Surely it was just paranoia. It had to be that, because if it wasn't then I had a massive problem.

Nope, it was just me being anxious as always. Or at least, that's what I hoped.

The only thing that kept me from having attacks was my experience in these feelings. My anxiety always made me keep the worst possible scenario in mind, so whenever anything remotely good happens, it would be a pleasant surprise.

Keeping that in mind I made my way to school, desperately trying to keep my mind off of the matches.

Realistically I knew that we would win, but my skills played a huge part in it. Karasuno only won because of Kageyama. I knew that my skills were on the same level as him, but I just lacked the confidence Kageyama had in his skills.

That was my biggest problem. Did I have a solution? No, I had no idea as to how I was supposed to improve my self esteem. All the previous attempts failed.

"Ah, good, you're here," Ukai said when he saw me approaching, "that makes everyone. Let's get going."

Briefly I worried that I had kept everyone waiting but those thoughts had no time to really get to me. Why? Because Nishinoya and Hinata literally pulled me into the bus.

The smallest members were over the moon with excitement. Which was not something I could share. Our feelings on the matter were completely different, but I wasn't going to hold them back.

If I did worse than canon Kageyama then I would never be able to forgive myself. So there was a lot of pressure on me, pressure that I had put there myself but it was pressure nonetheless.

I took my seat next to Sugawara, letting the balls of energy stay close to each other.

Suga chuckled. "Where do those two get all that energy from this early in the morning?"

"Pretty sure they save it in the night to bombard us in the morning." Tsukishima remarked, scowling at the two.

"Tsukki…" Yamaguchi sighed, though his smile revealed his real feelings.

I gave my teammates a small smile before putting on my noise-cancelling headphones. A last ditch effort to calm me down. One that usually worked.

And it did. The music did it's job and kept me from being focused on the outside world and my thoughts.

An hour later and we arrived at the hall. Like I had expected, there were people everywhere. My worst nightmare.

How was I supposed to keep my calm in a crowd like this?!

"Kageyama, let's keep moving." Sugawara's voice shook me out of my head.

Thank god I wasn't alone. I don't think I would last if I was alone.

The team walked into the building and to a secluded area.

"Alright listen up," Ukai called for attention, "our first match is in an hour. Keep your eye on the clock."

"Yes sir!"

And we scattered. Well, the others scattered. I stayed with Hinata because there was no way I would spend an hour on my own in a place I didn't know.

So I stayed with the guy that was least likely to mind my presence for an extended amount of time.

The two of us went outside to pass a ball over. Hinata was more than content to do that for an extended amount of time. Ah, idiots were sometimes the best companions. Especially sunshine idiots like Hinata.

They made it easy to talk, about my feelings or just plain nothing.

"Daichi-san seemed like he knew that player didn't he?" Hinata used as a conversation opener.

I hummed. "They were probably just classmates in junior high."

"Like you and the two from Seijo?"

I hesitated. "Yeah… though they seem to actually be friends."

"Hey! It's fine. We're going to kick their asses again anyway!"

Such optimism. Where does he get it from?

"Let's first defeat the first team…" i sweatdropped. "It wouldn't be good to get ahead of ourselves."

"I know that!" Hinata exclaimed before quieting down. "Dateko is here too. So many strong opponents."

Now there was an interesting contrast. While I was panicking over those 'strong opponents', Hinata was filled with excitement.

If memory served, Hinata hadn't actually played more than one official match.

He deserved to play more matches. Not just because it was Hinata. I also wanted to play.

Even if it terrified me to no end. I actually loved volleyball. It might be the original Kageyama's influence that's making me think that way, but I couldn't find it in myself to care.

There was a simple reason for that, I had a passion in this life. I had hobbies, I had supportive friends. I had the life I never had before.

And it felt so good.

Warmth would spread in my chest whenever I spend time with the team. Passing a ball around actually brought a smile to my face.

If this was Kageyama influencing me, then I could only thank him. He gave me a second chance, while it was a chance I didn't want, I still felt that incredible gratefulness. If I ever got to meet Kageyama, the real one, then I had to tell him.

I would have to thank him. Even if he got angry at me. I would still thank him, thank him for letting me use his body, thank him for giving me a glimpse of life through his eyes, thank him for showing me what friends were. Thank him for allowing me to be him.

"Kageyama?" Hinata asked. "You've been spacing out for a while, you okay?"

"A-Ah, yeah, I'm fine. Just got lost in thought." I rubbed the back of my neck sheepishly. "Sorry about that.."

"Don't worry about it!" Hinata smiled at me.

Have I ever mentioned that I love his smile? It made sure I didn't fall into my own thoughts. So bright.

…

It gave me a headache.

The first match wasn't too bad…

And I mean that.

There wasn't a lot of pressure put on me, because these were minor characters, so I didn't shoot into panic at inconvenient times.

Yay for small victories.

Still… I never ceased to be surprised at how good Kageyama-I- actually was at the game.

Setting felt like second nature. The ball would come for me and I didn't even have to think about who to set it to.

It was all instinct.

Vaguely I wondered if the original Kageyama felt the same about his setting, because I remembered a few times when he thought about where to send the ball to.

It hadn't been that easy for the original.

A flash of pride shot through me. The thought that I could do something better than the real Kageyama felt amazing.

Unfortunately for me, my anxiety slammed those feelings right back down when I spotted Aone's blocking.

Even knowing that he's actually a cinnamon roll didn't stop me from being intimidated. That was the simple effect Aone had on others.

And I had to play against him.

"Hey Kageyama!" Nishinoya pounced on me. "You really are an amazing setter!"

The rest of the team stood behind him, smiling at the two of us.

Well, at least I wouldn't be alone in this fight.