Kageyama, in his entire volleyball career, has only had one true setback, the game where he was sent to the bench (the incident with Oikawa hurt, but wasn't too damaging). That setback, was THAT game. The one where when he tossed, nobody was there. Kageyama had tried making his teammates his friends, but apparently, his offers of extra practice only annoyed them. The rejection of his toss, the one he spent hundreds of hours practicing, ruined his life. Kageyama quit the team, became depressed,and developed anxiety and trust issues.

When time came to choose a high school, he specifically chose Kurasuno because the volleyball team was no longer worth noticing, and it was unlikely anyone would know him as the "King of the Court".

King of the Court. The nickname that he hated more than anything else in the world. He knew he was socially awkward, but he had tried. Tried being friendly like Oikawa (his role model/idol) who everyone loved, but it only made his teammates avoid and despise him even more.

The day he heard that hated nickname, practice had just ended, and he was the only one left in the gym. As he went outside to fill up his water bottle, he heard one of his teammates complaining.

"I'm so tired of this crap! His stupid tosses are impossible to hit, yet he never changes them. It's always "Faster!" and "Match my tosses!" with him. Oikawa-senpai was so much better! He was encouraging, and nowhere near as rude. All Kageyama does is boss us around, like a dictator! A true "King of the Court!"

Hearing those words had shattered him. Kageyama stopped trying to connect with his teammates, and became even more overbearing. His desire to win grew stronger, and he stopped caring about anything but volleyball, dedicating at least 6 to 7 hours to practice everyday. To his everlasting annoyance, the nickname caught on, and every day all he heard was "King of the Court!". Kageyama's resentment for his teammates grew,and his treatment of them became even worse.

-Time Skip-

It had been about a month since school started, and he had successfully blended in with the students at school, and hadn't joined any clubs. His days were monotonous, a routine that never changed. It was currently the lunch break, so he was eating alone outside, just like usual. Suddenly, out of nowhere, a volleyball came flying into his face. He ended up on the ground, looking up into the blue sky with a dazed look on his face. He groaned, and heard a panicked

"I am so sorry! Are you alright?" from somewhere behind him.

Kageyama sat up, and said "I'm fine, but watch it!" to the red haired shrimp who had hit him. The little shrimp was followed by a older looking boy with silver hair.

The older one said with a gentle smile "I'm sorry about that, Hinata isn't to used to playing with a setter, so he's a bit uncoordinated right now. I'm Sugawara Koshi, third year. Do you need to go to the nurse?"

"No, I'm fine, thank you.I'm Kageyam Tobio, it's nice to meet you." Kageyama replied politely.

He stood up, brushing off some grass. "Now, please do excuse me, I have to be somewhere."

Kageyama quickly left, heading back to his class. Later that day, as school ended, Kageyama was stopped by the red hair shrimp, Hinata.

"Hey Kageyama! I'm sorry about earlier, I tend to get too excited whenever I'm playing volleyball. Anyways, would you mind going to practice with me? Captain Daichi asked me to find you, because he also wanted to apologize I guess."

Kageyama sighed, "It really wasn't a big deal. Your captain doesn't need to apologize, I'm fine!"

Hinata shrugged, "I asked around, and heard that you weren't in any clubs. Would you like to join the volleyball club? You're pretty tall, and I'm sure that you could learn fast!" Before Kageyama could reply, Hinata grabbed his arm and started pulling towards the direction of the gym, chattering on about becoming the "Little Giant" or something.

When they arrived at the gym, the captain did apologize, but also invited him to stay and watch a practice, hoping that he would be interested. Kageyama sighed, but decided to stay, since it had been a long time since he saw a team play. He sat off to the side of the court, and was actually enjoying himself when once again, a ball came flying at him. Years of habit took over, and he immediately dived for it, sending it back perfectly towards the setter.

As he stood back up, he found the team staring at him in shock. Kageyama blushed, knowing that he would probably be bombarded with questions now. He was right.

"Kageyama! Kageyama! You didn't tell me you could play! You should join the club!" Hinata blurted out, jumping up and down in excitement.

"I'm sorry, but I no longer play. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go." Kageyama said, picking up his bag and leaving quickly.

-Back in the gym-

"So, my suspicions were correct. That was the "King of the Court" from Kitagawa Daiichi. He was a genius setter, but was taken off the team due to inability to work with his teammates. His signature move was a toss so quick that no one, not even his teammates could hit it. During his last game, the team rejected his toss, and the coaches sent him to the bench. I heard that he quit after that," Tsukishima mused.

"Suga and I watched one of his games once. He was clearly the best player on his team, but it seemed like the others resented him for it." Daiichi added.

"But if he's so good, why didn't he join the team?" Hinata asked, rather cluelessly.

"Volleyball is probably associated with some painful memories Hinata, so don't go off bothering him about joining!" warned Sugawara.

Hinata nodded, but left practice with a rather mischievous smirk.