Chapter one: expect the unexpected
Contrary to popular belief, Tsukishima did not only have one friend.
In the beginning of his elementary school days, Tsukishima, young and unjaded by the stifling harshness of reality, was a lot more cheerful. Back then, he had already started to develop the habit of provoking others out of childish playfulness thanks to his brother, so his friends of the same age, those who could look past his comments and not get unnecessarily worked up, were few. The number of them were countable on one hand, really, but this didn't bother Tsukishima.
After all, Tsukishima's close relationship with his brother, Akiteru, caused them to spend most of their time together. When Tsukishima was free after school, he would go home to play volleyball with his brother, or listen to Akiteru's numerous conquests regarding the sport. When it was competition season, he would go to Akiteru's matches to support him, always cheering for his brother, feeling proud when spectators praised the ace.
When he wasn't spending time with his brother, Tsukishima would hang out with his friends. The most popular activity for boys his age to do in elementary school was to have a competition to catch bugs. Sometimes it would be to see who could catch the biggest number of insects, and at other times it would be "let's see who can catch the biggest one!". Summer was the favorite season for elementary and middle school boys because of the abundance of beetles, and hence, beetle fighting was a common sight.
Unlike other boys, Tsukishima didn't think bugs were cool. He didn't see the appeal in things that could be crushed under a shoe (in the case of a Hercules beetle, a thick, heavy shoe), nor did he find the idea of having two to three beetles ramming into each other particularly entertaining.
It wasn't until a couple of years later, while watching a late night documentary on television, that he discovered he liked large animals more, such as whales and sharks, and another few months before realizing that he liked dinosaurs the best.
Thus, whenever he could, he would choose Akiteru's company instead. As a result of this, and his incapability of making friends, his friendship with others were few and loose. He even owed his friendship with Yamaguchi to the latter's interest in his brother and his brother's volleyball endeavors; it wasn't until two months into their friendship that Yamaguchi had told him that Tsukishima had rescued him from bullies a few weeks prior to what Tsukishima thought was their first meeting.
As someone who found it hard to connect to people, Tsukishima had taken refuge in gaming whenever Akiteru had to study. Most of the time, he would be gaming with Yamaguchi, whom he had formed a close bond with. However, when Yamaguchi could not join him, Tsukishima would play with others online.
One day, he received a friend request, with a message saying that they should team up to monopolize money in the game and clear it together. Tsukishima, having been stuck on that quest for quite sometime, had agreed. Even after teaming up, it took a week for them both to clear the quest, and the time they spent talking over the game's chat log was more enjoyable than Tsukishima would have originally guessed.
Despite having head their separate ways, it wasn't long before they decided to help each other out again, "Momi" requesting for Tsukishima's help, and "Tsukki" agreeing for 20% of the profit the other would earn.
Before he knew it, Tsukishima had formed a sort of friendship with "Momi" whom he found out was a girl of his age. He felt that it was easier to express himself with words behind the protective layer of anonymity that his in-game identity could provide. There were some things he just couldn't approach his brother about without seeming uncool, like what to get Yamaguchi for his birthday, and Momi was his only other confidante.
Their exchanges were often brief, because despite his maturity for his age, he was only 10 and he didn't want to hog Akiteru's computer too often.
However, after Tsukishima's rift with Akiteru, he was quick to cut off his bonds with others. The few friends he had were his friends no more. Yamaguchi was there when it happened, was the first to support Tsukishima, and stick by him despite him becoming drastically cynical and aloof. Tsukishima chose to keep his friendship with Yamaguchi.
Tsukishima also chose to keep his online friendship with Momi. Tsukishima, being afraid to become too trusting or putting in too much effort after what happened to Akiteru, felt that an online friendship would be less personal than one in real life, easier to maintain, easier to get out of should he wish to. A part of him was also too afraid to get to attached to Yamaguchi in fear of getting disappointed yet again, and decided to use his friendship with Momi as a buffer.
The following year, when he was 12, Tsukishima got his own cell phone as a present from his parents, and their friendship had moved from a weekly exchange to a more frequent exchange of text messages. Though they didn't text daily, or send many texts a week (they were both using pre-paid phone cards, after all), they continued this routine throughout their middle school lives.
The thought of meeting Momi in real life had never really occurred to Tsukishima, who felt that their texting and occasional, but sparse, phone calls were enough. If he were to be completely honest with himself, he would have dreaded meeting Momi in real life. Without his knowing, Momi had become someone who he was comfortable with. She knew about his gaming and music preferences, his liking for paleontology, and because she had first talked to him before it had happened, she knew about his previously close relationship with Akiteru and what it had become as well.
However, his friendship with Momi could never rival his friendship with Yamaguchi. They were two entirely different things all together. With Yamaguchi, he admits he is distant and an asshole most of the time, but he does appreciate the friendship they share. With Momi, though, their friendship was a bit more personal, with too much true feelings involved since he didn't feel the need to hide them from someone who didn't even know his real name. He lived in Miyagi, and she lived in Nagasaki, right on the other end of Japan. The trip there would have taken close to 10 hours, and Tsukishima couldn't fathom how much money it would cost to travel there. To 14 year old middle schoolers, they lived in what seemed to be two different worlds, never to meet in reality.
The dread Tsukishima felt, however, stemmed from the fact that should he meet her face to face, then his friendship with her, and thus his vulnerability, would become an actuality.
Tsukishima didn't know if he could handle that.
From: Momi
I'm moving to a place far from Nagasaki after middle school.
The text itself was no surprise, for it was no secret between them that Momi's family relocated often due to her Father's job.
To: Momi
Where to?
From: Momi
To a high school in the East.
Despite their friendship, Tsukishima didn't know how much it took for the conversation to become too personal. He never asked for anything too specific that would have revealed her identity because he wasn't sure how much was 'okay'. He didn't push.
It was a week before the start of high school that Momi mentioned this again.
From: Momi
I'm going to Karasuno High in Miyagi.
End notes: thank you for reading my first haikyuu! fic; reviews are appreciated!
