled, they believed in their super-libero wholeheartedly.

POM!

This time, the ball hit the net and bounced high off it, Daichi received it and passed the ball to Kageyama. The setter tossed it to Tanaka who slammed the ball with all his might, but right into the libero's receive.

"Cover!"

"Ushijima-san!" Shirabu, the opponent setter called out. The ace ran up and jumped up high, his perfect form showing. Tsukki, Kageyama and Asahi were in front and blocking, narrowing the course for Ushijima to spike straight to Noya.

Swinging his arm, Ushijima spiked a straight as Karasuno wanted and the ball came right to Noya. For the third time, the ball reflected off Noya's arms. Your eyes followed the ball and then back to the scoreboard, then back to your notebook. 4 points scored by Ushijima and none from Karasuno, and still it was his turn to serve.

You looked at Noya who closed his eyes, took a deep breath in and exhaled slowly. He shot his eyes open with a new focus as he took his stance on the court. Legs slightly spread apart, arms open, eyes on the ball.

Ushijima ran up and threw the ball in the air, you kept your gaze on Noya and knew.

It's been 3 times. He's got it.

"SAKOI!"

POM!

.

.

"IT WENT UP!"

The crowd went wild as the ball flew high up in the air, straight to your amazing setter and you cheered for the libero with all your might.

"NICE RECEIVE!" Kageyama tossed to the reliable ace Asahi who smashed the ball down into Shiratorizawa's court.

"HELL YEAH!" you shouted with the team as everyone got even more hyped up, ending Ushijima's serve streak.

"NICE RECEIVE YUU!" you jumped up and down and he smiled sweetly.

The match is finally getting started.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The 4 sets took forever and now, each team had 2 sets had 2 of them. Each rally became more intense and stressing, Karasuno putting their all into this game. Tsukki had injured his hand from blocking Ushijima's spike and he had to leave the court, which made it even harder for Karasuno to keep their momentum since he had been pressuring the Shiratorizawa spikers the most.

It was difficult to watch but so exciting at the same time. They were having their 5th set and their second timeout as Ushijima had scored yet another point, putting the score in their favour at 19:18.

"Well, Ushijima has scored over 40 points as of now." Ukai said, reading your notes.

Tch. It was so unfair. Being left-handed and having that much power in his spikes made him seem so strong, but at least Noya was getting the ball up. You realise everyone's tense faces and you tried to find the words to say, but nothing came to mind.

"Oi. We've made it so far, heck, we're at the finals. Remember to keep thinking and connecting, but don't forget to have fun yourselves. It's be such a waste to worry about how much time we have left on the court, wouldn't it?" Ukai smiles, instantly lifting everyone's spirits.

You nod your head and grin, then you faced Noya. He was probably under the most pressure as of now.

"Yuu."

You say and the whole team turns to him. His eyes dart around in confusion and then they go back to you.

"Don't worry. You'll get them up."

BEEP!

The whole team smirked confidently at their libero. Daichi smacks him on the back and walks back onto the court.

"You're our super-libero aren't you?" the captain says.

"Yea! Karasuno's Guardian Deity!" Tanaka boasts.

Yeah, I got this. I have to. For my promise.

.

.

"Chance ball!"

"Ushijima-san!"

Come on...You silently begged as the spiker jumped and the blocks closed in on him. Noya stationed perfectly for his straights. Tsukki, Asahi and Kageyama were blocking.

WHAM!

Nice! He got it, but it's a little off. Hmm, does it really matter though? You watched the ball float into Kageyama's hands and the toss went up for Asahi in a back row attack. Smashing through the 2 blockers on the other side, putting their score at 19:19.

"YOSHA!"

"NICE KILL ASAHI-SAN! Eh? TSUKKI!" You yelled as you saw the tall blonde running back to the bench with his entire hand wrapped up in bandages, and Shimizu beside him.

"Daijoubu?" you asked and winced at the sight of his hand.

"What do you think Haru?" he deadpanned and you smacked him on the back, smiling.

"If you can still make snarky remarks, I guess you're fine!"

"Tch."

Tsukki clicked his tongue and went up to Ukai, requesting to be put back in the game ASAP.

BEEP!

Just in time, the time-out session ended and Ukai swapped Tsukki in for Noya. Ukai signalled to him and he made his way over to the bench beside you and sat down. He grit his teeth, impatient to get back on the court.

"Nice saves, Nishinoya." The coach praised, not taking his eyes off the court for a second.

"I didn't get them all though." he clenched his fists. You sighed, it was inevitable against someone as powerful as Ushijima, and Noya had already done an incredible job. You yourself needed so much practice to get used to Ushiwaka's spikes but Noya did it in 3 tries. You gently held his tense hands and he immediately relaxed them.

POM!

"WOAHHHH"

"HE JUST STOPPED USHIWAKA!"

"WHO IS HE?"

The crowd went wild after Tsukki scored a point from blocking. You could see his hand shivering in pain and you winced, but you could not describe your pride for him at that moment.

"NICE BLOCK TSUKKI!"

"SHAAAAAA!" the blond yelled out and the whole team cheered. The score was now at 19:20, but it was Ushijima's turn to serve. Noya got back on the court and Tsukki came out. (this isnt right at all lol but its all for the story dont come for me)

One more point. You got this. Get it up, Yuu.

BAAM!

It was like slow motion. Ushijima had used his full power and ability on that serve to get pass the match point, and you could tell this wasn't like the previous ones. Was it out? Was it in? You couldn't tell, but they had to get this one.

WHOOSH!

POM!

"CHANCE BALL!" Ukai screamed and all the spikers ran up. Hinata jumped first, wanting to do a back minus tempo attack. He smacked the ball but it was received by the libero.

"Ushiwaka!" the setter called out, the toss was off and Ushijima ran up.

"Not yet. Two...ONE!" Daichi counted out loud, jumping up with Asahi and Tanaka. Without Tsukki there, they had to make sure they timed their block well. Noya stationed himself for a straight while Kageyama prepared for a cross shot.

WHAM!

The ball came straight to Noya who sent it back to Kageyama gracefully.

"CHANCE BALL!" you shouted, gripping onto your notebook and almost crushing the papers.

"LOOK OUT FOR NUMBER 10-"

You heard a middle blocker from the other side say and noticed Hinata was not running up. As all the other spikers ran up, Hinata ran up together with them.

Oh.

The toss went up and all the spikers jumped, while Hinata jumped a little later.

The ball came right to his palm as he straightened his fingers.

"UWWWAAAAAH!"

POM!

The ball bounced off the libero's arms and out of the court, rolling to a stop. The arena fell dead silent as you dropped your pen.

.

.

.

"HYEEEEEH?"

"DID KARASUNO JUST WIN?"

"OH MY GOD!"

"HUH? HOW DID THIS HAPPEN?"

You felt goosebumps all over your body and a shiver went down your spine. You looked at the third years who were now huddling and crying. The first years were tackled to the floor by the other teammates and tears welled up in your eyes. You looked up at the stands and saw Shimizu crying while holding a passed-out Yachi.

"HARU!"

Noya ran up to you and engulfed you in a big hug. He was really sweaty, but who cares? You were in his arms again, and that's all that mattered to you at that moment. You let your tears fall and hugged him back tightly.

"You were... so amazing!" you cried.

"Aw stop it." Noya blushed, caressing your cheek.

"GROUP HUG!" Tanaka ran towards you and Noya and pulled you to the rest of the team, engaging in a big hug.

The group dispersed and you saw the first years in a group.

"Hinata! You did so well out there! You too, Kageyama-kun!" you approached them and said in between sobs.

"Thanks!" they nodded happily.

"Tsukki, although you're a jerk and an asshole, you did great with the blocking...Nice serves too, Yamaguchi!" you complimented the 2.

"Why are you crying..." Tsukki scoffed and the first years group hugged you and it was the cutest thing ever.

"Come on, we need to gather!" Daichi said from behind and the 5 of you went to the benches.

"Everyone.... I'm so... PROUD OF YOU!" Takeda cried with his arms wide open.

"Good win today boys. We have to hang around until the awards ceremony, so rest up and have some snacks in the meantime!" Ukai instructed, teary-eyed.

"Nishinoya, don't you have something to do?" Suga whispered into the libero's ear and his face lit up excitedly.

"Haru!" Noya called and stood beside you, gaining the attention of the team. He smirked proudly.

"We won, didn't we?"

"Yeah!"

"Well, doesn't that make you my girlfriend?"

"Hmmm... It does, doesn't it!"

You squealed and without saying another word, Noya wrapped his arms around you waist and pulled you in. He gently lifted your chin and cupped your cheek, you closed you eyes and felt his soft lips on yours. It was perfect. It felt like there was no one else around you, just you and Noya in your own little world. You flung your arms around his neck and held him closer to you. You wanted this to last forever.

The whole team erupted with cheers and you both pulled away slowly.

"Ah, I've waited too long for this." he chuckles.

"I've been waiting too, idiot." you playfully punched him.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

After the awards ceremony, you all made your way to the bus. Noya stayed by your side the whole time and giving you pecks on the cheek randomly. You weren't complaining though.

"Misaki-san!" you and Noya turned around at the sound of your name.

"Oh, Wakatoshi-kun!" you greeted cheerfully.

"Ah, so this is the lucky man." he said, looking at Noya who was grinning like an idiot.

"Yeah, the amazing libero who received your spikes and serves hehehe" you taunted, turning to Noya and winking cheekily.

"He is exceptional. Even you needed practice but he got the hang of it so quickly."

"Shush."

Then, Ushijima turned to Noya.

"You should come to our practices. Coach will like you. You may have won this time, but we will defeat you next time. See you later, Misaki-san, Nishinoya."

You gasp in excitement at Ushijima's statement and Noya nodded confidently.

.

.

You sat at by the window with Noya beside you. He insisted on you sitting on the inside because he "wanted to protect you from falling". The whole ride back to the gym, you both held hands, again Noya wanted to. He fell asleep on your shoulder while you played with his hair.

Seated behind you were Kageyama and Hinata. The orange head kept asking you questions about your relationship while Kageyama was constantly calling him 'boke' to shut him up. Daichi and Suga sat together, discussing admin matters while Tanaka sat with Shimizu. Tsukki listened to music as he dozed off and Yamaguchi fell asleep beside him.

"Asahi-san." I tapped the big guy who sat beside me.

"Yeah, you okay?" he smiled kindly.

"You've know Nishinoya-san well, right?"

"Yeah! Uh, is something bothering you though?"

"Uhm, yeah. Do you think Haru-chan's a good match for him?"

To be honest, this conversation was just to reassure myself. From what you may ask? I'm not sure either... I'm relieved that she's with Nishinoya-san now, but I realised that doesn't really make a difference for Hinata. I'm sure she knows I've been mean to her cause of a boy, how immature of me. Maybe it's the guilt, I just wanna make it up to her somehow.

"I think she's the perfect match for him. They've been friends since childhood! I'm sure they know each other better than they know themselves. Nishinoya seems to like her a lot too." Asahi continues.

"Yachi-san, you yourself have something on your mind don't you?"

"A-Ah, is it that obvious?"

"Kinda!" the ace chuckled.

"Well... I got mad at her over something that's not even in her control, and I wanna confess to this person but I'm just not sure." I sighed, avoiding Asahi's gaze.

"I'm sure she understands! You could just talk to her and clear up the misunderstanding. As for confessions, I don't have a lot of experience but seeing Nishinoya and Haru, I think you should just go for it!" he said.

"Oh, o-okay. Maybe I will." I smiled lightly.

What's there to lose?

"Ha..."

"Haru...."

"Haru."

"HARU."