Haikyuu: Rise of Sengoku

March.

The season of graduation.

After attending the school's graduation ceremony, Akashi Asuka and Oomae Masato headed over to the volleyball club, where a small graduation event was just about to wrap up.

Asuka and Masato were the last to arrive. By the time they showed up, most of the graduating third-year starters had already shared their thoughts and words with the underclassmen in first and second year.

Judging by the red, swollen eyes of the younger players, it was clear that they had just finished crying.

"Asuka, perfect timing. They're done talking, so now it's your turn, the team's 'ace,' Mitsuto Shimokawa waved him over.

Asuka stepped forward, and the younger players, lined up neatly, all turned their gazes to him.

No doubt about it, while the third-year seniors earned respect from their juniors, Asuka was outright worshipped.

He had carried the Sengoku volleyball team almost single handedly, transforming it from a mediocre club into the champions of Miyagi Prefecture, and led them deep into the national tournament's third round.

That achievement had already become a legendary story within the club.

"Uh… honestly, I don't have much left to say! I already told you most of what matters during the nationals. From here on out, Sengoku volleyball relies on you all to make new history."

...

After leaving the clubroom, Asuka and a few other graduating third-years wandered the school grounds with no real destination.

"So, have you all decided where you'll go next year?" Asuka asked.

"Pretty much." came the replies.

Neko Kurata nodded. "I was lucky this time. I barely made it into Shiratorizawa Academy, so I'm going to give up club activities and focus on university entrance exams."

Jujiro Kazama, sitting on the parallel bars, added, "Oomae scored better than expected on his entrance exam, so we changed plans last minute and I'll go to Ichibayashi High, a volleyball powerhouse with a better advancement rate."

Oda Miki said, "I'll be going to my older brother's high school. I'll keep playing volleyball there, but mostly as a hobby, since university exams come first."

Oomae, Kazama, Kurata, and Oda were all sticking to their original plans.

Asuka nodded and turned to Ryuhei Sanashita last.

"So, Sanashita, are you still set on your decision?"

Sanashita answered calmly, "Yeah. Like I said before, wherever you go, I'll go."

Asuka blinked. That sounded kinda… gay.

Scratching the back of his head, he sighed, "Honestly, you don't have to do that. Like I said earlier, with our skill level, the best we could've done at nationals was third or fourth round. Even without the accident, our chances of winning were slim."

It had been over two months since nationals.

Sengoku had only made it to the second round before being knocked out in the third.

One major reason for that loss was Sanashita's accident, which forced a last-minute change of setter.

Their substitute setter, Nishimori Tomohiko, worked okay with Asuka, but had no chemistry with the rest of the team.

Since Sengoku's formation revolved around Asuka, cracks in the lineup had already been showing by the second match, barely held together by the ace and setter's coordination.

Once Sanashita was out, the team's weaknesses became fully exposed.

In reality, with their strength at the time, the best they could hope for at nationals was the third or fourth round. Beyond that, their flaws would be fatal against national-level teams.

"I know." Sanashita nodded calmly. "But the reason I'm choosing the same school as you isn't because of that. I just want to see how far I can go as a 'blacksmith'."

...

"Well then! Since you've made up your mind, I won't try to talk you out of it. Let's both aim for even better results in high school than we did in Junior High."

Asuka raised his fist.

Sanashita hesitated for a moment, then smiled slightly and bumped fists with him.

"Feels good." Oomae Masato suddenly said with a hint of envy, watching the scene. "I'm jealous you two get to keep playing volleyball together in high school. Hey Miki, if you're sticking with volleyball, why not just join Asuka or Sanashita's team?"

"Absolutely not." Miki crossed her arms firmly and said.

"If I stayed with him, I can already tell high school volleyball going to be brutal. I plan to keep volleyball as just a hobby, so the main thing I care about in choosing a high school is that their volleyball team isn't too strong."

"And Oomae, aren't you going to be with Kazama in high school? So why envy Asuka and Sanashita?"

"Uh… yeah…" Oomae was at a loss for words.

He turned weakly toward Kazama, only to be met with Kazama's brilliant smile.

Kazama: "ψ(｀)ψ"

Oomae: "Σ(дlll)"

Asuka: "(￣ー￣)``````"

Those two definitely have some weird chemistry.

Since it was graduation day, Asuka didn't rush home for training.

Mostly because after the third-year volleyball club disbanded two months ago, he'd lost his main rivals for his "Grind King" status. Now the only way to gain "Grind King points" was by competing against himself, which was far tougher.

No matter how much effort he put in, the points earned couldn't compare to before.

He trained until evening before parting ways with the others and heading home.

As he entered the entryway, he saw someone sprawled on the sofa in a lazy posture. Without even looking at the face, Asuka knew it was Akashi Kana.

"Welcome back, Asuka. Have you packed your things yet?"

...

Note: The Junior High national tournament won't be detailed here since this is fan fiction. Too much original content would water down the story. The focus will be on high school matches from now on.