A Sempai's Gotta Take Care of His Kohai!

For HQ Rare Pairs

Nishinoya Yuu wasn't sure what other high school volleyball club practices looked like, or sounded like for that matter. But at Karasuno, they sounded something like screeching shoes on polished floors, like raucous calls for sets and spikes, like the solid low octave thwak of a good receive, and the hollow mid-tone smack of a successful power spike. They felt like bruised wrists, burning lungs, stinging palms, and trembling legs past their limit to stand and yet still jumping, still lunging, still diving for the stray ball. It was invigorating. It was the kind of blood pumping, heart pounding, breathtaking feeling of being alive. And it was something they could all share. The frustration of not being good enough. The desire to improve. The motivation to run yourself into the ground for a split second faster, or a millimetre higher. It was something that everyone there could understand. And yet sometimes it seemed like not everyone could.

"Where the heck do you think you're looking? Don't receive the ball with your face stupid Hinata!"

"It's not like I'm trying to BaKageyama!"

"What was that?"

"Bleh!"

"Now now you two," Sugawara stepped in. "Kageyama, I'm sure Hinata's trying. His receives have gotten a lot better. Yelling at him isn't going to help."

"I know that!" Kageyama bristled, pausing to calm himself. "I know that."

"Alright, that's enough for today, wrap it up!"Ukai called walking into the gym. "There's no practice tomorrow, so rest up, training hell starts again Monday morning at five. We have a lot to work on and not a lot of time to do it, so we have to make the most of every second we have. You're all young and resilient, skip the videogames before bed and you'll have more than enough time to sleep before practice."

Nishinoya understood what Kageyama was thinking. He understood the frustration the first year setter must have been feeling. Hinata was talented, his potential outranked practically everyone on the team. But what Kageyama wanted was that highest potential Hinata to suddenly exist in work in progress Hinata. The ideal just wasn't matching up to the reality. His expectations were too high. Hinata would become great. He had the talent, he had the drive, and he had the strength and conviction to follow through. But he needed time to get there. And he needed support more than criticism.

Hinata was optimistic like nothing else, but that didn't mean he was immune to depression or insecurity. He didn't show it, but Nishinoya was well aware of the unsatisfied somber expressions that Hinata wore when he thought no one was looking. When everyone else was heading to the club room to change and go home for the night, Hinata's gaze would linger on the court. Kageyama could never understand the same frustration that Hinata felt. The pain of not being able to get your body to move the way you want it to. But Nishinoya knew that pain better than anyone. It's why he'd practiced block follows until he'd become a canvas of indigo splotches. The only way Hinata would get better was with practice. And what kind of sempai would he be, if he didn't help his adorable little kohai out?

"Hey Shouyou!"

"Nishinoya-sempai?"

"Have any plans for tomorrow?"

"Tomorrow?"

"Yeah, there's no club, but I can help you with your receives."

"Whaa! Really?"

"Hahaha of course! I'm you're sempai after all!" Nishinoya said puffing out his chest proudly.

"Nishinoya-sempai!" Hinata's eyes sparkled with admiration.

"So how's about it Shouyou?"

"Yeah!" Hinata said practically bounding with excitement, the earlier tint of depression completely abated.

"Tomorrow, we'll go to the community gym I practiced at when I was suspended. Then we can go for lunch, there's a great donburi place not too far from there. My treat!"

"You're the absolute best, Nishinoya-sempai!" Hinata grinned.

There it was. That blinding, happier than a kid in a candy store grin. Nishinoya grinned back. How he loved that expression.

"Then it's settled, I'll see you tomorrow Shouyou."

"Un, tomorrow!" Hinata jumped in excitement before running off.

"Nice to be going on a date on your day off, huh?"

Nishinoya practically jumped out of his skin, whirling to face Tanaka.

"Ryu! What are you still doing here?"

"I was waiting for you. Did you forget we were going to check out those old game vids my sis has?"

"Oh! Yeah, sorry," Nishinoya laughed, pausing as his brain caught up with what Tanaka had said. "And it's not a date!"

"Hmm~" Tanaka stared at Nishinoya unconvinced.

"I'm just helping Shouyou with his receives, that's all!"

"And going out to eat?"

"We go out to eat too."

"You've never offered to pay for me."

"You're not my kohai, why should I have to pay for you?"

"Okay, I'll rephrase. How about if it were Yamaguchi or Tsukishima? You buy Shouyou ice cream all the time, but have you ever bought them anything, oh great sempai?"

"Can you imagine Tsukishima even accepting anything I bought for him?" Nishinoya said with a huff. "Shouyou's cute and excitable like a puppy. He appreciates the gesture!"

"Uh huh."

"It does mean anything!"

"Uh huh."

"It's not a date!"

"Uh huh."

"Ryu!"

"Fine, whatever oh great and thoughtful sempai. You make sure and take good care of our precious little crow baby, or you know Suga and Daichi will be furious."

Nishinoya paled at the thought. Sugawara and Daichi were amazingly nice people most of the time, but he didn't even want to think about how scary it would be if anything happened to Hinata under his watch. Not that he would ever let anything bad happen to Hinata. Nor would he ever allow himself to become the cause of something bad happening to Hinata.

"Of course I'm going to look out for him! It's my duty as his sempai!"

Tanaka stared at his friend with a cocked brow before shaking his head, a heavy sigh of resignation draining from his fatigued post-practice form.

"Let's do the video thing another night, I'm wiped," Tanaka said yawning. "You have fun tomorrow on your not date."

Nishinoya watched after Tanaka as he headed for the gym door where his shoes were set just outside. It wasn't a date, he thought.

"Ah, Nishinoya-san, you're still here?"

"Sorry, I'm leaving now. See you Monday morning Takeda-sensei!" Nishinoya said before running past Karasuno's faculty advisor and out to the club room to change and grab his bag.

xXx

"Stupid Ryuu," Nishinoya grumbled as he headed to the station where he'd arranged to meet up with Hinata. All night he couldn't help thinking, but what if it was a date. It wasn't a date. It most definitely wasn't a date! But what if it was? Stupid thoughts like that had kept rolling around in his head all night and he'd barely gotten a wink of sleep because of it.

"Nishinoya-sempai!"

Nishinoya halted mid-stride, turning to see Hinata running towards him at full tilt, a bright smile stretched taught over his cheeks and eyes glimmering with boundless excited anticipation.

"Good morning Nishinoya-sempai!"

"Morning Shouyou! You're looking all rested, ready for this sempai's super intensive secret receive training?"

"Ooh!" Hinata gushed at the cool sounding name. "Yeah! I had rice with two eggs for breakfast!"

"Haha good! That's the spirit. Let's hurry up and get this make Kageyama eat his words plan in action!"

And so they went… and plan "make Kageyama eat his words through sempai's super intensive secret receive training" was underway. It had the makings to be a really solid plan, except stupid Tanaka and that irritatingly innocent word "date" that just kept resurfacing at the most inopportune of times. Like when Nishinoya was demonstrating a proper serve receive and ended up taking a page out of Hinata's book and got smacked in the face instead, for instance… Lucky for him, Hinata's serves weren't nearly as mortally wounding as Oikawa's or it might have caused a lot more damage than just knocking him off balance.

"Ghaa! Nishinoya-sempai!" Hinata's eyes widened in shock as he rushed around the net to his fallen sempai.

"Hahaha, sorry there Shouyou!" Nishinoya said jumping up and laughing it off. "I got a bit distracted just then."

Hinata frowned.

"Nishinoya-sempai."

"Yeah? What is it Shouyou?"

"I'm sorry."

"Huh?"

"It's because you came to spend today with me, to help me get better… But you probably would have rather doing something else on a rare day off like this."

Nishinoya was taken aback by the dejected expression.

"No Shouyou! You got it wrong! I wasn't distracted because I don't want to be here!"

"But since earlier, you look like you haven't slept, you keep staring at me, and you make mistakes that you would normally never make," Hinata said gaze falling. "If you were tired, you should have used today to properly rest, like coach said. I was happy that you invited me out today, but I'd still think you were a good sempai even if you didn't go so far for me."

"Shouyou, I-"

"We should call it a day," Hinata said looking up, a clearly forced smile having replaced the disappointed look he'd been sporting not a good minute ago. "You can go ahead sempai, I'll clean up the balls we used."

"Wait Shouyou, I don't want to go back yet!" Nishinoya said catching Hinata's wrist when he turned to go gather the balls. Brown eyes widened in shock and dismay when they beheld tears brimming in Hinata's eyes.

"Whaa! Don't look, it's not- I'm not crying! I just have something in my eye!"

"Shouyou? Did I- Is it my fault?"

"I said I'm not crying!" Hinata huffed, rubbing at his eyes with his free hand, jaw tight and lips pursed in a desperate bid to reign it in.

"You look ridiculous," Nishinoya deadpanned, expression softening as Hinata couldn't hold it anymore and openly sobbed.

"I didn't want to cause sempai trouble… b-but I was all guwahhh when you asked me out… because when I'm spending time with sempai I feel all zaaa-like… and I like spending time with sempai and… and… then you… and I hit you in the face with the volleyball! I'm sorry!"

"C-calm down Shouyou," Nishinoya said unsure of what to do and even less sure about what Hinata was saying in his teary blubbering. What the hell kind of feeling was "zaaa-like" anyway?

"B-but-"

"Just calm down, nothing is your fault. I was just thinking something stupid when I should have been concentrating. And for the record it had nothing to do with not wanting to be with you," Nishinoya said hesitantly patting Shouyou on the head like people often do to small children. It was totally not the time but he couldn't help the surprise at finding out how soft the spiky looking hair really was under his palm.

"Then why?" Hinata asked, sobs dying down to soft hiccups.

"I…"

Hinata looked at Nishinoya, amber eyes gleaming expectantly.

"I was thinking that I would like to do stuff with you other than volleyball practice sometimes too, that I would like to see more of you Shouyou."

"Stuff other than volleyball?"

"Yeah, like movies, or a game center, or something."

"Like a date?"

"Yeah, like a- Wait what?"

"Then ice cream right? Natsu said that's what she'd do on her perfect date."

"Natsu?"

"My little sister. She was going on about it the other day," Hinata said all trace of sadness going save for the streaks of dampness that still clung to his cheeks. "I think a date with Nishinoya-sempai would be fun."

Nishinoya's cheeks flushed an inhuman shade of red, the blush suffusing across his ears and down his neck.

"Do you even know what you're saying Shouyou?" Nishinoya squeaked.

"Yeah, after all a date is when you go and do a lot of fun things with someone you like!" Hinata grinned.

It wasn't the beaming grin of fiery excitement that Nishinoya was used to, but a sweet infectious smile that was soft and warm. It was something Nishinoya determined that he'd definitely like to see more of.

It hadn't been a date. He was just being a good sempai to his too adorable for words, ginger haired ball of sunshine. No, it wasn't a date. Not this time. But next time… Who knows?

End

A/N: So, there's this fun blog group on tumblr called Haikyuu Rare Pairs, which I somehow managed to gather my shit together and ask if I could write for them (I swear I'm so stupidly anxious and then when I talk to people they're all so nice I just want to cry). There are so many fun ideas bouncing around that group just waiting to become fics. I didn't really have a plan going in, just grab an idea I like and run with it. So I took the annon Nishinoya going on dates with Hinata under the guise of just being a good sempai as my first one since I've been wanting to write Nishinoya for awhile and just haven't gotten around to it. My take on it though, is Nishinoya's super clueless and probably didn't even realize it for himself the reason why he was always giving Hinata preferential treatment. So a little agonizing later, some misunderstandings, some tears, a couple volleyballs to the face for good measure and voila epiphany!

I had a lot of fun writing this one, so thanks annon and thanks hq rare pairs! Hope you like it!

Thanks as always for your time, all comments are very much welcomed and appreciated :)