The Spark That Ignites

Chapter Fifteen

"I'm sorry. Please forgive me," he said, his voice breaking as he bowed to his team.
"Are you seriously apologizing because your heat started and you were pulled from the game?" Hinata came up to ask him. His voice was incredulous, and his eyes were red-rimmed, but his expression was... angry? "You had no control over it. We're not blaming you for anything! So you stop blaming yourself, too."
Kei blinked at this vehemence. "But... I played when I shouldn't have. I knew I wasn't feeling right, so I should have..."
"Get over here, Dumbass," Kageyama grabbed Hinata and dragged him back into his arms. He looked at Kei apologetically. "You know how emotional he gets after games, win or lose. He's not angry at you."
"Right. But still..."
"Stop that. Right now," Tadashi ordered. "Hinata's right. Quit blaming yourself for something you have zero control over. For what it's worth, they only won by two points. In the third set. They just outlasted us. That's all it took for them to win. None of it was your fault."
"But, I..."
"Yeah, we lost," Kageyama said quietly, and gained everyone's attention. "It sucks. We were so damn close. It hurts."
"I'm so..."
"Shut it, Tsuki," the setter growled. Kei snapped his mouth shut. He also had to grab a fistful of Tetsu's shirt to keep him from being too overprotective and attacking Kageyama. The setter saw this and held up his hands. "I'll apologize for my tone of voice, but not for shutting him up, Kuroo. We've gone as far as we could go, and Karasuno is third in the nation." Kei saw Tobio's small smile, with no small amount of pride, stretch into a bigger one. "Third in the nation is pretty damn good for a team who, three years ago, everyone was calling the 'wingless crows.' We've fully erased that nickname. No one will ever call us that again."
"And we'll make sure they won't," Coach Ukai said.
Takeda-sensei was smiling proudly at all of them. "From the moment the four of you stepped into our practice gym, until now, you've given your all to a team who was on the brink of giving up completely. You became a part of the process for bringing our crows up, making us strong again, making a name for ourselves, and giving us the wings to fly on a national level once more. Everyone who ever stood with you on the court, past and present, came to see you fly. And now, you'll pass the torch on to those who will follow in your footsteps."

Tears were standing in his eyes. In fact, nearly everyone's face was tinged with emotion. And they'd all gathered in a close circle around the third years, including Yachi, who was pushed in by her protege Ami, the new first year manager. To his surprise, he saw familiar faces; Daichi, Suga, Kiyoko and Asahi. Ennoshita, Kinoshita, and Narita. Tanaka was loudly boasting how he helped train the weirdo duo, and Noya was waving wildly. Coach Ukai's two friends, Takinoue and Shimada, who were at nearly every game for the last three years, were proudly clapping, and Saeko (and the rest of the Karasuno Taiko Drumline) was almost as loud as her brother.

Tetsu had excused himself to stand with the other coaches, Ukai, Takeda-sensei, and even Ukai senior. Nekomata was also there, along with their destined rivals (but they were more like friends than anything else now) from Nekoma. When Ukai noticed, he laid a hand on Takeda-sensei's shoulder and pointed to them. As always, Takeda-sensei's face lit up when he saw them. And, true to his nature, he invited them over to join Karasuno, their third years coming to stand with their friends in the center of everyone.

Kei's eyes found and locked on Tetsu, who was grinning and clapping like everyone else. But there was a look in his eyes that Kei could read easily.

"Do you guys mind if Kuroo joins us?" he asked quietly, hiding his question behind his hand.
"I don't mind," Tadashi said, grinning. "He helped us, too. You, more than anyone else."
"I just wish Bokuto and Akaashi could be here," Hinata said, a bit mournfully.
"Dumbass," Kageyama muttered, his hand on Hinata's head, scrubbing through his ginger hair. "They're probably in the hospital right now."
"Oh yeah! Tsuki, you gotta tell us the news when you get it."
"I will."

He stepped around those between himself and Tetsu, who was looking rather baffled and hopeful at the same time. Kei came to stand in front of him, took his hands, and then started tugging him back into the group, only stopping when they reached the middle. The first and second years were quiet, but the third years were cheering and yelling, and slapping Kuroo on the back. And then somehow, the rest of the old Karasuno team were also brought into the ever-growing circle.