Hi all! I formed the idea for this fanfiction in the middle of the night, barely awake so I'm somewhat impressed that I've managed to create an entire story based off of it. These first four chapters I've already written in advance, so I decided to just post them all in one day. Enjoy the story and please leave a review if you'd like!
There was always something calming about the blissful moments before a storm to Keishin Ukai. It was the way the leaves went still, and the birds stopped singing. To him, it were as if the world was holding its breath. He glanced out of the gym windows, peacefully watching the light of the day fade away.
"Look out!" A voice called out from the distance, breaking his spell of tranquility. The store owner leapt to his feet to avoid a rogue ball flying his way. Silently he thanked his years of volleyball playing for drilling such quick reflexes into him.
He spun around on one heel, ready to unleash hell upon whomever had dared to breach his moment of clarity. There, bowing at nearly a ninety-degree angle stood Asahi. The gentle giant had clearly meant no harm, though Ukai enjoyed to see such a large player apologize so profusely.
"Sumimasen, Ukai-sensei!" He called out, breathing heavily from his previous rounds of jump serves.
"Don't mind, don't mind," Ukai called back. "Alright everyone, let's pick up and head out for the night. I don't want you looking weak in front of Nekoma tomorrow." They were headed off to a three-day training camp in the suburbs of Tokyo for a few more practice matches before the spring tournament.
Ukai sighed and stepped outside, lighting a cigarette. It had only been a few weeks since their loss to Aoba Johsai, but the defeat was still heavy in every team member's eyes. You could see it in Daichi's eyes, in Noya's dives. The entire team was still left picking up the pieces of their resolve after that match. Day by day it seemed to be getting better, but the knowledge that they would most likely face Aoba Johsai again and even the dreaded Shiratorizawa dragged on Ukai's mind like a chain.
"Ah, see you tomorrow, Ukai-sensei," Suga called out, a hand outstretched in goodbye. Ukai nodded in response. The setter was working harder than ever before- they all were. It was nice to see that he and Chikara Ennoshita were slowly becoming the anchors of the team, unwavering in stormy waters.
Ukai let out a puff of smoke that vanished in the dying light, glancing at the clouds that darkened the sky.
Storms normally left him relaxed. This one kept him on edge.
Hinata was still bouncing a ball around, stubbornly refusing to leave the gym. Part of it was the desire to keep practicing, the fierce passion for volleyball that kept him rooted in the gym. The other part was that he was already practically bouncing off the walls with excitement for the trip tomorrow. His family rarely ever left their hometown, a small village near Karasuno High, so Tokyo was always new and exciting for him. Plus, he would get to see Kenma again.
"Hey, dumbass, what're you standing around for?" Kageyama yelled out, helping wheel the carts of balls away from the court.
"Oi, Bakayama-kun, throw me a toss!" Hinata made large, exaggerated gestures with his hands, miming the motions of a spike. He ducked unter Kageyama's arm as it came swooping for him and nimbly danced out of the way. If there was one thing he could beat Kageyama with, it would be his agility.
Other than the quick swipe, Kageyama continued to ignore Hinata. Although he was used to it, the smaller teen could never quite shake the feeling of being overlooked. It was one thing to be called short. It was another to be underestimated.
Soon enough the gym had cleared save for Kageyama, Hinata, and Takeda. The faculty advisor was continuously yawning, clearly worn out for the day.
"Oh, Takeda-sensei! If you want, Kageyama and I can lock up when we're finished," Hinata graciously offered. He could see the bags under his sensei's eyes.
"Are you sure you'll be alright? Well, okay then. See you tomorrow." Takeda left the gym, ready to sleep and make the trip tomorrow. As he waved to the retreating back of Takeda, Hinata failed to notice Kageyama standing next to him.
"Bah! Kageyama! You scared me like 'Bwah'!" The orange-haired spiker jumped back, a bird frightened into flight.
Kageyama pointed at a corner in the gym, where some volleyballs were stuck in a nook between the wall and a supporting beam.
"I'm going to go get a ladder and get those."
"What do you mean, I," Hinata asked, offended by Kageyama excluding him from the task at hand.
"Idiot, it only takes one person to get a ladder," Kageyama huffed and spun around, marching with all the regality of a king to retrieve a ladder.
Hinata waited, alone. He waited, and waited. As impatient as he was, he knew Kageyama would have his head if he tried anything or messed anything up.
After a while, Hinata gave up. He decided to get the balls himself. It was getting late and was starting to rain, and he wanted to get home before the storm hit. Anyways, he was the invincible spiker from Karasuno, the little number ten that struck fear into the hearts of giants. He had spiked a ball into Kageyama's head before. How hard could this possibly be?
Hinata remembered a time from his past, one of his earlier memories as a child.
The kitten was stuck in the tree, mewling for its mother. It was lost and alone, and no one else seemed to be willing to help it. Hinata grabbed the lowest branch of the tree and swung himself upwards with all of his might, kicking the rough bark of the thick trunk. The kitten sat, clinging onto a thin branch with all the strength it could muster. Hinata reached out to grab it by the scruff of its neck, but the kitten gracefully pulled itself up and nimbly maneuvered its way to the bottom, flicking its tail as it bounded away from the tree. Hinata, only six, began to make his way back down the tree, not realizing before it was too late just how high he had traveled up. He panicked, scrabbling for a hold on a branch, crying for his mother. His arms were weak and thin, and gave up not soon after. He was falling, falling back to earth, crashing into the ground.
Things were different now, just about ten years later. Hinata had climbed plenty of trees in his lifetime. This shouldn't be too different. He eyed the support beam with hungry eyes and made his way towards the tall pole. The spiker began working his way up the pole, sticking his tongue out to concentrate on the task at hand. He found the first ball, wrestling it out of the wedge it was in and letting it fall to the ground.
Come to think of it, the ground was a far way down.
Like, really far.
Hinata began to panic. His breathing became constricted and his heartbeat rapid like that of a hummingbird's. Crap. He thought as his eyes began to blur.
His arms suddenly felt weak. His head started to spin. He was getting dizzy.
Boom. Boom. Boom. His heart pounded in his ears. Boom. Boom. Boom. What if he didn't make it to the ground? Boom. Boom. Boom. Would his team move on without him?
It was likely, he realized. He could be forgotten. Ignored.
Just a speck on the face of the Earth.
Kageyama returned, practically dragging the ladder behind him. The basketball team was using it to raise one of their hoops, so he had had to wait for them to finish up. He didn't mind. It gave him time to think. To be alone.
Unaware of his surroundings, Tobio entered the gym. Not long after he noticed the unusual silence that had settled over the gym.
The calm before a storm.
Only then did he realize.
Where was Hinata?
He set the ladder down and observed a ball rolling towards him. He picked it up and spun it around in his hands, tracing over the gentle creases. He looked in the direction the ball had come from. Then he looked up.
There was Hinata, clinging to the support beam like it was his lifeline. His eyes were distant, his face completely devoid of emotion.
Kageyama knew that look.
Hinata had that look on his face. It was the look on his face when he cowered behind Tanaka, when a larger foe had stood in front of him. It was the look on his face whenever someone mentioned switching him out, and the look he wore when Kageyama had once said he would not toss to him. That look was one of fear.
"Hinata!" A scream ripped out of Tobio's throat. He paused for a moment, unsure if that had been his voice making that noise.
"Hinata!" Kageyama called, louder this time. He had to get Hinata down from the beam, or…
No. He wouldn't think about that.
"Shouyou!" He called desperately. The last time Hinata wore this face, the only person who was able to snap him out of his petrified state was Suga. And he certainly didn't possess any of the same qualities as the upperclassman.
Hinata came back to the present as soon as he heard his given name being used. The only people who ever used that name were Kenma and his parents, both who he saw few and far between because of school, volleyball, and simply physical distances. Not to mention that in a family with a younger sister (who was quite the handful) and another sister on the way, it was easy for Hinata to be overlooked at times.
Yet there was Tobio Kageyama, of all people, screaming his name. His teammate stood in a stance somehow more rigid than his usual one, but his scowl was replaced by something else. Fear? No, it couldn't be. Hinata was imagining it.
"Get down from there, forget the balls!" Kageyama screamed, and Hinata heard him this time.
Kageyama watched, barely breathing, as Hinata inched his way down the pole. Nothing bad would happen, right? This was Hinata he was talking about. The one who claimed that they would be invincible so long as they were a team.
Kageyama stopped moving. Stopped breathing. The calm before the storm.
Then everything happened all too quickly, yet slowly at the same time.
Hinata was falling.
Kageyama was reaching out.
This was a nightmare. This had to be a nightmare. This couldn't be real, right?
Tobio remembered how Hinata had described it, seeing the other side of the net when he spiked. He told of the moment of clarity, how everything slowed down. How he could see.
Kageyama could see.
He could see Hinata's helpless body falling to the ground. If he was one step too late, one second too late…
Hinata knew it was over as soon as he lost his grip on the beam. His hands slipped, and he was falling. Was this it?
He crashed into a surprisingly soft ground, but was unable to prevent his brain from rattling in his skull from the impact. Safe. Was he safe?
Kageyama was terrified to open his eyes. Terrified to open his eyes and see Hinata injured, or possibly dead. In his mind he saw flashes of what might have happened- he saw Hinata, lying on the ground. Unmoving. A crumpled heap. Too still to be Hinata. He was too scared to open his eyes, before he heard the rasp, the struggle for breath. The fight for survival.
He opened his eyes. His vision was filled with an orange Halo. He reached a shaky hand up to touch it, to see if it was real. It was soft, although messy. It was real.
Kageyama breathed for the first time in what felt like years.
"Hinata?" He barely whispered. The small boy had only fallen about three meters up off the ground. Kageyama must have managed to catch him, or at the very least provide a softer landing.
Tobio sat up, for once grateful for Hinata's small stature. He assessed the situation- Hinata was breathing, that was good.
"K...ageyama?" Hinata coughed out. He was awake too, that was good.
Tobio gently removed Hinata from him, moving to prop him up against the very beam from which he fell.
"I'm right here," he wanted to add "dumbass" to the end of his sentence, but refrained from doing so. Now was not the time. "Are you hurt?"
"I… can't tell." Shouyou's eyes were wide with fear, and his entire body was trembling as the adrenaline began to leave his system.
Kageyama began to gingerly check Hinata for any injuries, asking question after question.
"Does that hurt?"
"No, now stop acting weird."
"I'm not acting weird, dumbass."
Hinata pushed himself onto his elbows, his eyes focusing on a large bruise forming on Kageyama's elbow. Tobio hadn't noticed it himself.
"I did that to you." Hinata choked out. He started tearing up as guilt washed through his system.
As soon as Kageyama realized Hinata was crying, he panicked. Sure, he could serve and set with no problem, but it wasn't hard to figure out that he was extremely awkward in social situations. Suga or even Tanaka would know how to handle this, but Kageyama was lost.
Hinata all but threw himself at Kageyama, wrapping his arms around his neck and sobbing into the cotton fabric of his shirt. Unsure of what to do with his arms, Tobio awkwardly patted the small teen on the back, trying to remember how his mother used to console him.
Unfortunately, he couldn't remember the last time that was.
Not long after, Hinata withdrew himself from Kageyama, drying his eyes with his arm. He was clearly embarrassed by what had happened. Kageyama chose not to mention it, instead standing up.
"Can you get up?"
Hinata shakily attempted to rise to his feet, grabbing on to Kageyama's arm when his knees buckled.
Tobio felt nauseous watching him attempt to stand. This was not Hinata. This was not the number ten who could shock everyone with his speed and his determination. This was not the boy who had managed to surprise Kageyama back in his days as the King, when he leapt so high he practically flew. What happened to that boy?
Kageyama helped Hinata to his feet and wrapped one of the teen's arm around his neck, saying nothing as he bent down to help him limp out the door.
"Should I call an ambulance?" He asked, seriously considering the possibility. He had no clue damage could have been done to his teammate.
"No!" Hinata yelled. He removed his arm from Kageyama's neck and limped to the door without any support. There was no way he was going to leave the team mid-season for a couple of bruises.
The taller teen sighed, but Hinata had made his decision perfectly clear. Anyways, why should Kageyama care? As soon as he caught himself thinking that, he froze. His mind flashed back to that day. He remembered the sinking feeling, the crunch of his heart as the ball smashed against the court floor, no one waiting to retrieve his toss. He had changed. He was on a team now.
"Oi, bakayama, you coming?" Hinata called, as if he hadn't just fallen off of a support beam in pursuit of a volleyball. The fatigue under his eyes was evident, though. The fall had taken its toll on him, as well as a long day of practice and school.
As they shut off the lights and locked the gym doors, a silent agreement was made between the two- whatever happened in that gym would stay locked in that gym.
With the stress of the previous events, both of them hadn't noticed the rain pouring from the night sky. Lightning flashed and thunder boomed, causing Kageyama to jump back.
Hinata turned around in shock, facing the taller boy,
"Say, Kageyama, are you afraid of thunderstorms?" he asked.
"No, moron!" Kageyama scowled, but cowered at the next clash of sound. Hinata laughed, chattering about how much he loved storms. Kageyama made his way for the door, grabbing his bag and hoisting it over his head, turning and locking the gym doors behind him. Hinata followed close behind, grabbing his bike and attempting to get one.
"Don't even try, you'll hurt yourself again," Kageyama reached for the bike and walked with it, wheeling it next to him.
"What's it to you?" Hinata muttered, kicking at the ground.
"You're my teammate. Without you, volleyball wouldn't be the same," Kageyama stated simply and turned his face away from the other boy, whose eyes widened. To the both of them, volleyball was essentially their entire worlds.
"Anyways there's no way you're making it home in this, we can go to my place. My parent's aren't home this week anyways." Kageyama huffed, knowing there was another reason for him inviting Hinata to his house, but not quite being able to place a finger on it. The rain continued to pour, drenching them from head to toe, washing the evidence of their secret away.
Another clash of thunder sounded, and once more Kageyama flinched.
"Have I ever told you that I'm afraid of heights?" Hinata mused, already launching into tales of his past. The way he so smoothly calmed Tobio of his fear filled him with wonder. What also filled him with wonder was how stupid someone with a fear of heights must be to become a spiker and to recklessly climb a pole, but this was Hinata after all.
The pair made their way to Kageyama's house, side by side. Tobio looked up at the tango of lightning and thunder that was developing in the sky. It didn't look like the storm would be over anytime soon.