A/N: Those who favourite/followed my story, thanks a lot guys! It really gives me inspiration.

And again, I meant to update earlier but well, as you can see, I couldn't. Unfortunately, my beta reader is unable to help me right now due to conditions in their life. So any hidden beta readers out there, I hope my voice reaches you :D

Special thanks to JenRiley16, for the first in-site review :)

Enjoy!

Chapter 4: Confrontation

"But to accept defeat so selfishly… That's something I cannot forgive!"

~Nishinoya, to Asahi

Guilt: The defense mechanism of denial by overcompensation.

Otto Fenichel

The obstacle of an unconscious sense of guilt is the most powerful of all obstacles to recovery.

Sigmund Freud

Taiga

When I try to remember about that day; it's just a swirl of something painful and terrifying. I don't think I will ever forget about that time; it's always there, around my shoulders, in the form of a constant pain gnawing at me; but I can't clearly remember it either. What I remember are just some parts and pieces:

Her bright face as she asked me to practice. Her uniform that was different than mine, signaling her position as a libero.

The fatigue I felt in my legs and yet the competitive spirit I felt towards my rival as she kept perfectly receiving every ball.

Her playful taunts…

The blue and yellow volleyball that stood right behind her as she waited for my serve and the step she took back to get the next ball, which I aimed purposely.

"Damn!" Taiga stopped writing and threw her pen away with a wince. It made a small dent on the wall next to the table.

After breathing deeply in and out a few times, trying to calm down to an extent to keep writing at least, she tried again. She wanted to finish this homework of Dr. Nox for their next session. In order to not fall apart again, she skipped over that part of her memory she had been writing about and started another part. She wasn't sure that it would work though; everything about her life in the last two years was equally hellish and horrible.

Her pen started moving on the paper, her brows drawing closer with every word she scribbled.

While still blurry around the edges, I can remember the accident a bit better; the voice of the cranking motor, shaking, the shattering glass, the pain.

I did wanted to die but the outcome was more fitting that I had planned.

I remember the pai-

Something fell on the paper, ruining the letters. It was a transparent liquid. Then she realized that she had been gritting her teeth and her shoulder was hurting, making her hand clench and unable to write a damn thing.

It seemed like she wasn't going to be able to do the homework.

She sighed as she went to lie down on her bed and looked at the ceiling, with disheartened eyes. In times like these when she was alone, she felt like something was chewing away at her, piece by piece, until she was broken and torn.

No.

Not in times like these. It was her usual self. It had been, for a long time at least. But now that there were occasional times when she was free from that, she didn't even know how she made it last two years. With that being said, she couldn't run away from the reality, nor could she compensate for it.

I killed my friend. And after that, I tried to commit suicide.

She pulled the blanket over her head, not finding it in herself to write those last sentences to her diary.

"You forgot the volleyballs?" Taiga asked.

Nishinoya grinned cheekily, as an answer.

"Say, baka-Noya" she purposely emphasized the insult, which didn't affect the libero one bit, "What is the point of coming to practice, if you forget the balls?"

"Relax, it's no biggie. We can just borrow a couple of balls from the club. Well, I can't do it though, you are gonna have to."

"Huh? Why do I have to do go through the trouble even though you're the one responsible?"

Taiga asked that to him but now she was walking towards the second gym, in which the boys' volleyball club held their practice. She had the urge to sigh or punch something so badly.

According to Nishinoya, boys started their morning practice around this time so the gym would definitely be open. Usually, either Daichi-san or Suga-san –third years she didn't know- would be the one responsible with the key. Tanaka and the other second years showed up later. But there was absolutely nothing she had to worry about; both Daichi-san and Suga-san were super awesome people.

As she got closer to the building, she realized there was four pair of shoes at the doorsill. Hoping one of them would be either Tanaka or Ennoshita; she got closer and stuck her head inside to look around a bit before going in.

"How long they have been at it?"

Lucky! Tanaka was there and talking to another person, slightly shorter than him with grey hair and two other club members were practicing; a short and slim, orange haired guy and a tall, black haired guy with a stern face.

Taller one was hitting spikes as the orange one kept receiving, despite being clearly exhausted and short on breath.

"It's been fifteen minutes since I got here."

"Fifteen minutes straight?"

"Hmm", a nod.

"What?"

The practicing pair was so focused that Taiga didn't want to interrupt; she silently stood at the threshold. But thinking back, maybe she was just captured by their intensity, as she watched without taking her eyes off. That shrimp –he was still taller than herself, she realized- was covered in sweat and he looked like he was in pain but still he got back on his feet after falling, kept watching the ball, kept moving his legs to follow it, no matter how clumsily.

"You've reached your limit now!" shouted the taller one, as he slammed the ball at him. "You can't go any furt-"

"Not yet! I haven't dropped the ball yet!" orange-head yelled back hoarsely.

"Take that!"

The ball went flying over his head.

"Wow, bad character! How's he supposed to get that?" Tanaka scolded. Orange-head started running but it definitely seemed like a difficult ball in his worn-out state.

"Hinata's athleticism has been amazing since junior high. It's not just that, though. I feel like he has the fortitude to become a winner."

Just watching him ran and ran, dive for the ball so desperately and send it back while rolling on the floor… It overwhelmed Taiga.

"He saved it. That's amazing Hinata!" Tanaka complimented.

His dark haired friend, who was watching orange-head intensely, raised his arms slowly, as the ball came flying back to him and tossed the ball to high point.

"Toss?"

"Kageyama tossed to him."

"Hinata doesn't have the strength to spike, though."

But Tanaka was wrong one more time, because as soon as orange-head saw the ball, for reasons unknown to Taiga, his face lit up and he started running towards the net.

And then he flew.

No, he didn't jump. He flew.

Sugei. The girl found herself thinking.

"He sure can jump."

"He recovered from being that worn out. And look how happy he is."

And Taiga strongly agreed with their observations. Shrimp was practically beaming brighter than his orange hair, his happiness flowing across the gym and reaching all the way to brunette, earning a small, unconsciously given smile from the girl.

Then grey haired one started talking about some special meaning to him and a setter's toss but Taiga didn't really understand or even listened. Because she knew something bad was coming, as she watched the orange-head cough multiple times on his knees and tried to talk with his taller friend.

She had had the same symptoms in many instances before.

Those specific signs showing that the person was on the verge of vomiting.

There was no time to loose!

Quickly, Taiga glanced around and caught the sight of a bucket that stood near door. Snatching it, she darted at the boy who was at his limit, and she put the bucket against his jowl just the moment he emptied the contents of his stomach with a rather violent gag, thus saving the floor and his clothes from filth.

Of course now, three people were kind of looking at her surprised, save for Hinata who was a bit busy. Taiga stood up and scratched the back of her head. She contemplated inwardly about what to say, now.

"Kawanishi-san, what are you doing here?"

"Hey, Tanaka. Um, I was just at the door when I saw this guy –she pointed the shrimp- was about to barf. It was kind of urgent, so I just barged in without permission."

"That's fine." Tanaka said, amused at the fact that she was apologetically explaining herself.

"You know each other, Tanaka?" Suga asked, quite interested in this girl considering the hotheaded baldy had just hit up a conversation with her so casually like that. He distantly wondered if Tanaka was aware that the person he was talking to, was in fact a girl.

"Hai, Suga-san. This is a second year like me-"

"Kawanishi Taiga. Nice to meet you." The girl bowed politely, to which Sugawara smiled and introduced himself back.

"Sugawara Koushi, nice to meet you. I'm the vice-captain of volleyball club." A bow, slightly higher than hers.

"Is there anything I can help you with, Kawanishi-san?"

"Um, I'm actually here to request something. My friend –she made an eye contact with Tanaka- and me, we had come to school to practice a bit, but that dummy actually forgot to bring balls. So I was wondering if it was possible for me to borrow a few from here and bring it back before morning practice ends? I will take full responsibility. I will tell you my class and number, too."

Sugawara was a polite and gentle person, an average setter, who didn't stand out too much. But 'not standing out' basically meant you had time and opportunity to observe other people. That's why he was very keen on catching on secrets, things people refrain from saying out loud or try to hide; in this case, something Tanaka knew about this girl's request but were hesitant to say it.

Another characteristic of Suga was that he could be unexpectedly meddlesome, especially when it came to those he considered close. Tanaka here was one of those people. So he thought he would see where this was going to go.

"Kawanishi-san, may I ask? Aren't you in girls' volleyball club?"

"No."

"But you play volleyball?"

"Yes."

"I see. I think it's quite rare to see someone who isn't a volleyball player coming to school so early for practice. Case in point, even some of our members have not arrived yet. You would be a great asset to the girl's team."

"Thanks, but I'm not a volleyball player." Taiga coldly declined.

Sugawara raised an eyebrow, her answer –no, the way she answered- piquing his interest further.

"What do you think, Tanaka? Since she is an acquaintance of yours, I'll let you decide."

"Uh, Suga-san, of course you can thrust Kawanishi-san."

"Is that so? Then OK, but we will be asking for your class and number, Kawanishi-san." Sugawara added kindly.

And with that, Tanaka and Kawanishi started walking towards the equipment room.

"So, Noya-san forgot to bring volleyballs, huh?" Tanaka asked in a low voice, seeing as Suga-san was no longer in earshot. "That's like him."

"You're not the one to talk, Tanaka. You are like Noya, too."

"Kawanishi-san, not fair."

Tanaka opened the door, to see Kageyama and Hinata placing the mops to their places and bickering at the same time. Ah, like Noya-san and Kawanishi-san weren't enough. He was really getting tired of constantly arguing pairs.

As soon as first-year duo saw Tanaka and Taiga coming in, they stopped fighting and the shorter underclassman beamed at the girl.

"Umm, thank you very much for earlier! Thanks to you, the floor didn't get dirty and we were saved from a lot of trouble and everything."

"No prob." Taiga answered.

"Now that you said it, how come you could be that quick to act, Kawanishi-san?" Tanaka asked to the girl.

"Well, that's because I vomited numerous times back in junior high, I can understand when one person is going to do so."

"Are you serious?"

"Yeah." She snorted, along with Tanaka.

"Uh, so you are a volleyball player too? I though you were the manager! By the way, I'm Hinata Shoyo, first year." Hinata introduced himself, bowing deeply.

"Kawanishi Taiga, second year. I played volley in junior high and I'm just a by-passer."

"Oh, no! You were a senpai." he exclaimed, freaking out.

"It's fine, I don't mind." Taiga tried to ease him.

"She's right, you idiot. Calm down a little." Kageyama smacked Hinata on the head, starting another short bickering contest, which made Tanaka roll his eyes, before orange-head turned to Taiga again, with enthusiasm.

"Kawanishi-san, which position did you play? Libero?"

"Why?" Taiga asked, frowning. "Is it because I'm short?"

"Um, hai! Because all short players are always libero, other than myself." He admitted honestly, which made Taiga snort, "Listen Hinata. When you talk about libero, it is not a position you play because you're short. It's a position because you are a good receiver."*

Hinata stood silent for a second and watched her with his wide brown eyes; then his face lit up, his eyes sparkled and his fists clenched as he shouted "Woah! Awesome! You know a lot about volleyball, Kawanishi-san!"

"I said, calm down idiot." Kageyama smacked him one more time.

And Taiga was laughing again.

"So, then if you aren't libero, which position?"

"No," she answered, "my official position was setter but my real specialty is pinch serving."

"Setter?" Kageyama immediately got interested, like a cat that just saw a ball of string. And Hinata shouted again, "Pinch server! And even though you're shorter than me! Woah! Awesome, awesome!"

Karasuno Volleyball Club was full of interesting guys.

"OK, settle down." English teacher Ono-sensei said sternly, as everyone started murmuring like the class was over after the last chapter from textbook was finished. There was only ten minutes left and Nishinoya couldn't wait it to be over. It was the second last class before lunch break and he was going to die of boredom if he didn't get up soon. Wait, what was this called again? Taiga was saying the other day; some fancy, complex name for 'lack of attention', from her boring books. Libero couldn't understand for the life of him how she could keep reading those.

"Now, before I dismiss you, I will hand out your quizzes from last week and we will answer the questions you failed mostly. Niitori Hotaru"

"Hai."

This was boring. He glanced at Taiga, who was calmly sitting down on her desk without a hint of being bored like him. He poked her with his pen and whispered.

"Oi, Taiga-chan!"

"What?"

"How are you?"

This meaningless and out-of-blue question pattern… Taiga rolled her eyes, "Are you bored again?"

"Hell yeah." He answered, happy that brunette girl was quick to understand his problem.

Now Taiga knew that, a bored Nishinoya Yuu usually ended up being more troublesome later, if he wasn't dealt with. So she glanced at the clock on the wall as she whispered, "There's only eight minutes left, bear with it?"

"I don't want to."

Oh.

Taiga pulled at her bangs as she asked in a resigned manner, "You wanna play SOS?"

Nishinoya smirked and waggled his eyebrows at her, "No, hangman."

The girl rolled her eyes.

Last time they had played hangman, they were using the words related to volleyball and Taiga had lost, failing on the word 'rolling thunder', which Nishinoya had then explained as one of his new receiving techniques.

And, yes, they were supposed to be high school students.

"Kawanishi Taiga."

Taiga stood up and walked over to teacher's desk. "Congratulations Kawanishi-san, you came first in this quiz."

"Thank you, sensei." She bowed rather indifferently and took a glance at her note while walking back to her seat, an 87 with a scrawled 'very good!' from Ono-sensei.

And Nishinoya was talking about it as they went towards rooftop to meet up with others –Taiga had been a permanent member of their lunch group after that first time-.

"Not only English though, now that I think about it, you always get higher notes compared to the rest of the class, in every subject."

"Not every one, I'm not very good at music." Taiga answered, earning a pointy look from Nishinoya for her sarcastic answer.

But then libero's brows rose slightly, a sign showing that he was in a thinking process. It was only occurring to him now but Taiga was pretty clever; her notes in quizzes were always above average, usually doubling Nishinoya's. She even hinted him about the sudden questions during class and she was reading freaking medical textbooks.

"How come you're not in advanced classes?" Nishinoya asked, his brows still raised.

He wished he hadn't asked. Because there was that look in her eyes again, not very distinguishable from normal at first, but very easy to see after hanging out with Taiga for a while. A look that said 'I'm carrying a burden.'

To be honest, it had been bothering Nishinoya for a while. Taiga was a great server, and from what libero could see –and contrary to popular belief, he could very well be observant when he wanted to- she liked volleyball. Well, a perfect serve wasn't something you could pull of without strict training and strict training wasn't something you could manage in an area you didn't like, period.

But more importantly, there were times, when playing volleyball, the aggressive air around her changed into something milder; and there was a genuine smile that reached all the way to her eyes.

Nishinoya didn't even know she had a smile like that until he saw it first time, so he used to think that she was just cranky. But now he knew that she was once was a happy girl who could flash pretty smiles. He was genuinely curious about the reason, and how it was related to her volleyball career.

But when Nishinoya asked about why did she quit volleyball, she always evaded the question.

There were times when she was off her game. She would wince or hiss slightly, trying to hide it but Nishinoya was well aware of her shoulders hurting. When he asked about that, too, she would slid around, telling things like "Are you getting soft, worrying about me?" or "Mind your own business."

And it inquired the libero. Because that look in her eyes, bore a slight resemblance to someone else.

About a month ago, when Nishinoya had confronted their ace about quitting the club, Asahi's eyes were the same. Well, not exactly the same. Taiga's gaze was much stronger and much more enigmatic.

After a second, as all these thoughts passed from Nishinoya's mind, the girl answered his question matter-of-factly.

"I have a disciplinary penalty in my record. According to rules, a student like that can't enter an advanced class."

This only served to further his curiosity. But also, it made Nishinoya a bit excited. Was it weird to be excited about something like this?

"What did you do to get a disciplinary punishment?"

"Broke another student's nose." Taiga answered dryly.

To be honest, this wasn't something she was proud of and well, it had made her a lot of enemies back in her old school. So she was only slightly anxious as she watched Nishinoya's reaction with the corner of her eye. Libero stopped and looked at Taiga's eyes. OK, forget slightly anxious, she was panicking a bit now. Nishinoya wouldn't make a big deal out of this, would he?

"Taiga-chan, that's cool."

A lopsided smile touched her lips.

Taiga breathed in and out, and then opened her eyes with a resolve; a resolve to hit a service that will result in a point. She took in the sight before her, receiver's position, his stance, the space between his feet, the way he held out his forearms.

Nishinoya, who stood on the other side of the net, caught her eyes and couldn't help but smirk at her great concentration. What kind of serve was she going to hit this time; a fast drive serve, or a spike serve? Or was she going to use a ceiling serve and drop the ball just over the net? Libero licked his lips just like a predator with the anticipation of a prey.

Taiga tossed the ball up and away from herself, used a few steps to accelerate first, then swung her arms from back to front to jump higher. Her figure made an arc in the air so that she relayed her whole body's strength to the ball as she hit it. Her palm made perfect contact with the ball, like parts of a jigsaw puzzle.

Nishinoya received it but couldn't get it back to setter's position. She always added a spin that made the ball hard to receive, especially when combined with power. Every time, he was left impressed with how great her technique was.

"Che."

But also, it was late and dark, making it hard to see the ball, one of the reasons he couldn't receive it perfectly.

Taiga smirked at him with triumph and Nishinoya huffed "Once more, damn it! I will get the next one."

"Hey, come on, we are wrapping it!" Taiga objected.

It was definitely getting late, libero was starting to feel tired and there was also the journey back home to worry about. But there was another thing Nishinoya had been thinking for a while and he thought now was a good time to do it.

Now that there was little time left until Nishinoya was allowed back into the club, he really needed to come to terms with his own problems, problems involving an ace named Azumane Asahi.

Libero thought that, if he heard Taiga's story, the reason she quitted the volleyball when she still clearly likes it and is skilled at it, maybe then he could relate to Asahi a little bit and maybe not knock over someone/something when he spoke to him again.

"Ok, let's just do ten more then." He suggested.

Taiga considered it for a short while, and seemingly decided that it was fair since she agreed with an "Alright" and started walking to back line.

"Say, Taiga-chan?"

"What?"

He received the ball she sent his way; it reached above the imaginary setter's head perfectly. He took a breath.

"Why did you choose to become a pinch server?"

She chuckled.

"Pinch server is the coolest position."

"No, it's libero. Besides pinch server isn't even an official position." He pointed, knowing fully well that it would rile the girl.

Taiga frowned slightly, but her eyes didn't show anger towards him.

"Even if it isn't an official position, for me, it's the greatest position. Because I don't have to worry about receiving, I don't have to worry about blocks. A service ace is the simplest and most effective way of scoring a point. And even if I don't get an ace, I can create an opportunity for my teammates just by hitting a strong and precise serve! When my friends need that opportunity the most. If I can break the other team's formation with my serve, it makes the job easier for the receiver. And an ideal receive means a strong attack from our team! It's how you get a break, you idiot!"

She hit the ball again, and after receiving it, Nishinoya fixed his stare at her.

"You like volleyball so much, after all." he said in a low voice, his eyes never leaving her. "Why did you give up on something you like so much?"

Under his stare, Taiga felt oddly exposed, like a kid that was being interrogated by her parents; and she frowned with frustration.

"I already told you right? Not your business."

She sent another serve his way, but her concentration was dropped and he easily received it before speaking up again.

"Are you running away from the question? Why is it so hard to answer?"

"Because it's not you business!"

The ball she served next hit the net with great speed and spun several seconds before falling on floor.

"In the end you are a wimp too; giving up on the sport you like because of some reason you cannot even confess." Nishinoya challenged her. Like that person, she was making the libero angry.

Taiga's frown deepened and as he met her angry gaze, Nishinoya remembered the first time they met. In the first time too, like now, he was curious as to whether stood before him was a girl or a tiger, with the intensity that hit him.

"Don't talk like you know me." Taiga said as she dropped the ball she was holding and turned her back, walking away. Nishinoya followed after.

"Then tell me so I know!" He said, catching up and grabbing her by the elbow. Taiga hissed as the sudden pull caused a sting in her shoulder; to which Nishinoya caught on and stared at her shoulder.

"Your shoulders hurt, don't they?" the boy asked her.

"It doesn't concern you! Let go."

"But it does concern me. I need to know why someone like you quits volleyball, why someone who likes a sport quits it!" Nishinoya shouted.

Let go, I can't tell you.

Taiga tried to throw him off by tripping him to fall down on his back, using a refined martial arts move. But Nishinoya knew enough to guess that she would resort to force in this situation when she was being pressured. So instead of trying to step away from her as she grabbed his sides, he kept holding onto her arm, while grabbing a fistful of her baggy t-shirt. It caused Taiga to lose her balance as well and fall on top of him in the end. But even after the fall he didn't let go. Their faces stood a couple of inches apart, both of them looking at the other with anger. Taiga was using her left arm, the one he wasn't holding, to support herself.

"I know you can do hand to hand combat. But if I cling onto you like this, it doesn't work right?" Nishinoya managed to give a triumphant grin in that situation. But he was right and to Taiga's chagrin, he had totally got her.

So there was no choice for her other than to accept the situation and ask: "Why do you want to know the reason I quitted so badly?"

Nishinoya frowned then, his eyes hardening slightly and triumphant grin fading away, giving Taiga an idea about how heavy this topic was to him.

"Asahi-senpai, our ace, he quitted volleyball, after our team was defeated bitterly in a match. He thinks it's his fault. It was the reason why I quarreled with him and got suspended. But just like you, I know he still loves volleyball." Nishinoya explained without looking at her. "I can't understand him. But maybe if I did understood... Then I can move on. But if I can't, our team might break apart. I may never be able to convince him to come back. And if he doesn't, then I won't go back either."

Nishinoya jerked up as he felt something wet on his face. Then his eyes widened when he realized the source of it. Tears dropped from Taiga's eyes and slide down her cheeks before falling on his face.

She just couldn't take it anymore. He was such a great person. The way he refused to let his friend go away, the way he searched for ways to make him come back, the way he practiced so hard with her on top of the block-follow training, just to be able to connect his team; his willpower had touched something inside her.

Everyone would be lucky to have Nishinoya as a teammate and a friend.

And yet, if she were to tell him the truth about herself, he would surely go away from her.

Taking advantage of the fact that Nishinoya was freaking out at her tears, thus had let go of her clothing; she slowly got off of him.

"Taiga, hey, um, uh, w- w- why are you crying? Hey, I'm sorry, please hit me once."

"Don't raise a fuss." She sighed in a low voice, sitting Indian style across him.

"I…" she started. "It's still difficult for me to tell, Nishinoya."

Libero silently noted her using his full name, instead of just saying Noya like she usually did. He also noted that her eyes were downcast and hidden from him; and that she was so still suddenly, like a still puddle of water instead of the streaming river she was.

"Two years before now, there was an a-accident during practice in my middle school's volleyball club. After that, I had a car crush and my shoulders broke down. Just don't ask me about the accident or how it happened." She grabbed her right shoulder with her left hand, never looking at him. "After the crush, my body healed physically but something lingered behind. Do you know anything about psychosomatic disorders?"

Nishinoya shook his head but when it occurred to him that she wasn't looking at him, he answered with a soft "No."

"It's a disorder where mind affects body." Taiga explained, "For me, anything that reminds me of that accident and volleyball, causes my shoulders to hurt. That's the reason I cannot play volleyball, nor I want to, because of this excruciating pain."

Nishinoya's eyes widened. In disbelief, he asked "But all this time…"

Taiga cut him off, looking up but still not meeting his eyes, "During that three-on-three, I don't know how but I was able to play, while my shoulders still hurt. And when I practice with you, I can manage. It's all about mind, I guess. But if I'm unstable like this, I will make trouble for everyone and I can't be in a team. And most of the time, I just can't play."

After this, both of them didn't speak for a while; Taiga was in a state of 'nothing left to tell' and waiting for Nishinoya's reaction. And Nishinoya was speechless.

Taiga had been hurting all this time. She was in physical and most likely mental pain. And Nishinoya had made her indulge his wishes, being selfishly insistent. He had never even considered she could have a situation and even had gone far as to think she was a coward to have quitted volleyball.

"Taiga, I- then why didn't you tell me sooner?" he frowned.

"Are you a complete idiot? I tried to refuse it repeatedly."

Normally Nishinoya would talk back at her insult and they would start the usual banter, but now he was just taken aback and feeling guilty. Even the real reason he started all this, Asahi senpai's case had flew out of his mind. He was absolutely starting to freak out.

Then, a hand entered his field of vision out of nowhere, grabbing his collar. He found himself looking at Taiga. She was on her feet but slightly bent over him so she could look at his eyes; he was on his knees thanks to Taiga pulling him up from the sitting position. The skin around her eyes was slightly red because of her earlier teary outburst, but her stare was decisive and stern, daring him to disagree with her.

"You should see your face, idiot. What, are you taking a pity on me now? If you do that, I will never forgive you, Nishinoya!"

"I'm not." He said. "I'm not pitying you."

"Don't feel sad for me either!" she kept shouting fervently.

"OK" Nishinoya said.

"Trying to be considerate of a person who has resolved oneself is the biggest insult to them."

"I know." Nishinoya said, not finding it in himself to say more.

He closed his eyes.

She was right. He was so angry with himself, damn it! Obviously, Taiga would be sick of people pitying her, like the situation at hand wasn't difficult as it was. Especially that headstrong Taiga would never accept pity or consideration.

She just wanted to be normal as she can and Nishinoya had been treating her that way, until now. Maybe it was the reason she had accepted to help him about practice. Nishinoya resolved himself to keep treating her normally, as her friend and he opened her eyes again.

Taiga let go of his collar, sitting back.

"Now tell me about your ace in detail."

Taiga guessed that the Asahi-senpai Nishinoya was talking about was probably the one she had met the other day. That would explain his weird face and his sad eyes when she unknowingly had told about libero to him.

Nishinoya started speaking and he told her everything; the iron wall of block, the team's sadness, his own frustration of his powerlessness, his fight with Asahi-senpai after the match and the confrontation in the third years corridor.

"And hence you were so desperate about practicing so hard, trying to get better." Taiga mumbled as Nishinoya came to a stop. He was really incredible, Taiga thought. He was simply unable to sit around when it came to his job as a libero, not satisfied with just practicing with women's team in Karasuno Gymnasium for block-follows, but making sure he also got practice in school.

"That goes without saying." he nodded. "What is the point of being a libero if your teammates cannot entrust their backs to you?"

Taiga let out a small smile. "You're right. But I don't think the problem is about you, in this case." She pointed out.

Now they were walking down the street; Sakanoshita shoten was long closed and there was not a single soul around them. Moonlight and street-lamps lit their path, a dog howled somewhere; making Nishinoya distantly wonder just how much time had passed while they had been having their respective breakdowns.

"Everyone has their own reasons for playing or quitting volleyball. And those who can come back, will come back." Taiga kept talking.

Nishinoya turned her words over and over in his mind. He wasn't really satisfied, after all; he still wanted Asahi-senpai to return to club and was frustrated with the fact that the ace was reluctant to fight with his teammates.

"But I think, Asahi-senpai will be able to come back." Taiga said smiling to herself. Or course, Nishinoya didn't know but, that day, Asahi's face had told Taiga all she needed to know: The third year was missing his teammates as much as he was missed.

"I hope you're right." Nishinoya only mumbled.

A/N:

*: When Nishinoya asks Hinata the reason he thinks Nishinoya is a libero and is it because of his height, Hinata answers this and Nishinoya states taht he understands what it means to be a libero very well. But this is because Hinata learned it from Taiga, at least according to my story :D

So how was it?

I was kind of self cautious about the whole Nishinoya-Taiga emotional breakdown scene. So please tell me what you think :)