"It's a new school policy for sports teams," Takeda said. "It's important that your lives are well-rounded." He smiled pleasantly amidst the groans from the team. "So, we'll meet again Friday after practice."
On the way out of the gym, Hinata caught up to Kageyama. "Hey, what's our hobby?"
"Our hobby?" Kageyama stopped to look down at Hinata.
"Yeah. What do you like to do?"
Kageyama frowned briefly. "Volleyball."
"Me too." Hinata caught Kageyama's sleeve. "I know, we can join a local league team, like I used to practise with. So then we'll have a hobby."
"They won't play very well," Kageyama said. "But we could work out some new attacks."
Sugawara stopped beside them and looped an arm around Hinata's neck. "Extra volleyball definitely can't be your non-volleyball hobby. It's not even supposed to be another sport."
"Not...volleyball?" Hinata didn't have to look at Kageyama to tell he was thinking that was as ridiculous as Hinata thought it was, but he did look and Kageyama was frowning again. That crinkle between his eyebrows that still gave Hinata a tickle of unease because about half the time he saw it, it meant he was going to get yelled at. But he was safe for now. Probably.
"How about collecting something?" Sugawara said.
"Like..." Hinata turned to Kageyama. "What?"
"I don't know." Kageyama sounded annoyed. Which was pretty close to how he sounded all the time, but Hinata had learned to tell the difference, mostly.
"Well, good luck." Sugawara waved.
"Wait!" Hinata called. "Suga-san, what's your hobby?"
"Smiling mysteriously at my kouhai," Sugawara said and smiled mysteriously as he walked off.
"What should we collect?" Hinata asked.
Kageyama shrugged. "I have some volleyball magazines."
"Come on, Kageyama!" Hinata grabbed Kageyama's wrist and pulled him into the gift shop. "Let's get this over with."
Kageyama looked around like he'd never been in a store before. "I was just going to ignore the assignment."
Hinata stopped short. "Do you know what happens to us if we don't do it?"
"What?"
"I don't know," Hinata said. "I wasn't paying attention." He looked down a narrow aisle. "But what if it's like tests and we can't play?"
That crinkle came up on Kageyama's forehead again and Hinata felt his pulse bump up. "So, what are we going to collect?" Kageyama said.
They went down one aisle - ceramic vases, dried flowers, picture frames - and a second - silk scarves, fancy ashtrays, crystal figurines.
"Aren't there any phone charms or something like that?" All Hinata could see was the stuff his grandmother crowded into her house. He liked his grandmother and everything, but he didn't think she and Kageyama liked the same sort of things.
"These." Kageyama pointed at a display of fancy drinking glasses. Each one had a painted bird on the side: swan, sandpiper, gull, owl, thrush.
"Glasses?" Hinata snuck a sideways glance at Kageyama. Maybe he was a little bit like Hinata's grandmother after all.
"Birds," Kageyama said. "Crows. For Karasuno."
"Good idea!" Hinata scanned the shelves. "Is that one?" There in the back, behind the robin.
A salesclerk came up. "Can I help you with something?" Now, she sounded just like Hinata's grandmother.
"Where are your crows?" Kageyama said.
"We don't carry crows," she said. "They're bad luck."
"They're not bad luck!" Kageyama said.
"There's one back here," Hinata said. He was pretty sure. He reached up and tried to get his hand around it.
"I think you boys might find something more to your liking in the arcade."
"Got it!" Hinata pulled out the glass.
The shelves collapsed. It was like slow motion in a movie: first the top shelf tipped, glasses started to slide, and three other shelves dropped in turn, all the glasses cascading and smashing on the floor.
"You're bad luck," Kageyama said.
Hinata looked at the glass in his hand. It was a jay.
The clerk sniffed. "I'll ring those up for you."
"Any ideas?" Hinata pulled his jacket on and grabbed his bag.
"No," Kageyama said.
"You're not even trying." Although it wasn't like Hinata had really been working on it either. He needed his spare brain time for visualizing spikes and blocks and Olympic medals.
"We have that one glass."
"My sister took that. She likes jays." Hinata headed for the door and stumbled over something. "Noya-san, your bag."
"Sorry, sorry." Noya was in front of the mirror, adding extra wax to his hair. He smoothed it up even higher, then pulled out a few pieces here and there.
Hinata hadn't realised it was such a complex procedure. He nudged Kageyama. "How about that?"
"Trying to make yourself look taller isn't a hobby."
"Watch it, Kageyama," Noya called. "I'm your senpai, after all."
"Fashion," Hinata said. "These kids who sit next to me in class are always looking at style blogs and fixing their hair."
"I guess." Kageyama pulled a magazine out of his bag. "There's an article on different volleyball uniforms."
"No volleyball!" Sugawara breezed past them, smiling. It really wasn't as mysterious a smile as he thought it was, though.
They went out to the courtyard. "How does this work?" Kageyama said.
"I guess we just take pictures of ourselves looking fashionable." Hinata got out his phone and got Kageyama into focus. "Okay, go!"
Kageyama stood there.
"Do something stylish," Hinata said. He took a few photos as a warm up. "With your hair or your shirt or something."
"This is stupid." Kageyama ruffled up his hair. Hinata only got a few more pictures and then it flattened again all by itself.
Anyway, Kageyama's hair looked better normal. It suited his personality somehow. "Try something else. Like with your jacket."
Kageyama took off his jacket and draped it over his shoulder. "Like this?"
"Sure." Hinata took a couple more. "That's enough. Now me." He dropped his bag and struck a guts pose, two fists up like a boxer.
"Is that stylish?" Kageyama said. "Try combing your hair first."
"It doesn't comb," Hinata said. He pressed it down to his head. "How's that?"
"Aren't you supposed to look sexy or something?"
Hinata tried to put on a sexy look, sort of pouting his lips out. Kageyama started to laugh.
"Hey! I didn't laugh at you!"
"I'm not funny-looking."
"You're the one that said look sexy."
"So, what's next? Make our fashion blog?" Kageyama swiped his phone screen.
"Yeah. How do we do that?" Hinata said.
"I don't know. I thought you knew." Kageyama's forehead was verging on crinkle territory.
Hinata quickly took one more photo. "Do I look like I would know something like that? I guess this hobby won't work."
"You had better have a good hobby for us by tomorrow." Kageyama shoved his phone into his pocket and stalked away.
Hinata flipped through the photos. They were - they were okay. Kageyama looked okay. He saved the crinkle picture to Kageyama's contact entry and dashed home.
"Tsukishima, what's your hobby?" Hinata was getting desperate. It wasn't like he hadn't been trying to think up ideas, but he was busy a lot of the time.
"Why are you asking this guy?" Kageyama said.
"My hobby?" Tsukishima said. "It's thinking up sarcastic remarks to make to my team mates."
"Really?" Hinata said. That could be a hobby?
"Just joking," Tsukishima said. "I'm never sarcastic. So, why are you two doing your hobby together? Wouldn't you normally do that sort of thing on your own?"
Hinata opened his mouth to answer and then shut it again. Was it more normal to do a hobby alone?
"It's more efficient," Kageyama said. "Anyhow, what is it you listen to all the time? Is that your hobby?"
"Good idea, Kageyama," Hinata said. "That could be our hobby too."
"Don't count me in on your cosy hobby group," Tsukishima said. "But, you know, I think there's some music you'd like. It's American, very popular and cool. I'll write it down for you."
"I can't believe Tsukishima likes this marching band stuff," Hinata said. They were sitting on the floor of his room, backs against Hinata's bed. "What was the guy's name again? Soo-sa?"
"He doesn't like it." Kageyama tapped the space bar on Hinata's laptop and stopped the playback.
"Maybe our hobby could be beating up Tsukishima."
"Good idea."
"What kind of music do you like?" Hinata pulled the laptop closer.
"Alt rock, sometimes. Here." Kageyama found a YouTube mix and let it play.
"It's pretty good."
Kageyama didn't answer. He shifted, sliding down a little, and closed his eyes while the music played.
Hinata looked over at him. Kageyama seemed odd somehow, but Hinata couldn't tell why, so he looked closer.
Kageyama's hair really was nice, maybe not fashion blog nice, but nice to look at. And his forehead, smooth for once. And his nose was even kind of cute.
That was weird, not the nose, but the thought. Hinata looked away from Kageyama's face, at the rest of him, his crossed legs and slouching shoulders. Hinata had seen Kageyama still before this, he was often still. But now he was relaxed.
Hinata looked down at Kageyama's hand, spread out on the floor beside Hinata. His long fingers, the nails trimmed short. The hands that tossed to Hinata.
His hand was almost touching Kageyama's before he realised what he was doing and snatched it back.
The song ended and Kageyama opened his eyes. He looked over at Hinata and their eyes caught for a moment. Then Hinata jumped to his feet, heart pounding.
"Let's go for a run," he said.
It turned out that Hinata could think about something other than volleyball after all, if that thing was Kageyama.
In class, he swiped through those stupid fashion photos on his phone and thought about sitting together with Kageyama in his room, with his fingers on the back of Kageyama's neck, with his forehead against Kageyama's cheek. He almost couldn't eat his lunch, his stomach was so twisted up, feeling bad and good at the same time.
When he did see Kageyama at practice, his guts lurched and he thought he might have to throw up. He leapt for Kageyama's toss but only got half of it under his hand.
"Whatever you're thinking about, stop!" Kageyama yelled and Hinata stared at the crinkle between Kageyama's eyes.
Outside the club room door, Kageyama fell in step beside him. "About our hobby."
Hinata didn't answer, because all that was in his head was Kageyama's stupid nice hair and stupid nice hands and stupid cute nose. And how much stupid Hinata wanted to take Kageyama's hand and slide their fingers together. And how freaked out that made him feel.
This was probably Hinata's hobby now.
He walked with Kageyama, looking down at the ground, at their feet, so Kageyama wouldn't be able to read his mind. And where they ended up was Kageyama's house, in his room, sitting on the floor.
"Did you think of anything?" Kageyama said.
"No." Hinata stared up at the ceiling. The same ceiling Kageyama stared at when he was in bed at night.
"It's useless."
Even though he wasn't looking, Hinata could feel Kageyama there beside him, the heat from his body. So close, Hinata could lean in and they would be touching, arm to arm. And he was leaning, not quite enough, but closer. A little closer.
"We'll have to lie," Kageyama said.
"What will we say?" Hinata did look over, at Kageyama's ear, his cheek, his jaw, Hinata couldn't stop himself. He was so tired of stopping. He always ran right towards whatever he wanted.
"I don't know. That we're otaku? We just have to find something to say we're fans of." Kageyama looked back at Hinata, his face was right there, right in front of Hinata, nose and all. So close.
"Like..." Hinata's words were sticking in his throat. "Like trains?"
"Yeah, or Ultraman maybe. Is there still Ultraman?" Kageyama picked up his phone and turned it on. And there on the lock screen was Hinata, in his guts pose.
Hinata stopped stopping. "Kageyama," he said. He put his hand on Kageyama's shoulder. And when Kageyama turned his head, Hinata leaned in and kissed him.
His mouth against Kageyama's mouth, pressing, warm, opening just a bit. Hinata's head spinning, his fingers twisting in Kageyama's shirt. Kageyama's phone thumping onto the floor.
Hinata pulled back and watched Kageyama's forehead for signs of crinkling.
It didn't crease at all. He stared at Hinata, dark eyes and his mouth not quite turning down. His chest heaved once. "Thank god you did that," Kageyama said. "So I didn't have to." He put his hand on Hinata's shoulder, moved his face close, and they kissed, slowly, once, then again.
Hinata rubbed his face into Kageyama's neck, wrapped his arm around Kageyama's chest, kissed him one more time, figuring it out, like he figured everything out, by trying.
"This can be our hobby," he said and kissed Kageyama on his nose.
Kageyama snorted. "We still have to think of a lie."
"It's not going to interfere with volleyball," Kageyama said.
"I know it's not." Hinata fished in his pocket for his wallet. "Hurry or they'll sell out of bread."
Takeda stuck his head out of the staff room. "Hey, have you two been working on your hobbies?"
"Yes, it's...baking," Hinata said at the same time Kageyama said "Ultraman."
"And baking," Kageyama added.
"Interesting choice!" Takeda said. "I'm looking forward to your presentation today. Make sure you bring enough for the whole team."
"Presentation?" Hinata said. "We have to really bake?"
"You could have just said Ultraman."
Classes were cancelled for the afternoon as a result of a small fire in the home-ec room.
"At least there's time to go to the bakery," Hinata said and pressed his thumb against the crinkle in Kageyama's forehead.