Oh, I guess I died?

Just kidding guys.

Here is a bonus chapter (after a long long loooooooong wait), a spoiler for anime only watchers.

I know it's mean of me to post a spoiler chapter like this when the anime is very far away from the end of the manga but if you can't wait that long go ahead and enjoy. Then again, there were already spoilers in chapters before so whatever xD.

Merry Christmas everyone! ❤️

‐-

"It's so unlike her to be late," Semi noted as he glanced around the crowd again.

"There's always a first time for everything," Reon smiled.

Semi rolled his eyes but kept a lookout, scanning his surroundings, sometimes going on his tiptoes to peek over the heads of the crowd. Sendai stadium was very busy today. Many came to see one of the biggest showdowns many had been waiting for; the Schweiden Alders Vs the Black Jackals. The Schweiden Alders were a strong team, many of its players even playing on the international stage. Players like Ushijima Wakatoshi and Kageyama Tobio for instance.

It had been years since the days in high school. Both Semi and Reon were fully employed and enjoyed this weekend off in their city. The stadium was a familiar sight for them. What wasn't familiar was the sheer amount of people, all of them packed up in warm clothing. The match had been hugely advertised on sports channels and magazines with many people coming from all corners of the country to see it in the stadium. That included Semi and Reon, only that one person was still missing.

"I see her," Reon suddenly said and waved.

The woman he waved at spotted them, smiled and approached them, her short brown curls bouncing as she picked up the pace. She carried a heavy load of one backpack while tugging two small children along with her, both also carrying their own backpacks. It was Tamiko and as soon as she reached them she hugged her former teammates. She had been visiting her mother this week and didn't want to miss this match for the world.

"I'm so sorry we're late," she huffed. "I had to change two full nappies, again. I swear they did that on purpose. Right after I put on their jackets."

One of the children, the girl who was fully aware that her mother was talking about her and her sibling, grinned. Reon laughed. The other child, a boy, tightened his grip on his mother's hand, hiding behind it.

"That's motherhood for you," Reon said.

"Tell me about it," she sighed. "But we're working on using the potty."

"Reon," the little girl said, lifting up both of her arms.

He understood her gesture immediately and picked her up, holding her above his head for a moment. She giggled when Reon tickled her neck.

"Hey, little man," he greeted the boy next to Tamiko's legs. "You look more like your dad every day."

"We see papa now?" the boy asked.

"Yes, we are going to see papa play. Uncle Tobio will be there too," Tamiko told him.

"Yay, uncle Tobio," the little girl clapped.

"Let's go find our seats before we freeze," Semi urged.

The small group headed into the stadium with a great mass of people. They walked past the court on which the match would be held. Everything was buzzing with excitement and anticipation. There they also passed all of the food stands but there was one certain one she wanted to go to.

"Pack up 4 please, Samu-kun," Tamiko said to the man at the stand.

"They're on me," Osamu grinned and handed her the bag. "They are made after your suggestion as well."

"Are they now?"

"Yeah, they are a hit as well," he revealed. "Thanks again."

Since he had started his business they both had exchanged recipes many times. Their friendship had blossomed greatly over the years, still he was very overwhelmed when she offered him the title of godfather for one of her kids. It had already overwhelmed him and his brother as well when they learned that Tamiko had twins. Over the last two years he has gotten used to it. He lifted his fist to her son.

"How ya doing, kiddo?" he asked.

Her son bumped his small fist against his godfather's and grinned. Tamiko enjoyed these moments. It was also a bridge between the two teams. Since Osamus's brother was playing for the Black Jackals and her own brother was playing for the Schweiden Adler's there was always a strong truce when the two families met in privat. Atsumu and Tobio always had friendly contests out in the backyard yard. Since both were setter's they always wanted to see who had the best aim. What made it worse was that when her husband tried to break it up he usually ended up joining them.

When they finally reached their seats Tamiko took off the twins' jackets, hats and scarfs as well as her own.

"I see that you're all dressed for the occasion as well," Semi noted.

All three of them wore the white jersey's of the Schweiden Adler team although the children's jersey's were a little too long, almost like a dress. The name of their father was printed on the back in big letters.

"Yeah, but the jersey's don't come in their size," she sighed and adjusted the jersey on her son.

"They'll grow into them in no time, " Reon said.

Just to make sure Tamiko checked the children's nappies and was glad not to find another nasty surprise in there. The stadium did provide areas to change nappies but she didn't want to miss a single second of this match. Ushijima and her brother had talked about nothing else all week. Hinata had returned from Brazil and he would be a starting player in his first match with the Black Jackals. The lights suddenly dimmed and her daughter flinched and grabbed onto her. To reassure her that nothing bad was happening she stroked her daughter's head. This was the first time she had taken them to a match of the Schweiden Adler's so all the sounds were new to them.

"Ladies and gentlemen," the announcer spoke. "Welcome to the 2018-19 Season V. League Division 1 Schweiden Adler's home game, here in the Sendai Arena."

This time both twins were overwhelmed by the noise. Both blocked their ears with their little hands. Tamiko kissed her daughter's head but kept her eyes on the court.

"Now to introduce your Schweiden Adlers' starting lineup," he said. "No. 2 the team captain. Hirugami Fukuro."

The man jogged onto the court, waving at the crowd. His face, name and number was also shown on a gigantic screen for everyone to see. This was done to every player but Tamiko was waiting for two certain people.

"No. 11! Ushijima Wakatoshi!" came the announcement.

"There is papa," her daughter suddenly pointed at the screen. "Papa is so big."

Tamiko smiled and hugged her daughter a little tighter. Yes, Ushijima Wakatoshi was the father of her twins and her husband. A little over two years ago she had busted him out of a training session over the phone when the pregnancy test came back positive. None of them had expected it at all so both were terrified, happy yet terrified. There was no morning sickness either so until the gynecologist confirmed it all she was a little skeptical. Both her own and his mother had given their full support, although Mrs Ushijima was rather shocked that it happened before they were married. Never had Tamiko been so starstruck by Ushijima Wakatoshi. She knew how impactful he could be, she had witnessed it in their high school days, but what he said to his mother back then was on a whole new level.

"We will marry, mother," he had told her, his voice hard. "When the time is right and that's for us to decide."

It was as if she was falling in love all over again. She was pulled out of her job immediately for paid leave since it was dangerous for her unborn twins to be exposed to child illnesses. And so she tried to keep to her doctor's guidelines, which shifted gear since she was carrying twins. The mother of the Miya twins had been very frequently used for advice. After all, she had given birth and raised a pair of twins herself. While she was pregnant Ushijima tried his hand at cooking from time to time and he got better the more he tried. He immediately didn't let her do any heavy lifting in the house. The grocery shopping he did himself and Tamiko rolled her eyes every time he took over.

„I'm pregnant, not sick," she had told him multiple times, but as time went on and her belly grew in size, she was glad that he was so supportive.

The birth was also a big moment for the both of them. From then on, they weren't a couple anymore. They were a family. It took a while to adjust to it all. The two newborns didn't have a personality. They couldn't laugh, only looked around, had occasional hiccups, slept a lot and cried when the diapers were full or their bellies were empty. Tamiko also had to recover from the birth, which took a few weeks. As time passed, it all got easier and harder.

The twins began to develop into two different people. The girl was loud and laughed a lot. She crawled everywhere first, put everything in her mouth, ate everything she was given. Her brother was the opposite. He took his time, followed his sister around, watched her until she had tried something before trying it himself. At the wedding both of the twins walked with them down the aisle, having learned how to walk just in time for the ceremony.

Now the twins were two years old and watching their first match live. Until now she had stayed at home with them, watching the matches on TV. This time they were in the stadium and also tried to wave to their father, who stood on the court before them. They waited a little more and another player her children knew walked onto the court.

"No. 20! Kageyama Tobio!" The announcer spoke.

"Uncle Tobio," her son squeaked and pointed at the screen.

"Yes, well done," she smiled and squeezed her son's hand.

It was always a sight to behold when her little brother stood on the court, holding the hand of a rather excited child for the anthem. Having your own niece and nephew around was always different. The same could be said for Ushijima. No matter what kind of child he would escort onto the court, it's always different when it's your own child.

"Check out Wakatoshi," Semi laughed.

"Don't look so stern Wakatoshi," Reon shouted and then turned to Tamiko. "Isn't he used to holding hands with a kid?"

"There is a big difference between a big middle school kid and a two year old who has short legs."

"That's fair," he said. "But you're going to be big and strong like your dad, right kid?"

The little boy on Reon's lab looked up to him and stretched his short arms up above his own head. He frowned a little, looking rather serious.

"Big like papa," he agreed.

"Me too," his sister added, who had copied him with raising her arms.

"Yes, both of you will grow big and strong," Tamiko agreed.

Semi and Reon grinned at her and Semi was about to start a new conversation when an old man approached them. To everyone's surprise it was coach Washijo who had decided to watch Hinata's debut after his 2 year stay in Brazil. It had been his idea after all. Now he wanted to see results. He was surprised to see only three of his former students at the match. They explained that the others were occupied elsewhere and couldn't come.

"So, you're Ushijima Tamiko now, am I correct?" coach Washijo grinned. "I never had the chance to congratulate you two. Looks like you two went down to business as well."

"You could say that," Tamiko said and laughed.

She introduced her twins to the coach who, like many others, noticed the boys resemblance to his father. He even went so far as to make her promise to send the boy to Shiratorizawa academy when he was old enough.

"Don't make me promise things I can't keep, coach," she said.

Coach Washijo grinned and joined them at their seats with his wife. The announcers now introduced the players a little more. They had a lot to say about Hinata, since he replaced a reliable player on his team. Nobody had seen Hinata play before so he wasn't only new to the audience. Both Ushijima and Kageyama had both always speculated over the last few weeks how Hinata could have progressed. One thing they both agreed on; he was probably faster than ever. Tamiko herself couldn't wait to see his phenomenal jump again. There must also be

All the players were now ready and lined up on the court. Silence filled the stadium. It was her brother's serve and even the announcers had mentioned how terrifying his serves could be. But Tamiko knew her brother. She knew where he would put his aim. In her excitement she began to massage her daughter's small hands. The whistle sounded and Tobio tossed the ball into the air, spread his arms back and jumped.

It happened very quickly. The serve flew past the players with blinding speed but one person was faster. Hinata caught the ball with ease and sent it up for Miya to set. And then it came. Three blockers against Hinata who readied himself for the jump. But to no avail. Hinata seemed to fly above the block as he sent the ball back over the net into the furthest corner of the court. All were stunned with silence as the echo of the ball hitting the floor traveled through the stadium.

"I'm here," Hinata shouted.

"Welcome home," came an answer from different corners of the stands.

Tamiko leaned over to coach Washijo and whispered.

"You did it coach. You created another monster."

Both smirked at each other. The game went on with Bokuto hyping up the audience only for his serve to be saved by Hoshiumi. Ushijima jumped by the net, spiking the ball with such a force that it could not be saved. The libero of the Black jackals kneeled on the floor, his arms stinging with pain. The stadium erupted in cheers.

"Boom goes Japan's canon, Ushijima Wakatoshi!" the announcer shouted.

Tamiko smiled to herself as she listened to coach Washijo commenting on his former player. Everyone had improved and again, coach Washijo and Tamiko were keen to see what else Hinata was hiding. Then it was time for Hinata to serve. Tamiko realised only afterwards that she had held her breath during his jump serve even though he hit an out. That guy really had mystery on his side. Only the Black Jackals knew what he was capable of now, nobody else. And so far it was a little frightening how much he had grown. Reon and Semi also noticed his immense growth but there was one aspect that Semi failed to spot on his own.

"What do you mean he's acting as a decoy?" he asked.

"Didn't you see," Reon wondered. "He left the space in front of himself wide open to bait the spiker into the spike he wanted."

"Back in the day he already acted as a decoy to fool blockers," Tamiko remembered. "Now the spikers are also his victims."

"That's nasty," Semi grinned.

"This is the world of professionals," she told him. "They are all nasty."

The game went on with one surprise after the other. Tamiko had watched nearly all of her husband's matches but this one was the most anticipated one. Even though he had gone to bed at the same time as the kids he kept tossing and turning a lot in his sleep. In the morning he was still plagued by deep thoughts. Now he was so focused on the match that Tamiko could sense it from a distance.

"Looks like Toshi-kun is all fired up," Tamiko noted.

"You can tell that from this distance?" Reon asked.

"I married that volleyball freak," she told him. "Of course I can tell."

"Why did I even ask," he chuckled.

A loud smack brought their attention back to the game and the crowd went wild.

"Wakatoshi!" Semi bellowed next to her, smacking the plastic battens together.

"Papa scored?" her son asked.

"Yes, papa scored a point," she answered.

She ruffled up her son's hair. The third set came close to the end with the Black Jackals being one point away from a set victory. Everyone was on the edge of their seat, watching as the ball kept going from one side to the other. Players shouted, spiked, saved and kept going. It was a long hustle when Hinata got the ball to spike. With a tremendous force he spiked the ball past the lone blocker and to the ground. The stadium erupted in thunderous cheers.

"He what?" Semi squealed. "Did he just?"

"He spiked with his left," Tamiko gasped.

"Not only that. It was a very powerful spike," Reon noticed. "He could've smashed through a block."

"Amazing," Tamiko shook her head in awe. "Simply amazing. He's come so far."

The fourth and last set was just as nerve tingling as the others. Every score made, every play performed sent cheers through the crowd. It was a shame that the little twins were too young to understand what was happening. They had also started to lose interest in the match by now. Keeping both occupied while simultaneously watching the match was rather difficult yet the atmosphere could still be felt by her. Especially when the Black jackals scored the last point.

"Ladies and gentlemen, what a match. The Black jackals take that win home!" the announcer cheered.

"Waaaa, my heart rate," Tamiko huffed.

The men with her laughed. As the two opposing teams thanked each other for the match, the stadium began to empty slowly. Many fans walked down to the court to wait for autographs. Tamiko always had to smile when she saw her brother signing jerseys and posters. She herself stayed in her seat and offered the twins a little snack.

"We'll wait for you," Semi said.

"I still can't believe the Schweiden Adler's lost," Reon noted.

"I had a hitch when I saw Hinata that this might get very exciting. He actually pulled it through with Brasil," she laughed.

"Weren't you present when that decision was made?"

"Yeah, Hinata and his coach were asking around for connections and of course coach Washijo knew a former student who switched from indoor to beach. The only thing was that he was in Rio."

"Crazy stuff," Reon huffed.

After a few minutes the twins were done with their snack, happily downing water from their cartoon covered bottles. Taking both by their hands she walked her twins with Semi and Reon down to the court of the arena. There were still fans around, waiting for autographs from their favourite players. Tamiko had to smile with pride every time she saw her little brother sign t-shirts or cards for children who were excited to stand close to him. But there were not only fans gathering at the edge of the court.

"Hey, aren't you Kageyama's sister?" came a voice from behind.

She turned around to see a group of young adults standing beside her. It took her a moment but she recognised them after a few replays in her mind. There Karasuno's third years had also come to Sendai stadium. All of them looked older and more mature. Somehow she felt honoured to be recognised by them.

"The Karasuno team," she said.

"It's good to see you, Kageyama-san," Yachi said.

"I'm not a Kageyama anymore," Tamiko grinned.

The group glanced down at the twins who still held onto her hands. They immediately greeted the kids, especially Karasuno's former setter Sugawara. He was now an elementary school teacher and was already striking up a conversation with her daughter. Tamiko also learned that Kiyoko had married Tanaka. The former three managers were also drowning in catching up with one another. Since Tamiko had done the seeds for the Shiratorizawa Training Camp it had been an annual event that all teams in the prefecture looked forward to. Tamiko and Yachi had exchanged a lot of words with each other back then. But there were a few things that weren't exchanged since they followed different paths.

"Wow, your son looks so much like Ushijima. Is he your husband?" Yachi asked.

Tamiko nodded and looked around to spot said husband signing autographs for fans.

"Papa!" the little girl shouted.

As if on cue, Ushijima walked up to the small crowd. Reon and Semi greeted him with open arms and even the Karasuno third years said hello. At first they were making big eyes when Ushijima picked up the little girl and put an arm around Tamiko's shoulder, giving her a kiss on the temple but then they remembered. Daichi congratulated him on becoming a father.

"It must be a lot of work having two kids at once," Asahi noted.

"They keep you on your toes," Ushijima agreed and brushed a strand of hair behind his daughter's ear.

"Papa you lost," she said.

"Yes, I lost," he told her. "But I will win next time."

"But papa had a lot of fun, didn't he," Tamiko said.

"Did you?" his daughter asked.

"Yes I did," he answered.

"You stink, papa," she said. "Go shower."

Everyone who heard her comment laughed and Ushijima placed his daughter back on her feet, looking rather dejected by her comment. He was about to turn to head towards the player exit when his daughter and his son held onto one of His legs each, clinging on like little koalas.

"No papa, stay," his daughter ordered.

Both kids giggled when, despite the order, Ushijima kept on walking. Since they were so light he could lift his legs with ease much to the joy of his twins. The others watched on as Ushijima waded around in circles. They were soon joined by Tobio, Hinata, Yamaguchi and Tsukki. Yachi and her fellow Karasuno classmates greeted them with open arms. Sugawara pounced on the opportunity to get an autograph from both of his former first year teammates. Both obviously obliged with Hinata even writing a heartfelt message on his card.

That's when Hinata noticed Ushijima with the twins on his legs. Both kids were still laughing with delight and Hinata got curious. He poked Tobio'she arm to get his attention and pointed at Ushijima.

"Ushijima-san has kids?" he asked.

"Yeah, my sister has a lot of work with the twins," Kageyama answered.

"You're the uncle?" Hinata asked him.

"Yes," he confirmed.

"Uncle Tobio," Hinata giggled.

"Hey Shoyo-kun," Tamiko said when she approached him.

"Hello, Kageya… oh wait you're Ushijima-san now, aren't you?"

"Yeah, but you can call me Tamiko," she grinned. "How was Brazil?"

"Amazing," he said. "I met a lot of amazing people."

"Even Oikawa," she noted. "I saw the photo. What a crazy coincidence."

"Yeah, but we had a lot of fun." Hinata grinned again, rubbing the back of his head.

"And I saw you learned a lot."

"You noticed?" Hinata's eyes began to sparkle.

"Believe me, everyone noticed."

"He wouldn't be our starting player if he didn't," came a voice from behind him.

Miya Atsumu and a few other Black Jackal players had joined them. It turned into a big reunion that was soon broken up by some staff who wanted to clean the court. And so they all agreed to meet again outside in the back of the stadium. Sugawara kept the twins occupied while all the non-players waited in the back. After a while they were all out and conversing again when one person suggested going for drinks. Tamiko used that opportunity to say goodbye to them all.

"Are you gonna tag along with us, Tamiko-san?" Yachi asked.

"I'm afraid I have to pass on that. The twins need a bath before dinner."

"Noooo," they groaned.

"We talked about this, you two," Tamiko frowned and kneeled down to them. "We would watch papa and uncle Tobio play, say hello to everyone and then go to grandma for a bath and dinner."

Both pouted but took her hand. She said her goodbyes and briefly spoke with Ushijima.

"Have fun," Tamiko said and kissed Ushijima on the lips. "I will see you later."

Ushijima nodded, said his goodbyes to his kids and they went their separate ways. Soon the three of them returned to the old Kageyama household. Shiyori, who was now married to Ushijima's father, still lived there, although occasionally Takashi returned to America to work. When Takeshi proposed at a family dinner it sparked a very lengthy discussion. Not because of their love per se but because of the family relations. Tamiko had been 5 months pregnant at the time and she couldn't picture what the child would see Takeshi as. Wouldn't he be a double grandfather? Wouldn't it confuse the child immensely? In the end Takeshi solved the problem with a simple statement.

"I never raised you, so I am not your father, but Wakatoshi's," he said.

So he was the grandfather on the father's side. The twins never questioned it, but they were still a little too young to talk about family. They called him 'grandpa' and that was good enough for them. Grandpa Takeshi was always a lot of fun. The daughter especially loved to toss the volleyball back and forth. Her brother preferred kicking the ball around. During dinner the twins almost fell asleep while eating, much to the amusement of their grandmother.

"Oh my, they must be so exhausted from today," Shiyori smiled.

Tamiko decided to bath them in the morning instead and took them upstairs. While Tobio's old room had become an office Tamiko's old room had been converted to a guest bedroom and since the twins had been born, Shiyori had always made sure that they had a good space for them to sleep. The air mattress was the twin's favourite. It was especially made for younger kids, the edges had a raised wall so they wouldn't fall out while they slept. After she changed the nappies and clothes they were placed onto the bed on the floor, sleeping soundly. She helped her mother clean the kitchen and then headed out again. The bar where everyone had gathered wasn't that far away and as soon as she stepped through the door she was spotted.

"Ayooooo," came a shout. "Mrs. Ushijima is in the house!"

"Thank you for the warm welcome, Sugawara-kun."

She walked over to the big group of men, with two small women amongst them. Ushijima was seated by his teammates next to his brother-in-law. When she reached him she laid her arm around his shoulder.

"Are the kids sleeping?" he asked.

"Yeah. Mum is taking care of them," she told him and kissed the top of his head again, his hair tickling her nose. "How much beer have you had?"

"Two so far," he said.

"You forgot the whiskey we all had," Bokuto shouted across the table.

"From the looks of it you all had some whiskey," she noted.

"Maybeeeee," Hinata grinned.

Everyone laughed and after a new round of drinks was arranged, including one for Tamiko, they all smashed their glasses together. The evening turned into night and the Ushijima couple was the first to leave. When they returned home Shiyori was already in bed, which they also decided to do. Once they were both done in the bathroom they quietly sneaked into the guestroom where the twins were still sleeping. Tucked into bed they cuddled a little.

"Did they take long to fall asleep?" he asked with a whisper.

"Yes, it didn't take very long either," she said. "They are very tired from today. The stadium was big and loud. They were overwhelmed as always."

"They will get used to it," he noted.

"I know they will," she argued. "But I don't want them to be exposed to such a noise level all the time. It's not good for their ears."

"Then watch the match on TV," he offered.

Tamiko pouted, stating that seeing her husband play before her in the stadium was much more enjoyable than watching it on TV. He smiled and rolled on his side to face her.

"Coach also wanted me to promise we would send the kids to Shiratorizawa academy when they're older," she told him.

He hummed.

"That sounds good."

"Don't you think moving back to Sendai for this is a bit too much?"

"I can make the trips back to Tokyo," he said. "And I think your mother would enjoy being close to the kids."

"Good point," she agreed. "I guess we'll just have to wait and see."

He glanced over to her, smiled and placed an arm around her to pull her closer. He placed a kiss against her temple and repeated her words.

"We'll just have to wait and see."

So finally, after all those years, this concludes the story I wanted to tell. But life goes on and maybe if I have the time I'll post the new saga at some point. After all, just like Tamiko I'm also a mum now. Our little girl was born back in 2022 and is keeping me (and my husband) very busy. Anyway, now the story is officially over. I hope you all enjoyed it and yes, I still read E.V.E.R.Y. S.I.N.G.E.L. comment you guys make ;)