inarizaki had won the first round, meaning they would have another match again tomorrow with another school. you and yuki watched them play, cheering alongside the other people from your school who also came. the volleyball teams' fanclub was also present, bringing along their usual colorful fans and bandanas with the members names with them. you weren't gonna lie, you found it kind of annoying when they would screech out of no where. you also noticed how focused everyone was on court as the game progressed.

of course, you made sure to put your phone on silent this time.

after their match, you and yuki met up with atsumu and the others after they finished changing to congratulate them.

"you guys did so good!" yuki stated as she passed the bottle of water to her brother.

"we're gonna do even better tomorrow, watch." atsumu smiles, thinking about the match he would have with karasuno. he heard that their team won a while ago, meaning they would have to play with them the next day.

you talked for a while with atsumu before they had to go back to their hotel. you bid farewell to the team and exit the arena with yuki. "i wasn't expecting an entire band to play." you told her.

"well it is the nationals after all. we gotta be extra." she grins. "should we head back to the hotel? i'm beat!"

you nod at your friend and you both started to head back to the hotel you were staying in. you plopped down the soft mattress, feeling your legs being sore from standing up all day.

"do you know which school they're up against tomorrow?" yuki asked.

you hummed, trying to remember if atsumu mentioned anything. "karasuno... i think?"

"oh, the school from miyagi?"

miyagi. now you remembered, karasuno was an old powerhouse in the place you used to live in. "yeah."

"i'm very excited for tomorrow." she says, laying down on the bed that was beside yours. "i heard they've got this weird first year duo too. some people were talking about them earlier."

"guess we're finding out tomorrow."

"yuki i'll go get us some drinks before the match starts, do you want anything?"

"water will do!"

"alright." you made your way out of the seat, being careful not to bump into anyone.

it was the second day of the nationals and the players were still preparing for the match. they weren't present in the court yet so they must still be backstage.

you pulled some money out of your pocket as you reached the vending machine. you took it out and looked at the direction of it, only to see a boy with dark hair pressing two of his fingers on two separate buttons.

you froze, knowing the only person who did that was him.

the boy picks up the carton of milk from below the machine, bending down so his hand could reach it. at the corner of his eye, he saw a figure standing behind him.

he turns to you, his eyes widening when he realized who you were. "[Y/N]?"

there he was in front of you, the same boy who broke your heart more than a year ago. you couldn't mutter a word and just stayed there in shock while he started to walk slowly towards you.

"[Y-Y/N], it's really you..." his hands inched towards you, hoping to form some physical contact to see if he wasn't dreaming, but you flinched.

you took a step back, finally coming to your senses. "tobio..." a lump started to form in your throat. you never wanted to see him again, so why did you have to meet here of all places?

"w-what are you doing here? you suddenly... vanished. i-i thought–"

"i have to go." you cut him off as you turned your heel around.

"wait [Y/N]!" he manages to grab your arm before you could go away. "please let me–'

"l-let go of me." you shuttered. you couldn't dare to look at him in the eye, the horrible memories still pained you whenever you remember it.

kageyama felt you shaking a little, so he quickly retracted his grip away from you. "i'm sorry, i didn't mean to–"

"tobio-kun? what're you doin' here?" atsumu joined in. he spots you beside the younger setter and raised his brows. "[Y/N]?"

you didn't say anything and stared at the ground. atsumu walks towards you and saw your expression, it was a clear sign that you weren't okay at all. "hey, are you okay?"

"i'm fine." you managed to say.

"oh, this is the first year i was talkin' to ya 'bout!" atsumu smiles at kageyama who was still staring at you. the blonde noticed this and furrowed his brows, "do you know each other?"

"you can say that..." kageyama replied. "i should get going now. i'll see you later, miya-san. and you too, [Y/N]."

no honorifics? atsumu thought. he waved goodbye at kageyama who slowly walked away from them. he never failed to notice how the boy's eyes never left you.

atsumu looks back at you who still had the same pained expression you had earlier. "hey, everything alright?" he places his hand on your shoulder.

"yeah... yeah. i'm fine." but you still wouldn't look at him. he frowns as he brought his finger to your chin, lifting it up so you can face him.

"are you sure?" you stared into his brown orbs, putting you at ease. you wrapped your arms around his torso, nuzzling your head on his chest and letting his scent calm you down. "hey, it's alright." he says, hugging you back.

"atsumu?"

"yeah?"

"thanks for being here with me." he didn't know what is was about, but he decided not to pry for now.

"i'm always happy to, princess."

"[Y/N]-chan, you took a while. was there a line?" yuki asked when you came back and took a seat beside her.

"something came up." was all you said and handed her the bottle of water she requested. yuki thanked you, uncapping the lid to take a sip out of it.

"well, you made it in time. they're about to start."

you clenched your fist that was resting on your lap, the uneasiness you felt from earlier coming back. you never had time to process it but now that you realized, atsumu knew who kageyama was. does he know that he was your ex too?

your thoughts disappeared when the emcee announced that the match was already about to begin. the players entered the court slowly, and your eyes couldn't help but land on the opposite side.

there, your [E/C] eyes met with his blue ones. your eyes widened when you catch him already looking at you, so you tore your glance away quickly.

and soon, the match between inarizaki and karasuno began.

it was shocking to all, no one expected it either when they first walked in the court. was karasuno really this powerful? had the once powerhouse of miyagi come back to take the throne? everyone on inarizaki's side fell silent as their team lowered their head down when they were all called to regroup.

you wanted nothing more than to be at atsumu's side and praise him, to say that he did his best. you knew how seriously he took volleyball so this outcome surely wasn't going to make him happy.

you went out of the seats and ran backstage where the players were. in all honesty, you had no idea where they actually are. you just ran where your feet took you, but it seems like it took you to somewhere else.

"[Y/N]?" kageyama stood in front of you, stopping you from taking another step further.

your eyes widened. you didn't want to be anywhere near him anymore, yet why did you have to meet him again? you didn't want to make a conversation with him, so you ignored the boy and started to walk away.

"wait! please, can we talk?" he manages to grab your wrist.

you paused, "let go off me tobio." you said. he immediately did as you told, muttering an apology afterwards.

you faced the setter, crossing your arms on your chest. "you have five minutes." you said.

"thank you..." his lips formed a thin line as he stared at you. your features didn't change from when you were in miyagi, but somehow he knew he wasn't talking to the same [Y/N] he met. it was as if you changed, but for the better. and he knew it was partially because of what he did.

"i just... i'm sorry." he said, lowering his eyes to the ground. "about what i did a year ago. i poured all my anger out on you and that was very wrong of me, i never meant a word i said [Y/N]."

"i tried to talk to you days after that but i never saw you since then. when sumner vacation started someone told me you moved away, so i couldn't anything about it... i..." he paused.

"i can't stop thinking about you [Y/N]. you never left my mind, even after a year. i regret not being able to actually cherish you when we were still together, i regret not treating you well back then."

you didn't know what to say. you stayed silent as your heart ached from his words.

"[Y/N], i want to make it right this time. could you... could you give me another chance?"

unbeknownst to the both of you, a certain blonde was listening from behind the entire time.