Before my eyes, it blocks my path. A high, high wall. What sort of scene is on the other side?
The Karasuno High School dormitories towered over Hinata as he looked on in awe, absorbing each windowpane and surrounding tree by turning in circles and taking lopsided steps towards the first-year building. The architecture was a silent testament to the beauty and reputation of the school; green ivy crawled over aged brick and the windows winked in the sunlight, some glowing vibrant colors from the stained glass set in taller precipices.
"Brother, watch where you're going!" Natsu squealed as Hinata bumped into his little sister.
"This. Is. Awesome!" he yelled in response, bolting for the front door, the two bags strapped to his back making his stride uneven. His mother followed with a rolling suitcase, a bulky cardboard box balancing precariously on top, held in place by his little sister.
My first year of high school. My first debut on a real volleyball team. My first year away from family.
Hinata was through the doors in an explosion he could not contain.
"Shoyo!" his mother chastised, but the words were an echo. He nearly barreled into the first person he saw.
"Where can I find room 412?!" he panted, palms on his knees.
"Um… are you a first-year?"
Hinata caught his breath and looked up at the person he'd interrogated. The guy had soft brown eyes and a sturdy jaw, dark brown hair growing in short tufts on his head.
"Yes!" Hinata nodded.
"Eager, are we?" the man laughed loudly, the kind of laugh that filled Hinata with old memories. The word "man" came to mind because he had some very cool stubble on his chin. Hinata could not grow stubble. He couldn't even grow more than five feet, four inches tall.
"Shoyo, you can't just barge in like that, this is a proper school. Where are your manners?" His mother had caught up to him.
"Yeah, where are your manners?" Natsu chirped, hand still gripping his box of things.
"It's no trouble at all ma'am, I'm actually down here directing freshman. I'm a CA on the fourth floor. Guess this was meant to be, kid."
"CA?" Hinata asked.
"Community Assistant. Third-years can take on the responsibility of supervising other residents in return for free room and board. My name is Sawamura Daichi." He bowed a little to Hinata's mother.
"My name is Hinata Nanami, and this is my son, Hinata Shoyo. I'll be leaving him in your care."
"Of course," Daichi said, nodding in her direction.
"Just call me Hinata," Hinata grumbled.
"Hey! I'm Hinata Natsu!" cried his sister.
Daichi aimed a grin at the young girl with frizzy orange curls. "Nice to meet you all," he said.
"Yes. Well. Perhaps you could teach my boy some of those manners of yours."
"MOM," Hinata hissed.
"Don't worry about it." Daichi patted him on the shoulder, chuckling. "C'mon, I'll take you to your room."
The four of them wrangled Hinata's things into an elevator. "Do you know who your room assignment is?" Daichi asked.
"No, it was a last-minute applicant. But it's someone from the volleyball team!" Hinata got that gleam in his eye, his voice charged with excitement.
"Volleyball? You want to play volleyball?" Daichi looked down at Hinata, quite literally.
"Hey, I might be short, but I can jump!"
"I'd like to see that," Daichi mused.
"My brother plays volleyball every day," Natsu chimed in. "In Jr. High he even made a team of first-years and basketball players to go to a tournament."
Daichi looked surprised. "Just so you could play?"
Hinata nodded, completely serious. Daichi blinked. From the start, the kid had been a firecracker, crashing into him with an excited smile. But there was something in his eyes as bright as his orange hair when he spoke about volleyball. A something he recognized.
"Yes, my eager son took five other boys to a volleyball tournament and lost brutally the first round—"
"Mom," Hinata whined. The elevator dinged.
"—And yet he insists on playing that game every day, practicing every moment. He has spirit, that's for sure." She ruffled his hair.
"Spirit," Natsu nodded seriously. Daichi nodded too, without even realizing it, bewildered by this bizarre family.
They were a few steps down the hall when Daichi stopped in front of room 412. "Well, here it is. My room's 431, down the hall and around the corner. Come get me if you need anything, and I mean anything. I'm here for a reason. I gotta round up more first-years, but I look forward to seeing you later."
"Seeing me where?" Hinata asked, tilting his head.
"On the court, kid," Daichi said, already headed for the stairs.
"Huh?"
But Daichi was gone.
"Whaaaat?!" Hinata yelled. He looked at his mother, but she just gave him a knowing smile. She was so sweet on the outside, fiery hot on the inside. She didn't have his orange hair, that was dad's, but Hinata could see the same brightness under her skin, the strength of mind to pull a family together. He suddenly felt the realness of being without her cooking, her nagging, her temper. Her kindness. He ran at her.
"Shoyo," she breathed, as he pretty much knocked the wind out of her with the force of his hug. She wrapped her arms around him. "The only reason you're here is because I know you can do it. I know you can win."
Hinata hugged her tighter and swallowed the lump in his throat.
"Call me if anything happens. And remember, I love you, no matter what."
They released each other and she beamed at him. Hinata turned to his sister, who was rubbing at her eyes.
"I'm not crying," she mumbled, and his heart melted. The tears sprang forward.
"Neither am I," he said, running at her and pulling her off the ground, into his arms. "I'll see you on holidays. And I'll call. I'll write to you too, we can be pen pals. I promise."
"Yeah?" Natsu said into his neck.
"Yeah," he said.
Hinata let go, and his sister and mother said their final goodbyes. "You have your room key, right?" his mother asked.
He nodded. He'd kept the thing around his neck since the school sent it in the mail weeks ago.
"Good. Goodbye, Shoyo. See you soon!" They gave him a final round of hugs, then headed for the stairs.
Before he could process it, they were gone.
He wiped his eyes and slapped his cheeks. "Okay," he breathed. "Time to do this."
He turned his room key in the doorknob, but it was already unlocked. Pushing the door open, Hinata couldn't help but grin, ready to meet a fellow teammate.
"Hello! My name is—"
Hinata choked on his own words.
He saw his roommate standing in front of a box, unpacking things.
His roommate looked up at him and Hinata's jaw dropped, smile gone.
The boy had the same black hair, same stupid haircut he'd had a year ago.
His roommate was King of the Court, Kageyama Tobio.
"YOU!" Hinata yelled, pointing and stepping backwards, nearly falling over his suitcase. Heat crept into his face, anger flooding him, one powerful feeling overtaking another in an instant.
This was the beginning of his volleyball journey.