Shōyō is five when his mother told him he was going to be a big brother.
He remembers the snow falling softly around him and his mother. It was the peak of winter and his mother had promised the let him play in the snow. On their way home, they had stopped by the bakery. His mother had decided to buy him a cupcake and as they continued home they watched as a pair of laughing siblings ran past them, their exasperated father chasing after them.
"How would you like to have a little sister, Sho?" His mother had asked, a small smile tugging at her lips.
"I want a little sister!" He had shouted, jumping with joy and nearly dropping his half-eaten cupcake.
It was the greatest thing he could receive! He'd be the best older brother! He'd show her how to play all kinds of games and show her all the cool things in the woods! He couldn't wait!
Chattering happily, he went back to his cupcake. In his rush he felt as one of the sprinkles fell off, looking down at it he finally noticed there were pink little stars adorning the white frosting. His smile grew wider at the sight of it. So that's why she got him the pink one even though his favorite color is yellow!
He looked up at his mom and said as much.
His mom smiled down at him laughing. She pinched his cheek softly and said in a teasing tone "you didn't even notice Shou"
Shōyō just grinned in return.
Natsu is born after Shōyō turns six.
It's late August and the afternoon has barely begun when Shōyō goes to visit his mother. He's holding his father's hand as they walk through the corridor. His excited chattered is only quelled by the silence surrounding him. Though it doesn't stop him from bouncing on his feet. As they reach the door his father looks down at him and smiles. His eyes land upon his mother, she's quietly talking to a bundle of blankets. When she looks up, she smiles at her husband and son and beckons them over quietly.
Inside the bundle of blankets is a baby.
For a few seconds Shōyō can't do anything but gape.
She's so small.
Slowly, he reaches out a finger and pokes her cheek. His dad looks worried as he does, seemingly torn between scolding him and letting him have this experience. His mom points that out to him, amusement heavy in her tone. She was always the more carefree of the two after all.
Shōyō simply continues to gently touch his new baby sister. She doesn't have a lot of hair, but just like him and his dad, the little strands are a bright orange. So far, she's yet to open her eyes and Shōyō wonders if she'll have the same eyes as him and mommy.
Eventually, he climbs up onto the bed and nestles into his mother's side, watching the little bundle of life that has been brought into this world. Before they know it, he falls asleep.
His father melts at the scene, and quietly asks a nurse to take a picture of the family.
Natsu starts learning how to walk and talk by the time she is one.
Shōyō feels immense joy when Natsu first starts walking.
When she first falls, she doesn't start crying like the other toddlers he's seen at the playground. Instead, she tries again. She doesn't quite manage for the first few weeks, taking small steps before losing balance. The real problem lies in standing back up when she has nothing to support her. As the greatest older brother ever, Shōyō decides it is his duty to help her out and proceeds to show her exaggerated movements on how to stand up without the use of a chair.
Somehow it ends up working.
Their mother stands watching over them in astonishment one day as Natsu manages to copy her brother's movements and stands up on her own.
It's the funniest thing she's ever seen but she's impressed nonetheless.
She smiles wide and gives them a round of applause and scoops them up in a proud hug. When she sets them down, she goes and retrieves her old medals and puts one around each of their necks. Natsu is easily enticed by the shiny surface and colorful band, Shōyō on the other hand is beaming with pride and laughter as he runs around shouting about his accomplishments.
Natsu shouts in surprise before trying to chase him. She doesn't make it too far for now but, she's determined.
When Natsu is four Shōyō teaches her how to play basketball.
In a fit of boredom, Natsu had usurped one of her older brother's many balls, opting to roll around on it rather than throwing it around. Natsu could hear her brother running around inside, she could faintly hear him shouting out a question to their mother. Moments later, he was bursting out into their small backyard. His eyes land on her small form. She's on her stomach, using her arms to guide the ball back and forth giggling as it rolls under her.
"Aha! Gimme back my basketball!" Shōyō shouts.
"No!" she replies quickly, curling up around the ball.
"Give it back Natsu!"
Shōyō throws himself on top of her and tries his best to pry her off. Natsu starts screaming angrily and does her best to further curl around the ball, effectively keeping the ball in her grip. This continues for half a minute before their mom comes out to stop them.
"Stop!" she commands.
Immediately, the two cease their squabbling. They give each other wary glances, afraid the other would take this chance to take the ball from the other. A look from their mother quickly sends them apart, leaving the ball between them. She very much resembles a stereotypical anime villain to the small children.
She stands on higher ground blocking the entrance, her black hair blowing in the spring breeze, with a sour expression on her face. She's currently armed with a pair of cooking chopsticks and an apron.
"Natsu, you've been laying on that ball for a while now, why don't you play with Shōyō instead?" Shōyō opens his mouth to protest only to be silence by a tight smile. "Why don't you show her how to play so you can both play with the ball?" She asks, though he knows it's a silent command to get along.
They both pout but agree nonetheless, least they face her wrath.
She smiles at them both and returns to the kitchen. Shōyō picks up the ball and starts showing Natsu how to dribble, albeit reluctantly at first. She's quick to pick up the movements, though she's needs both hands to keep a steady rhythm since her hands are still too small for the ball. Soon after the both of them are taking turns shooting the ball into an empty trash can. Shōyō gets more into the trash can compared to Natsu and he isn't above gloating about it.
"You're bad at this Natsu" He laughs.
She pouts at him and instead of aiming the ball towards the basket, throws it at his chest. It hits him dead on and he falls over with a loud 'GAH!'. He doesn't get the chance to retaliate, as their mother comes to gather them for dinner. She sticks her tongue out at him and he does the same.
For the sake of her sanity, their mother ignores them and instead greets her husband, who's just arrived from work.
Despite this, Shōyō keeps showing his sister all kinds of new sports after that and Natsu is always quick to pick up on the basics. She keeps her first love of basketball however, playing alone whenever her brother goes off to play with his friends. He's currently into soccer and has already told her the gist of the game, but the foot work is a bit too much for her. He bounces around sports until the latter half of his second year, showing Natsu each of them all the while. Then he comes home one day with a brilliant smile and a volleyball.
It's his first true love, and Natsu thinks it might be hers too.
Natsu meets her best friend at six.
She's starting at her new elementary and she's surrounded by kids she's never met before. There's a few familiar faces from her kindergarten and she's quick to stick to them; their familiarity comforting. The comfort is short lived as they all end up splitting up into different classrooms. As she makes her way to the classroom she can't help but look around and see who will be joining her as a classmate for the school year. She notices a pair of eyes staring at her. She shoots a small smile at them before they turn away. As she watches, they turn away to whisper to a kid standing to the side of them.
Natsu doesn't understand why she feels nervous when they both turn to look at her.
Instead, she starts to make conversation with the girl next to her. Her nerves settle as they start chattering happily with one another. They sit next to each other as the teacher gets them to settle down and begins explaining their schedule.
The first day goes by in a flash of introductions and reviews.
By the end of it she's left waiting for Shōyō in the playground next to the school. As she sits on the swing, the pair of kids from earlier stand next to her. They're cousins apparently, if she remembers from their introduction. Their eyes bore into her and the feeling of unease fills her again.
"Why is your hair orange? I've never seen hair like that before"
"Did you dye it? That's not good you know; my mom says so"
"It's weird, your hair is weird"
Natsu stares up at them not knowing what to do. No one has ever said anything about her hair color before. So, she does the only thing she knows how and argues back.
"I have my papa's hair! It's not weird, you're just dumb" she bites back, stroking a piece of her hair timidly. Silently, she looks around hoping Shoyo would show up soon. She's not sure how to deal with this if it goes on any longer.
With offended grunts, the two opened their mouth to argue back. They don't get the chance to, as a fourth person joins them on the playground effectively interrupting them.
It's not her big brother, but she'll take it.
"Picking on people is lame ya know. It doesn't make ya cool, just mean. I think her hair's cool" the fourth voice says.
It's a boy who is taller than the rest of them. Natsu recognizes him from class. His hair has been buzzed recently but natsu can tell it's a darker color from the little that's left. He stands looking at them with an unimpressed look on his face. He's holding a volleyball under his left arm.
"No one asked you, Oikawa!"
"Pretty sure she didn't ask what you thought about her hair" He shot back.
The pair huffed again before deciding it wasn't worth it anymore and left.
"Thanks" Natsu said, sincerely meaning it. Though, her eyes were glued to the volleyball under his arm now that she wasn't in any peril.
Takeru quickly took notice of this and switched its position, rolling it from the crevice of his elbow to his hands. "Do you know how to play?"
"Yeah! I play with Sho all the time!" she beamed.
Takeru smiled at her, offering to toss the ball back and forth until they went home.
Shōyō shows up 15 minutes later with an apology on his lips. He had gotten stuck helping Izumi and Sekimukai with their drills in turn for practicing with him. Natsu waved off the apology and introduced him to her new friend. Much like his sister, he also beamed when he saw the volleyball and offered to play with them until he got picked up.
Natsu couldn't help but feel at peace playing volleyball with her brother and new friend. The anxiety she felt earlier was practically gone now. They didn't get to play for much longer as a pretty lady soon came up to them and jokingly asked if she could have her son back.
With a promise to see each other tomorrow; the two families both set off towards home.
Shōyō starts at Karasuno High school the spring after he turns 16.
On the first day he comes home ranting about some boy. After a bit of struggling, Natsu finally understands why this boy is so infuriating to her older brother. This boy is the same one that Shōyō had declared as his rival the year before. Apparently, said boy is now on his volleyball team.
So, he can't be a rival anymore and this upsets Shōyō.
She doesn't see why they can't be friends, but boys are dumb, so she'll listen to her dumb brother rant for now. She already knows what his response would be if she asked anyway.
"I can't believe this guy! He got us kicked out of the gym! It's the first day Natsu! He's such a jerk!" Shōyō continued his ranting for a while longer before eventually making his way to the backyard. With nothing else to soothe him, he takes his volleyball and starts tossing it in the air. With nothing else to do and Shōyō needing an outlet, Natsu offers to set the ball for him. She was no pro, but the offer had her brother smiling, so whatever.
As much as he rants over the course of the next few days, something seems to slowly change as the weeks go on.
Overall, this Kageyama guy seems to be getting along better with Shōyō.
This pleases Natsu.
Shōyō stays behind late practicing with Kageyama most days. On some nights they manage to rope in some of the upperclassmen. Normally they practiced hard, determination leading their every action. Hours would go on before they even noticed the setting sun, or the calls of their teammates telling them to go home already. This was standard routine for the months following the training camps.
Tonight, wasn't one of those nights.
There was no quick paced practice or upperclassmen to shout at them to go home.
Technically, there wasn't even practice today.
Despite this, Shōyō and Kageyama had shown up at a park with the promise of getting some extra practice in. However, they had taken to just passing the ball back and forth, the former deep in thought. Shōyō was content with the mindless movement. Kageyama on the other hand... Kageyama was getting fed up with the slow pace. Thinking hard wasn't their specialty; both usually opting to act rather than think.
Why start now?
"What's wrong with you, dumbass. If you got something to say, say it!" Kageyama questioned, voice rough trying to mask the worry he was feeling.
Oh, the hypocrite he was.
Shōyō seemed to startle out of his thoughts. He regarded Kageyama carefully. The two of them had been getting along a lot better after their fight at the training camp. The long silence between the two had made him realize just how much fun it was to be around the other.
He loves playing volleyball with Kageyama, but maybe it'd be fun to do something else too.
So, he tells Kageyama exactly that, red spreading throughout his face.
If anyone asked the next day why the two were so stiff, they'd just look at each other and say nothing, denying the red tint in their cheeks.
No one is surprised, but Natsu is absolutely delighted.
She vouches to do the best she can for her big brother. She'll give him the greatest makeover! Just like in all those dramas she's watches with mama!
Shōyō agrees easily enough, his sister probably knows more about this than him anyway.
Shōyō somehow manages to forget that she's 10 and her idea of 'pretty' is extremely colorful barrettes in every corner of his hair. He decides to humor her anyway, it's the least he can do since she genuinely trying to help.
Shōyō sits on her floor in simple jeans and a decent enough shirt waiting for Kageyama to arrive. Natsu stands above him, barrettes littering the floor. The theme is sister seemed to settle on had been space. ' Cause you're a star, Sho!' At some point she had ran out and decided that he still didn't have enough in his hair.
So, now she's digging around for all the planet and star barrettes she could find in her little basket, tossing them off from the bed and near Shōyō. In her excitement, she ends up tossing one of the star barrettes directly into his eye.
He doubles over with a yelp, instinctively covering his eye with his hand. Natsu frantically asks if he's alright, and once he responds who a pitiful groan she giggles with relief. The moment is short lived however as they hear their mom answer the door, quickly followed by the sound of footsteps approaching. Natsu springs up and runs out the door to introduce herself.
He shouts at her to stay put. But does she listen?
No.
Instead, she introduces herself and comes back dragging a very confused Kageyama. He wants to groan as he remembers his appearance, covered in barrettes consisting of planets and traitorous stars that threatened to blind him.
Their eyes meet momentarily as Kageyama lets out a small snort at the sight of his date before he begins outright laughing.
It's probably the first time he's heard such a sound.
At least now Shōyō has a different reason to be starry eyed.
Natsu starts competing when she's 10.
Her dad has gotten a new job and the family decides to move to a bigger house. She's sad to leave her old house, but they're hardly moving far. She still meets up with Takeru on the weekends when possible, sometimes being brought by his uncle. They'll spend hours talking and playing and occasionally will go to the center where they learn different moves from Takeru's uncle.
Of course, with the change, she moves school and said school has a volleyball team.
She starts learning the official rules when on the court and learns a bit more about the different positions. At first the coach has trouble placing her, she takes an interest in all of them and at some point, or another tries to play for all of them. She struggles a bit when she attempts to play as a libero. She thinks it's a good position but doesn't like simply playing at the defensive all the time. She dislikes the restriction it puts on her.
As the weeks go on, she slowly gets better, becoming a jack of all trade. Sorta. Her build doesn't allow her to spike as much as her brother. She can jump higher than most would expect, but she can't quite clear a net like her brother can. At least she has the upper hand skill wise.
Eventually, the coach decides to appoint her as a setter. She has good enough control over the ball from always tossing for Shōyō and always remembers the tips Takeru's uncle gives her. And thus, she begins focusing on refining her skills as a setter.
She honestly enjoys being a setter, and Shōyō is certainly happy when she gives him tosses after practice.
When the competitions start, she isn't appointed as a started yet. She's still fairly new and has yet to mesh entirely with the team, but one day the team's setter must call out of a game. She's gotten sick with the seasonal flu and has to go to the hospital to be treated. Natsu's surprised when the coach springs the news on her before boarding the bus. She spends the ride with a knot in her stomach, the other kids do their best to calm her down.
"You'll do fine, Hinata! Akane trusts you to fill in for her!"
"You're pretty reliable for an underclassman"
Despite all the words of encouragement, she can't help but think she sees some of the older girls looking at her with doubtful worry. She really doesn't want to embarrass herself. Eventually, she forces herself to put her fretting aside as they go into the center for sign up. When she sees her name on the list as one of the starters, she can't help but be a bit excited.
Their match starts 30 minutes later and the butterflies in her stomach are as anxious as she is during the lineup. The stadium is hardly full, but a lot of families and stragglers have shown up. Her parents can't make it, but Takeru is also playing a match today. Hopefully he'll have the chance to come and see her. She could really use a friend. The greetings end, and she gets into position skittishly. The captain calls words of encouragement and soon the rally starts. She fumbles the first few tosses, watching as the spikers do their best to work with it. Seeing this, she forces herself to focus and does her best to control her emotions as well as the ball. It's a long set and Natsu eventually starts to worry it might be her fault but eventually they somehow manage to take it.
Pride swells in her chest when the whistle blows for the break. She's quickly met with encouraging smiles and shouts of "keep it up" as they head towards the benches. She can't help but vibrate in her seat, no one is sure if its excitement or nerves anymore.
The second set comes and goes as the other team takes it with an impressive come back. The butterflies return to her stomach as it happens, but she's no longer blaming herself. She doesn't want to lose now. She doesn't want her team to stop playing, and so she does her best along with her teammates.
In the end it pays off.
When the match is decided she's flinging herself at her teammates and crying. Still, no one can tell if it's from the stress of the game or the joy of winning. In truth, she doesn't either. She just knows that it was so much fun.
When she walks out of the court, she's greeted by the sight of Shōyō and Kageyama, both beaming at her (or as close as proud Kageyama's face can get). Shōyō has his thumbs up in congratulations. When she reaches them, she hugs her brother tightly, feeling the emotions swarm back.
Kageyama gives her a small nod. He looks happy for her but also has the same awkwardness clouding his eyes as the first time they met. She gives him an equally wobbly smile, more from the emotional high she's on, but he understands.
Shōyō ruffles her hair before letting the coach know that they're taking her home now.
Kageyama offers to help her practice, seeing as he's their team's main setter.
She gladly accepts, excited for the day she would be able to put it to use on the court.
It would be a while before she competes on a court again, but she'll never forget the feeling of it.
By the time they win nationals, Shōyō has already turned 17.
It was a moment a true triumph.
Karasuno had finally learned to soar again.
The elder Hinatas were quick to plan a party alongside the other families.
They had an extra day while they waited for the team to arrive, the families were quick to pitch in whatever they could. If some of the other teams in Miyagi were seen running around with decorations, no one wisely said anything.
That's how the boys and girls of Karasuno were greeted upon their arrival at the gym. Multiple confetti poppers going off, their families holding signs with pride on their faces; friends and rivals alike littering the room with varying expressions.
He never realized how much of an impact they had on everyone.
He grabs Natsu's hand excitedly and begins to introduce her to the team.
Natsu mostly stands gaping at Asahi.
He's huge! A huge samurai!
Natsu's seen him on TV before of course, but man was it frightening in person.
No one should be that tall. Shōyō laughs at her when she tells him as much and tells her he knows people who are even taller, before pointing at Hyakuzawa, Koganegawa, and Goshiki. When the group turns their way, they are met with proud smiles and challenges in their eyes.
She wants to be that tall , even though Shōyō is quick to tell her to give it up.
Natsu's only saving grace is that she's still growing. She won't let go of hope!
Shōyō spends the day celebrating with his first team and close friends, he drags Natsu along and despite being surrounded by strangers she finds herself having fun anyway. Their parents left them to their own devices with loving smiles, they'd see their son later for dinner. This celebration was for them to enjoy.
The volleyball team made it a point to tell Natsu as many stories as they could, casually giving her pointers whenever she asked what certain moves were. She absorbs them all with an eager look in her eye. Eventually they inquire as to what position she plays. Teasing remarks soon fill the room when she tells them she's a setter and Kageyama has been helping her improve.
Tsukishima especially has fun picking on him.
"Well, well, the King has an heir of his own it would seem"
"Stop calling me King already"
Tsukishima smirks "Either way, I'm have my doubts on you being able to teach anyone, considering your history with academics. So tell me Natsu, how does he fair as an instructor?"
Natsu is quick to please, not passing up a chance to praise (and embarrass) Kageyama. She launches into all the nice things he's done for her, unaffected by the ruthless smile on Tsukishima's face. Yamaguchi gives Kageyama a sly grin and pinches his cheeks while the listen, he tries in vain to swat him off.
"Bend your knees more and flick the ball with your wrist, it'll minimize your body language" It was the very first tip he had given her.
"Setters are the coolest" he had said to her after doubt had begun to claw its way into her mind, making her believe she wasn't cut out for this.
"I'll come watch your game" he offered when Shōyō was too sick to get out of bed and her parents had work. It had been her first game in a while and she was reallynervous. He ruffled her hair before the game doing his best to give her an encouraging smile. Though he looked constipated she felt some of her anxiety.
"You're improving a lot quicker than this dumba-, than your brother could ever hope to" he said, smug smile adorning his face as Shōyō screeches indignant.
She remembers laughing at his pained expression when she bumped into Takeru and his uncle. The other returning it with a satisfied and knowing smirk. Takeru called them lame and Natsu called them silly.
She laughs when recalling the time she served the ball right into his face. He started shouting about 'these damn shrimps and serving at my head'.
Kageyama sputters at the last one and does his best to get her to quiet down while Shōyō laughs at his boyfriend's suffering.
"I think we're gonna have to change your to King Ball Magnet" Nishinoya snicked.
"Woh, who would've thought Kageyama had such a sweet side" Suga teased
"Yeah! He's just as fun as Sho! He's like another nii-san!" Natsu beamed.
"So does that make him Tobio-niisan?" Shōyō asked sweetly.
"Yes!"
Asahi put his hand over his heart at the pure display, Yachi seemed to melt and the rest of the team laughed good-naturedly. All except Tsukishima, who now had an arsenal full of material to poke fun at their setter.
By the end of the night, all the families make their way home. The two siblings and their parents manage to convince the two Kageyamas to join them for their celebration. With her arms wrapped around both of her brothers, she drags them to the car excitedly.
Tonight is the start of a wonderful bond.
Within the next two years to come, it'll only continue to grow.
Shōyō is set to move out at 19.
He's been offered a scholarship to some school in some city that's hours away.
Natsu's too sad to care about the specifics.
She knows it's supposed to be a great thing for him. Mom is certainly happy that her son's making a name for himself in the sport he loves so much. Natsu's also happy that Shōyō gets to stay with Tobio, she knows that he's been worrying about being separated once he graduates. It's great that the school wants both of them.
But all Natsu processes is that both of her big brothers are moving far away and she's going to be mostly alone now.
She has friends sure, but they're not Shōyō and Tobio.
She's sulking silently as the two of them sit next to her deciding who they should appoint as the next captain.
They're waiting for the other third years to show up, probably to hang out or something. Something Kageyama has been grumbling about.
"Stop complaining and help me decide, Bakayama " Shōyō whines, the insult holds no malice, but Kageyama swipes at his head anyway.
She remembers the day Shōyō came home when he was announced captain. Tobio had looked extremely bitter, the two of them still overly competitive for some ungodly reason.
She remembers the quiet conversation she shared with him while Shōyō was too busy telling their mom.
He told her he was glad it was Shōyō. Sure, everyone expected it to be Kageyama. He was the genius. He was the one who usually cracked down on the first years when Ennoshita wasn't there or too busy dealing with the second years. Hell, it probably would've made them look fiercer as a team to have him as captain, but he couldn't keep a team together like Shōyō could he told her quietly.
Shōyō inspired motivation in a way he couldn't.
Natsu remembers staring at him for a while and that's when she decided she would be the first to welcome him wholeheartedly into the family when the day comes. If he could still talk like that about her brother after two years she's sure they'd be a fine pair.
She looks over at the two of them, remembering that they won't be here anymore in a few weeks.
If there's one thing Shōyō has gotten great at over the years its reading people. When you date someone as emotionally constipated as Tobio, you learn to pick up on the cues.
That, and Natsu isn't all that great at hiding her feelings.
Very expressive, that's what Natsu is. Though he's sure Tobio would say the same about him.
He glances at the clock and then at his sister, he knows he should talk to her but he isn't sure if it'd be best to wait until after Tsukishima and Yamaguchi show up or before. He's afraid if he waits, she'll end up creating a miasma with the way she's sighing. He glances at his sister and back at the clock. Maybe he should wait for Yachi, she said she'd be late but she'd probably be better at this, or at least offer some pointers.
Kageyama kicks him under the table, giving him a look.
Well, there's his answer.
"Hey Natsu, let's go to the backyard"
She looks up at him, face contorting with a bit of confusion. She looks like she knows what's coming but isn't sure if she wants to deal with it.
The moment of silence is thick with tension while he awaits a response. Honestly, it's kinda ridiculous.
"Alright" she says, standing up slowly.
Shōyō shoots Tobio a look and mouths "watch the door" before disappearing with his little sister.
When they reach the backyard Shōyō finds that Natsu's already grabbed a stray basketball. She tosses it towards him, not having the motivation to really do anything else, but needing to do something . The Hinata's are a family full of activity after all.
Shōyō tosses the ball back and forth for a minute, Natsu seems to calm down a bit with the easy, repeated motion.
She seems ready to talk.
"You've been moping for a while now Natsu, wanna tell me what's going through that head of yours?" He asks, he knows she's been bummed about him leaving.
She's been trying to deny it though, so he figures admitting it would be an easy first step.
Natsu's quiet for a moment, gripping the ball slightly. There's a spark of refusal before her she sighs and tosses the ball back.
Shōyō doesn't throw it back.
"I don't want you and Tobio to leave. The house is gonna get too quiet without you, Sho! Who's gonna play basketball with me after practice? Who's gonna teach me how to set? You're both leaving me behind!" She starts, hiding her tears behind a facade of anger.
For 12 years, all Natsu has known was life with a big brother constantly there, always picking on her and watching out for her. And then he goes and gets a stupid boyfriend that Natsu actually likes and now Natsu has two big brothers to play with but they're leaving her now.
Years of memories go by her and Shōyō has been present in all of them.
He walks up to her and rubs her head. She's hugs her brother as her tears start falling.
"You'll be alright Natsu, Takeru will still be around to play with you. And I'm not dying ya know? You can still call me and I am coming home during breaks." Shōyō says, he knows the words won't do anything to soothe her but hey, at least he trying.
"Plus, you could always come visit us! The place we're looking into has a park close by! I could show you the Sky Tower too!"
Natsu hugs him tighter but nods nonetheless. Her breathing begins to calm. They stay like that for a minute before breaking apart. The both of them finally notice the voices carrying on from the kitchen. Shōyō looks down at his sister, she seems conflicted on what to do now. She definitely doesn't want to walk past them looking like she does now. Her face is all gross and hot and she really needs to wash it.
Shōyō seems glad to help by spraying her with the hose.
Natsu stares at him insulted.
Well, there goes the heart to heart they just had.
They spend a solid 5 minutes fighting over the hose and soaking each other, the only reason they stop is because Tsukishima walks out back, giving them a face fit for a horror film.
"Are you done playing, I thought we came over to discuss the team, captain"
Hinata freezes at the sight of him. Man, was the guy scary, even after all these years.
The effect is completely ruined however when Yamaguchi joins them in the back and blows in Tsukishima's ear.
Oh, how the freckled boy has changed.
"We came here to hang out like friends do, Tsukki" Yamaguchi chastises.
Tsukishima glares at the smaller male before stalking back into the kitchen. Yamaguchi just smiles before telling them to go get changed.
Natsu hides her face in embarrassment before running upstairs. Shōyō follows at a slower pace laughing at her expense.
At least she's not fogging up the house with miasma.
As he makes his way upstairs he glances at her closed door thinking back to their earlier conversation.
It'll be weird for her once he moves out, but he's sure she'll be alright.
Shōyō has been a graduate for about two weeks now. The days after having mostly been spent packing and buying things, Tobio and his mother tagging along whenever they were available. It was an interesting experience, if not completely embarrassing. They had become inseparable after that fateful party back in their first two mothers had gotten along like peanut butter and jelly that night, taking any opportunity to embarrass their sons.
Shōyō spent most of these moments whining and pinker than a peach. Tobio did his best to give his mom the most (non) threatening glare in existence, in turn she would just pinch his cheek in return with mutters of "just like your father".
Today was the last day before the duo were headed to Tokyo. Shōyō was up in his room packing the last of his carry on. All his clothes were on their way to their new apartment in boxes, sans a few pairs just in case anything were to happen to them (via suggestion from Tobio's mom. It certainly wasn't something his mom would think of, maybe his dad). Inside his bag, aside from spare clothing, were most of his electronics and a couple of knickknacks he didn't trust to send through boxes.
He was just about ready to go.
Zipping up the bag and throwing it over his shoulders, he made his way downstairs where his family was waiting. Natsu looked up at him, she was considerably quiet but she seemed to be doing okay for now. His parents looked proud. His dad seemed to have anxiety mixing in with his pride. At least that's what he would guess since the older man was making sure to verify that Shōyō had everything on him; twice over.
Together they took off towards the train station once his dad was sure he had everything.
By the time they arrived, Natsu had started talking about her plans for break. They mostly involved watching shows and spending time with Takeru and her other school friends. She talked about her volleyball team and how she was gonna aim to be a starter next year. Once they all dismounted the car she lulled into her previous silent state again. Her gaze flickered between her parents and Shōyō.
This was it. This was Shōyō's first step into adulthood. This would be his first step in 12 years that wouldn't be followed by smaller ones.
He was flying the nest.
The air felt heavy between the small family; small whimpers could be heard. Next to Natsu, her mother starting sobbing as she hugged her little boy.
"Be safe in the city, don't go and get yourself hurt! Don't let any strangers fool you into doing something dangerous! If you ever need to come home, you come home you hear me? Or if you need us to come down, we'll be down there in a heartbeat. You know dad's always traveling." she continued to babble as they held each other, anxious now that her firstborn was finally going out on his own and so far away from her protecting arms at that.
His father put an arm around both of them, rubbing their shoulders. "I'm proud of you, Sho. I know you're gonna make something great of yourself over there" he said, voice tight but with an unshakeable belief.
With reluctance, they both let go of Shōyō and made their way back to the car, leaving Natsu to talk with her brother alone. She looked up at her big brother for what seemed like the last time and he stared back at her with a worried smile. No longer would he be around to protect to her at all times.
She would be on her own.
She was sad, but she was oddly okay now.
She was still young, but she was also growing up now. It was time she started taking her own steps forward. She would still be close to her brother, that was something that would never change. But now, she'd be able to appreciate their bond all the more.
Yeah.
Opening his arms with a watery smile, Natsu launched herself at him and started crying.
He sobs right along with her.
Natsu turns 13, the house is quiet, and she's okay with that.