Haikyuu!
Pairing: Kageyama x Sugawara Summary: Sugawara's advices are always therapeutic. Or at least Kageyama thinks so.
Rating: T
A/N: This took me awhile because I'm really not used to writing like this but I gave in because I still need more practice and don't mind me, I'm just blessing the virtual world with KageSuga goodness.
P.S: Loads of thank you's and Kenma&Suga dolls to Zeriku, for taking the time and patience to bear with my stress (and pain), beta-ing my fic and for also being a great sis.
For him, volleyball has always had a flexible rhythm to it whenever the players take their positions in court, which he likens to a stage. By being the center, Kageyama Tobio draws out the potential of his teammates with an invisible baton. Moving it in a way that only he can do, Kageyama then weaves their performance into one that inches closer to having a near perfect balance.
After all, an orchestra cannot perform in harmony without its conductor.
He hears the praises and compliments of the upperclassmen after a turn, though unlike in the past, he isn't the only one that has caught their undivided attention.
Number 10, the numbers imprinted at the back of the player's shirt that's currently known as the strongest decoy in Karasuno. He has the capability to defend unguarded spaces, rushing in with great speed and making powerful jumps during offense and defense which has earned him this title. Everyone acknowledges this as one of Karasuno's special trump card.
Kageyama thinks so, too, once he sends the ball flying.
He rolls the ball between his hands before tossing it unhurriedly, trying to push away the thoughts that's clouding his mind. He doesn't want anything to ruin his concentration during practice, not to mention that he has enough problems as a high school student to deal with.
Unfortunately, the feeling gradually morphs into a dire ache somewhere deep in his stomach.
For once, he contemplates on whether he has changed or not.
"It will be fine." Sugawara Koushi's encouraging words break through his thoughts, their purpose to raise Karasuno's morale.
Despite being a bench warmer, Sugawara manages to come up with an idea on how to put the pieces together. A plan on how to cleverly counter their opponent. Straightforwardly, he also reminds everyone that they shouldn't be easily swayed by what's in front of them. After their struggles to gain a point in every practice matches, they had dealt it with a good, strong play and fair teamwork.
While the flow of the game didn't seem to fall in their grasp, the third year setter was able to set up the proper right tempo of their players in his own style then winds it down in exact timing, delivering the game at a much better pace of employed defectless attacks until Karasuno swipes the mantel under their opponent. Kageyama recalls his fists tightened in excitement as they'd finally regain the tide of the set in their favor. Being close enough to the boundary line, he can sense everyone's trust as they follow the keen, snapping movements of Sugawara's fingertips hidden from the eyes of the opposite side, laying out his visual cues in different directions for their next move.
Kageyama doesn't know how to approach a situation properly. Proven by those taken into account as the ones he'd find annoying, read: Hinata's impeccable energy or the witty insults by Tsukishima, and the rest in the list of anything that his short temper wouldn't be able to tolerate.
He is known for not stepping down on his current level just for his teammates to be able to keep up with him, which is the exact opposite of Karasuno's Sugawara Koushi.
Kageyama is standing outside the third floor's classroom, not bothering to make eye contact with anyone while a few of the juniors stare at him with inquiry. He persistently ignores their whispers connected to his "title" as he waits patiently.
He hears a couple of footsteps from inside the room.
Upon seeing the familiar faces of two seniors, the tension seeps out of the first year's body. He moves closer to them, capturing the attention of his vice-captain first who in turn blinks at him in surprise. This also piques the curiosity of the one beside him.
Daichi Sawamura follows Suga's gaze and is a little bit surprised to see who it is that's standing outside their classroom. "Kageyama?" he asks. Beside him, Sugawara watches the conversation silently, probably wondering why Kageyama's paid them an unexpected visit. "What're you doing here? There's no afternoon club practice today."
Kageyama starts as Daichi stands before him with his arms crossed over his chest. " I'm actually here to ask..." He tries to meet Sugawara's eyes while the two are waiting for him to continue, not to mention Daichi's presence makes it rather difficult for Kageyama to say what he wants to say. In the end, he mutters, "a...favor.."
On cue, Sugawara nudges Daichi at the stomach with his elbow before he can ask. Daichi gives him a confused look, not quite getting what Suga wants him to do. Suga inclines his head to the direction of the room, something that Daichi processes for a bit before finally getting what he's being asked of. Though he's curious as to what the conversation will be, he allows the Karasuno setters to have their privacy, walking back into the room with the intent to ask Suga about it later.
As soon as Daichi is out of earshot, the freshman leads him outside school grounds. During the walk, Sugawara ponders on what this is all about and comes to two conclusions: it either is linked to the possibility of Kageyama having some trouble on hand setting or yet another misunderstanding between the oddball duo on who gets to have the last nikuman.
They take a spot at one of the cemented seats that was near the gym's closed entrance. No one is around, save for them, since there aren't any club meetings for the day. It is just what they needed to finally have their talk.
He allows Kageyama to speak first, except he hasn't been saying anything ever since they arrived so the older of the two breaks the silence. "What's this all about, Kageyama?"
"...I was hoping if you could help me with…" Kageyama pauses, fidgeting in his seat and before continuing, "direct communication."
Sugawara doesn't say a word at first, too busy marveling at the sight of Kageyama's embarrassed face. He finds something quite endearing about his whole expression.
"You seem to be alright in doing it right now…?"
"You know what I mean, Suga-san."
Sugawara fails to hide his amused grin, deciding not to press further of what's really troubling the freshman.
1. Maintain direct eye contact.
"Body language is extremely important," Sugawara explains, slightly leaning forward as he faces Kageyama with a smile. "However, the key in communication is to not just listen to them with your ears. Making eye contact is another benefit, which helps in building excellent rapport and connection."
"Is it really necessary?" Kageyama asks under the other setter's gaze, not feeling too keen at the topic of their first lesson.
"Well," Sugawara says, putting his hands together and tilting his head to the right. Sugawara prides himself in being able to get a sense of what the other party's feeling just by looking in their eyes. Now, sitting in front of Kageyama. He smiles to himself as he thinks that, despite his holier-than-thou attitude, Kageyama is practically like an open book. "It is, if you're really willing to let them trust you."
In a mighty leap, Asahi Azumane spikes the ball back over the other side of the net with the strength of a true ace. This effectively reminds Kageyama of the power that is hidden inside someone that's often misunderstood due to their intimidating appearance.
Asahi stammers, "I-Is something wrong?"
He gets the feeling akin to chills when he catches the passive look of his teammate. Why is Kageyama glancing at him in that way? Is it because he jumped a little too early? Or maybe some of his hits had a second of delay? Nevertheless, he can't really tell what the actual problem is. "Sorry, Kageyama. Perhaps I should have moved further back since I got too close to the net...?" he tells the setter, uncertainty emanating from him in waves.
Kageyama isn't sure what he was on about. It's not likely for Asahi to apologize to him out of the blue, moreover he hasn't even done anything wrong at all. Unless, he scared unintentionally at one of his first year classmates.
He flinches, seeing the fearful glance from his senpai. The atmosphere between them suddenly shifts to an uneasy one and Kageyama never gets the chance to say something that could comfort a man who is pulling off a hurtful puppy-like look back at him.
2. Use silence.
"I think it would be preferable if you let the others have some time to think." Sugawara suggests, the second part of their one-on-one session. "This way, you'll be able to encourage them in conveying their thoughts back to you as you show them your understanding and support as a team player through silence."
Tanaka gets riled up when the ball comes within his range. Without fail, he delivers a hard spike, sending the ball back in one swift motion to the other side of the court as he lands with a loud squeak of his sneakers against the wooden floor. He scoffs out a thunderous laugh when he scores a perfect hit.
This energy of his proves to be very useful once put in the game since no one will be able to calm the fired up "buzz cut" player down. Though there are times when Tanaka will take off his shirt and whirl it around wildly in the air when he gets too carried away, much to his team's embarrassment.
Hinata darts right past Kageyama quickly to get closer to Tanaka. Kageyama can sense the obvious glee in the ginger's steps.
"Tanaka-san!" Hinata squeals with arms raised. "That was so cool!" Being the enthusiastic person that he is, Hinata's eyes shine brightly at the displayed confidence of their wing spiker.
Hinata's overflowing excitement prompts Tanaka to let out another boisterous laugh. He loves how much of an inspiration he can be to his little kouhai.
"Oi Shouyou!" Tanaka shouts, "Don't forget to address me as 'Tanaka-senpai'!"
"Yes, Tanaka-senpai!"
His heart skipped a beat just by the mention of his name with the proper honorific. "One more time Shouyou!"
"Tanaka-senpai!"
Out of the loop, Kageyama stares blankly at their energetic exchange.
3. Humor.
"No," is Kageyama's answer.
Sugawara's lips curl down in a plaintive frown, though he isn't exactly angry. He also doesn't back down easily, especially when he knows that nothing can go wrong if Kageyama will just try his best in giving a good laugh.
"Not even a smile?" Kageyama responds at his request in a slow shake of his head. Sugawara tries not to force Kageyama to his selfish demands. He can sympathize with the young one's innocence if he really doesn't want to, and yet he still encourages. "I'm sure it's not that bad."
Terrifying.
Absolutely terrifying, is what runs through Shouyou's mind.
"Wha-What's that look for?!" Hinata eyes Kageyama suspiciously, goosebumps crawling on his skin at the very moment his classmate directs one of his trademark killer (literally) smiles to him. Without thinking of the consequence, he chuckles and says, "You look stupid."
A vein pulses at his temple as Kageyama's smile falters into an instant feline glare. With no hesitation, Kageyama spikes the ball directly to the ginger's head, eliciting a pained yelp. From where he's standing, Tanaka jokingly signals for the end of the set while the so-called king of the court wins by default. The remaining upperclassmen think that saving Hinata or stopping Kageyama from his rampage isn't really such a good idea.
Carrying the responsibility of being the team's 'parent', Daichi steps up to the two and tries to put an end to their childish quarrel before their team receives an automatic violation.
4. Sharing perceptions.
Seeing the unsatisfied look that Kageyama's been harboring for a long while, a heavy sigh pushes past Sugawara's lips. "Have you ever thought of giving up this position?"
This catches Kageyama off guard completely. His immediate reply is a quiet look that clearly says 'no' to Sugawara. Before he can even speak, Kageyama goes still due to the intensity of Sugawara's stare, giving him the feeling that the other setter can see straight through him and is currently carefully reading the words on his face that he's about to say.
"You love volleyball as much as being a setter, then."
It's more of a statement than a question. Despite Kageyama's silence, it's almost as if he's already able to figure Kageyama out.
"With that kind of mindset, you think that would stop you from trying?" Sugawara asks, placing a hand on top of Kageyama's.
Even if he isn't really smiling, Kageyama can feel the warmth of a ghostly smile on the older boy's face.
One by one the people from the side bench stands up eagerly at the return of their victorious club representatives. Kageyama tenses a bit, tearing his eyes away from deep brown ones. Different congratulatory and short speeches are given to each player around him, though he hears none of them as he struggles not to look back, in hope that it isn't that strange of him to be staring in a daze.
"You did great, Kageyama!"
As he had expected, Kageyama cannot keep his gaze long away from those deep brown eyes. His navy-colored eyes snap up almost instinctively, meeting Sugawara's eyes which, he muses, are much closer and appealing than they were a few minutes ago. He blushes lightly then, the heat from his cheeks travelling far deeper than it should when he realizes that he is suddenly unable to form a coherent sentence. In the end, all he manages is a feeble, "T-Thanks…"
"No, I really mean it..." Sugawara gives Kageyama a gentle pat on the back. "You really did great," Sugawara repeats, smiling brightly. He isn't only referring to this game that they just won, but he's confident that Kageyama knows that, too.