Chapter One
Hinata Shouyou isn't sure what draws him in, the yowling cat, the distinctive red, or the hair with two colors. He decides that it's probably all three of those things in combination with being completely lost. Whoever thought a town run was a good idea was probably not thinking. He blames Kageyama, even if Kageyama suggest things as much as he calls everyone an idiot, it's still Kageyama's fault for him getting lost. A great ace shows no fear. Except Asahi. He decides, walking towards the red swathed person, proximity doesn't help him gather the stranger's gender. Asahi has long hair. But Asahi also has a beard. "What are you doing?" He calls out, making the hair jump like its been shocked. He suppresses a snicker until the person turns to glare at him with the strangest eyes he's ever seen. Like a cat, but a person.
They're golden and glow under the afternoon light, they shift along his body and he feels it like the gold is reaching out to him, he shudders. "Uh-" The cat-eyed person, boy person, mumbles, Hinata watches his Adam's Apple bob as he swallows then his mouth opens again. "I'm lost." Hinata smiles. This must be fate. He can't understand why he was supposed to meet this stranger, the more he stares the more the red draws him in, he's confused. Excited, but confused.
"Are you from out of town?" He asks, notices the way the stranger's arms tense under his red jacket. Golden eyes snap up to him and he feels the searching that goes on behind them, the black-blond hair bobs on the stranger's head, then his eyes are gone along with the view of his face. Kind of rude to turn away from fate. Hinata thought it was also pretty cool that someone would do that, not that he was going to tell the stranger that he was really cool, even if he did have similar hair to his senpai. Black with blond. He can't help but wonder if this stranger would be good at receiving, or screaming while rolling to receive.
"Is that thing fun?" Hinata asks when the silence starts ringing in his ears, he'd really like to know the purpose of meeting someone who's as lost as he is. The stranger jerks back as he leaps forward, their eyes don't meet but the stranger replies, humming quietly before stating, "Not really, just passing time." In an even voice. Calm. It's weird meeting calm people, all of the calm people on the volleyball team actually have a lot of interesting things about them when they get fired up. He leans forward, trying to get a better look at his strange new acquaintance, wondering what habits they'd pick up when they got excited.
He almost jumps in glee when he spots the stranger's bag, Volleyball Shoes! "Are you a volleyball player?" He all but shouts, and the stranger reels back again, He was meant to be my rival! It all made sense now. "Huh?" Is his response, golden eyes are on him again, he points to the bag next to the guy's legs. His hair flicks as he follows Hinata's finger, lips squirm as eyes land on a gym bag, gym shoes sticking out of them. "Oh-" He states like he's just noticed that he happen to play the best sport in existence. "Yeah." Comes the quiet reply, then there's quiet, except for the tapping of long fingers on a cell phone.
"I play on a team too! I'm Hinata Shouyou!" He cries out, ready to offer his new rival a fight as soon as he knows his name. He barely gets a glance before the stranger's vision is absorbed by flashing colors. "Kozume." Is the quiet reply, Hinata fills with adrenaline, I must beat Kozume! "Kozume, that's your name?" He gets another glance, "Kozume-" the boy echoes, "Kenma."
"You're Kenma!" What a good name for a rival! "Are you in high school?" He has to ask, Kenma has a very listless, passive expression in his face that he only sees on adults, but he lacks wrinkles and his eyes are so, so bright. Kenma hums an affirmative, "What year? I'm a first year!" He tries to size up the crouching boy, he thinks they might be the same height, give or take a few centimeters. "I'm in second year." Comes the eventual reply, it takes a moment before Hinata can absorb that information, then he squeaks as he bows. "Ah- Sorry!"
Kenma doesn't acknowledge his apology verbally, but his shoulder does shrug, "I don't really care about status stuff in sports." That put him more at ease, How long had Kenma been playing Volleyball? Could I still beat him? Will he kidnap me if my team doesn't find me? Does he live in a dumpster? Does he secretly murder other volleyball players? "So- Do you like volleyball?" He asks, wondering if Kenma would kill for his team, but also wondering why Kenma wasn't as hyped as he was about meeting another volleyball player. Kenma hummed quietly, probably buying time as he thought of a response, "Not really." Hinata's heart broke audibly, Not really. Do you like the best sport ever. Not really. There was a sigh of relief, at least he won't kill me over volleyball, "I kind of just do it." He's not sure what the means, just doing something, he always had to put all he had into everything he did or he'd never keep up. Never be an ace.
"I don't dislike it." Kenma states, as if he can read Hinata's thoughts about murder and rivals. It's a start, I guess. He's still kind of mad that someone who played volleyball didn't actually like it. "But I don't like getting tired." He could kind of understand that, you can't play volleyball if you're tired. "But my friends play, and they can't do it without me." Hinata thought that was really cool, noble even. He didn't think he could do something he didn't like everyday for the sake of another person. Kenma doesn't sound like it, but he's a really good friend. Hinata smiles to himself, glad that people like Kenma would be on the court, good friends and spiking, maybe Kenma would have a better time if spiked more.
"You'd probably have more fun if you get to like it." He states wisely, leaning against the fence next to his new rival. Suga-san would be so proud of me for being so wise. "I don't care." Comes the blunt response, Or maybe not. He tries not to let his hope crumble, because his rival deserved to have fun, even if he was losing to Karasuno. "It's only while I'm in high school." Hinata cannot help but wonder if Tsukishima and Kenma were related. "What position do you play?" He wonders instead of asking if he was related to a really tall mean kid.
"Setter." Comes the quiet response, and Hinata is left to wonder, Kageyama and Suga-san are really invested in volleyball. And they're setters. Maybe Kenma was just different, less motivated for reason. Maybe he doesn't have a rising ace on his team. "Setter, huh?" He's nodding quietly, leaning his head back until his scalp is rubbing against the fence, making a mental list of setters and their personalities. None of the setters he knew had much in common. "You're a little different than my setter, he's a little..." Obsessed, motivated, creepy, annoying. "Intense." He decides because it's the most neutral word he can describe Kageyama with, even when he knows that Kageyama wouldn't give him such in return. Wasn't around to hear him. I'm lost. I'm going to die alone with a cat and an unmotivated setter. My life is over.
"I'm a middle blocker!" He chirps, observing Kenma in case he decides to jump up and murder him for speaking out of turn. The black-blond hair doesn't move, and he lets out a little sigh of relief. "Wow." Comes the flat response, Kenma doesn't sound very wow'd to him. "Do you think that's weird?" Hinata can't help but pout, just because he's short doesn't mean he can't block or spike. Stupid Kenma. "It is a position for tall guys." He adds when Kenma is quiet for too long. "I guess." I'll show you! "But I don't think that." Hinata blinked. Maybe Kenma is a better rival than I thought. Kenma sighs then looks back up at him, he's drawn in by fiery honey and nods, "I get told stuff in games all the time, like how setter is for the most talented, so why him?" Kenma doesn't sound hurt or even offended. He must be really good. "I'm not that athletic to begin with." A non-athletic athlete. He must be really, really good!
"Is your team good?" He asks instead of asking Kenma all the questions he has about the other boy. "I heard we were good a really long time ago..." Just like our team! "But we starting falling off." Kenma seems to take in his pout and shrugs, "I think we're pretty good though." The black-blond boy's lips morph into an almost smirk, it's kind of intimidating. Setters have creepy smiles. He swallows his anxiousness, offers Kenma as bright a smile as he can manage, it's not that hard considering he just found a new rival.
"Wh-what school-?" Hinata's cut off by another voice, deep and uncomfortable that sends chills up his spine, "Kenma!" then Kenma speaks, sounding more lively than Hinata has ever heard the other boy, "Kuro!" Kuro? A tall boy draws into sight, tan skin covered in red. Same team as Kenma! He sizes up a possible new rival, but he's pinned down as their eyes meet. Creepy. He thinks of rust and scary things he doesn't like. Breathing is a little harder as Kuro stares into him, like his thoughts are being read. "See you soon, Shouyou." Kenma mumbles, walking up without fear to the tall imposing man in front of them. He ignores the way that Kuro's eyes gleam at him, menacing and more intimidating than Kenma's.
"R-right!" He squeaks, finally noticing that both Kuro and Kenma are walking away, neither of them turn back to him, so he might not have been heard. Hinata doesn't think it would be wise to chase them, or look at them for long periods of time. I'm still lost. Now I'm going to die alone. He leans back into the fence, wondering what fate might do to him. I have a new rival. I can't die now. Kenma said he'd see me soon. Maybe he abandoned me so I could die and he'd come harvest my organs. "Hinata!" He remembers how to breathe when someone calls his name, a familiar someone. He practically launches himself at his teammate. "Don't let them harvest me, Suga-san! Don't let me die!" He's crying now, and he's not sure if they're happy tears or not.
"I was looking all over for you." Comes the response, Suga-san doesn't sound freaked out, his organs are safe though. Hinata climbs onto his teammate and doesn't dare to let go until they're both safe. "I got lost! I could have died!" He wails into his teammate's sweaty neck, not really caring if he was getting that sweat all over his face. Suga struggles under his weight, Hinata can feel it in his quivering arms as he walks, but he refuses to get down until they find Daichi, he'd scare them off. His lungs take air more easily now, even if that air doesn't smell great, and he can't help but wonder when he'll see his new rival again. Soon. He could feel it, the truth in Kenma's last words.
"Hey, Hinata?" Suga asks once he's walking more steadily with the additional weight attached to him. Hinata hums quietly in askance, feeling oddly lethargic now that he's calmed down. "You always give your all in practice, right?" He has a feeling that that isn't all Suga is asking, even if he is about to pass out. He shrugs, shoulders pressing into Suga's, "I have to keep improving, Suga-san, I'll never catch up to Kageyama if I don't." It comes out as a whine, but he knows he can beat Kageyama one day, so he'd do a hundred practices a day if he had to. "He's the only reason I'm allowed on the court." He swallows down an insult reserved for his setter and rests his cheek on Suga's shoulder, he hated how weak he was without his team, Kageyama specifically. "I want to be treated like an individual, not a part of Kageyama, you know?" Suga makes a weird sound in his throat that might sound different if he weren't so close.
Hinata smiles into his teammate's shoulder, "I wanna play in every match there is! And never leave the court until I'm the best, ya know?" Suga is quiet for a long time, then he stops, Hinata wonders if he's about to be put down. "I want to fight.." Oh. This is not good. He didn't figure his upperclassman to be the fighting type, "O-on the court I mean, I know Kageyama is a genius, but I can offer my skills too, fight and never leave the court. For the team." Suga's voice is quiet, unsure and shaking. Hinata's head swims in guilt and sympathy. "For the team." He echoes, wondering how many games Suga would sit out because he thought Kageyama would be better in the team. "I think you deserve to play." He says quietly, but he's right next to Suga's ear, so knows the boy can hear him. Confirms it when he feels Suga's arms stiffen around his body.
"Kageyama is good on the team, but I don't know if he's good for the team, you know?" Suga snorts, but nods stiffly, he thinks he can hear the older boy smiling. "He's not nice, and sometimes he makes Tsukishima quit. during practice. Not that I like Tsukishima." He mumbles the last part, knowing that Suga would yell at him for being mean, even if a certain blond wasn't around to hear it. "I think I get what you mean, Hinata." He nods against the older boy, "Why do you call me that?"
Suga pauses in step, but keeps walking, "Your name?" He can definitely hear a smirk in Suga's tone. "My family name." Suga's shoulder shifts from under his head. "We haven't really known each other for that long, I've known Daichi for years and I've never called him by his given name." Hinata blinks at that, trying to remember if Daichi even had a given name. I think there might be like, a ss sound, maybe? He scoffs loudly, "Yeah, well you saved my life, so I think you've earned it. At least say it once." Suga sighs for a very impressive amount of time, then he's quiet as he starts walking more quickly."We're gonna be late for lunch, Shouyou." Suga is still smiling, and now he is as well, until he tries to remember Suga-san's first name. Maybe it was Suga that had the ss sound...
They make it time for lunch, Suga carrying him the entire way, but everyone is staring at them as they burst through the doors where lunch is being held. "Uh-" Daichi starts, standing up like he's prepared to catch Suga from keeling over and dying. Hinata had offered, very quietly, that he could walk the rest of the way on his own, but Suga had insisted. I saved your life, might as well make sure your safe. Suga's breathing got really hard by the time they made it back to the gym, and Hinata was silently worried that his upperclassman might actually die.
As soon as they made it through the doorway, Suga dropped him onto the floor, then bent over, dripping sweat onto him as he panted. "Hinata- Suga- I- What?" Hinata wasn't sure if Daichi could be confused, and it was odd hearing him not complete sentences. He jumped up, letting Suga catch his breath and answered for them. "Suga-san saved my life! And then he carried me all the way here!" He left out the parts where he met his new rival and a really scary guy with dark hair and chopper eyes.
"Good job, Suga!" Tanaka-senpai whooped, followed by Noya's, "You the man, Suga!" Suga-san took another long moment to catch his breath with Daichi rubbing at his back, eventually they all took their seats, asking questions about his their disappearance. They have the rest of their afternoon practice inside, coach Ukai giving an excuse about child safety, but all eyes had been turned onto him. He spluttered, offended, claimed that they couldn't treat a future ace this way but nobody listened to him. Practice in the gym was still pretty cool, he asked -forced- Suga-san into giving him lessons in serving since Kageyama wouldn't. The older boy had laughed easily, but agreed, not that he had much of a choice. He asked Suga about jump serving, but the older boy just shrugged, told him to ask someone that could actually do it.
Hinata didn't ask, he just tried, he might have fallen on his face. Twice. But he had fun jumping from the back of the court, something different. Kageyama told him not to get used to it, he didn't mind the scathing remark, serving wasn't really his strong suit and he didn't really like it that much. He asked Kageyama to teach him, maybe have dug his nails into his arm to keep from adding anything else to his request. Stupid, idiot, moron. Kageyama blinked, face contorting into a frown like it always does, but he nodded eventually, a weird light in his eyes.
Kageyama didn't teach him how to jump serve, he said that that was for when he knew how to serve on the ground. Hinata insisted that his work was best done in the air, but Kageyama just hit him in the face with a ball, then punched him. How could this happen to me? The second little giant. I think my arm is broken. It could get infected and I could die without learning how to serve. His panic was interrupted by Ukai's voice, telling them to huddle up.
A jersey. Hinata Shouyou had a jersey, he was a part of the Karsuno team. I won't let them down! I won't let myself down! "Wow! Noya-senpai, you look really cool! But why is your jersey different?" The older boy smirked at him, "Of course I have a different jersey, I'm the most important." Hinata couldn't find an argument with that, but that didn't really answer why. "Liberos have to be noticeable." That made sense, he just didn't want Kageyama to answer it. Stupid Idiot. "You got a number higher than me!" He accused when he noticed Kagayama's jersey. Stupid not fair idiot. Kageyama opened his mouth to answer, the lines around his mouth telling Hinata that it was not going to be pleasant to his ears. "I guess you don't remember that number, huh?" Daichi asked, suddenly in front of him, tall and smiling warmly. He shakes his head, looking down at his jersey because it was shiny it made him warm inside knowing that he belonged to an actual team.
"The Little Giant wore that number when Karasuno made it to the finals." Daichi explained, laughing at him when his head snapped up. The Little Giant wore this jersey. His breathing started to come out less evenly as he realized that. I'm wearing Little Giant's jersey. They're all counting on me. I'm gonna be an ace.
He turned to coach Ukai, who just stared at him, "Was this your thoughtful idea, Coach?" He asked, smiling brightly. "No." Came the blunt response, but his spirits weren't dropped. "Then it must be fate!" Like meeting Kenma. Meeting Kenma at the finals like Little Giant.
He had dreams of the finals that night, flashes off him on TV, standing where The Little Giant stood, spiking. Fighting his own battles in the air. He couldn't swim in his dreams long, Kageyama hitting him on the head made the images swim in his brain. They all stretched, their team was supposed to practice against Karsuno's old rival team today and everyone seemed more on edge, even Suga-san who was usually warm in the mornings had a small pout on his face. Hinata tried not to let the sour moods affect him, he had another team to crush!
The bus ride was long and slow, and Kageyama wouldn't stop bouncing his leg. He calls me hyper-active, stupid jerk. He couldn't help but wonder why everyone was being so quiet, even Tanaka and Noya were being stony and silent. Maybe the rival team is really scary. Or really tall. Or maybe they're all really short! What if they're aliens or ghost people. Hinata was contemplating on how ghosts would be able to spike or toss when the bus pulled to a stop, he could see the gym doors from the window but not inside. Creepy. Ukai started talking from the front of the bus, but his eyes were drawn to a line of red-clad people. The last one with black-blond hair made his heart stop. Kenma is on Karasuno's rival team! No wonder everyone is so nervous. He swallowed hard, turned back to coach Ukai was still talking about their behavior and how they could beat Nekoma if they acted like a team. Nekoma. The team name fit Kenma, golden eyes like a cat. Kuro too, his messy black hair almost look like a single cat ear, and his creepy gleaming eyes.
They filed out of the bus, silent still, and lined up in front of the Nekoma team. It felt oddly movie like, fluttering cherry blossoms and intense glares, people moving around them. It felt more similar to an action movie than two volleyball teams meeting. The moment lasted too long and he was glad when it was over, "Kenma!" He called out as the black-blond boy turned to walk towards the gym doors, Kenma stopped in his tracks and turned around to face him. "Y-you're with Nekoma?" He asked, he knew it was true already, but it was odd that his new rival was also his team's rival. The older boy nodded, a quiet hum coming from his throat as he did so. "Yeah." He admitted finally. "Why didn't you tell me?" Hinata whines, they could have been rivals much sooner!
"Because you didn't ask." Comes Kenma's blunt response, he pouts at that, it was true but he still could have said something. "But you said 'see you soon' so you must have known something, right?" He didn't recall telling Kenma that he was on Karsuno. Or did I? "Your t-shirt said Karasuno High School." Oh. He didn't think Kenma had been that observant, the older boy had barely looked at him. Strange. He thought it was creepy, but also very interesting, he wondered what else Kenma had noticed about him. Is my left ear bigger than my right ear? Do I have a secret lazy eye? Am I dying? He heard that there were cats that could smell dying people, wondered if it would be weird to ask Kenma to smell him.
He had just built up the nerve when someone interrupted him, "Hey Hey Hey!" Called out in broken English, why is he saying hello three times? Hinata looks up from Kenma and spots the person who must have spoken, a guy with an almost shaved head was glaring at him. Hinata blinked, felt his eyebrows raising very quickly. Is that by design? Is everyone in Tokyo so weird? "Hello?" He offered the glaring man, "What business do you have with our setter?" He was about to explain that Kenma was his rival and he was going to beat all of Nekoma. "It's fine." Kenma stated, sounding exhausted from just standing. This is not fine. He looks like he might eat me.
Hinata tried to back away but collided with another body, please no more Nekoma, but looked up to find the glaring face of Tanaka-senpai. "What business do you have with our first year?" He growled out, changing out his menacing facial expression for a more frightening one. "Wanna fight, City Boy?" He's not sure what to make of what's going on right now, Kenma looks more annoyed than confused. Thankfully the glaring match ends with Suga-san's appearance, "We're going to fight them, that's why were here. To play a match. And stop with the city boy thing, it's really embarrassing." Hinata is pretty sure he can hear Tanaka-senpai's heart shattering, and he might have laughed, only a little. Suga-san winked at him. One problem down. Then another tall friendly boy ended up beside Kenma, "Yamamato, quick trying to pick fights. It makes you look stupid." Two problems down. Nice kill.
He sees Yamamato crying shortly after, Hinata is left very confused and decides to follow Kenma but is stopped by an arm around his shoulder. "How come you know that guy?" Kageyama asks, pointing towards the fleeting form of his new rival. "That's Kenma." Kageyama looks down at him, stares silently. "He says he's Nekoma's setter." He's also my rival with really cool hair and a scary friend... friends. He's not sure what else there is to say about Kenma to Kageyama, but a glance up at his teammate tells him that he's said enough.
"Setter." Kageyama whispers sounding intense and slightly frightening. Hinata tries to duck out of Kageyama's grip, but it just tightens around his shoulder and then he's being dragged into the gym. The entrance is roomy and tidy, posters of Tokyo's volleyball teams cover the walls with vibrant colors. He couldn't really focus on that because his arm was starting to lose feeling, "Eh- Kageyama?" He pauses, and Kageyama almost keeps walking. "Setter." The taller boy echoes, then Hinata is being dragged into the biggest gym he's ever seen.
"The ceiling is so high!" He gapes, looking up into endless darkness and shiny rafters. It must be impossible to get a volleyball stuck up there... Kageyama led him to the rest of the team, all huddled up, discussing strategy. Ukai and Takeda-sensei walked to the other side of the gym, and started talking to an old guy in red. Creepy. The old man smiled lecherously at the two adults as they approached. Hinata shuddered. Kageyama released his shoulder and turned to the rest of the team, he followed as well, stared at Daichi who had half a smile on his face. This isn't going to be good. "To be honest," Daichi started, We've all just met, we're awkward and cracked," Very inspiring, Captain. "But this is our first match as a team; We know nothing about Nekoma, nor the kind of walls we'll hit when playing them." Is this supposed to be inspiring? Daichi stared at all of them at once, he wondered if that was a captain thing, then his smile bloomed into a cocky smirk. "But running into a wall gives us the chance to jump over it." His knees tingled at the word jump.
Despite the bad speech, Hinata was feeling pretty inspired, maybe it wasn't a bad speech then. "Karasuno!" Daichi bellowed out, making Hinata wonder if Daichi had ever considered a career in being on the radio. "Fight!" He called out, then everyone erupted after him, raising their arms, giving flight to a giant bird. "Fight!" They all yelled, and judging by the looks on their faces they had forgotten all about the less than inspiring speech. He glanced over at the Nekoma team, all of them running into their positions, except for Kenma who was talking with his creepy-looking friend. Kuro, he remembered.
He was very, very ready to take down his new rival, had pumped himself up until he was shaking with excitement. "Do you have to go to the bathroom, Hinata?" Daichi asked, he'd never wanted to actually fight someone before. "No! I'm just ready to win!" Daichi laughed, "You're not nervous are you?" He stilled, asked himself if he was actually nervous. Oh god. He sighed out loudly, hoping that some deep breathing would ease his new-found panic. Why did he have to ask that? "Now I am." He groaned back, but Daichi just slapped him on the back. "It'll be fine, Hinata." He knew that, of course he did. Why wouldn't it not be fine?
Daichi eased him in front of the net, across from an almost friendly looking member of Nekoma. He wondered if people on their team made cat noises, or if they were actually cats in disguise as people. "Woah! S-short." Hinata was ready to jump across the net and fight this stupid looking jerk. "Don't underestimate me!" He shouts instead, crossing his arms to prevent him from wringing this guy's stupid neck. Stupid Tokyo and their stupid cat-people. "Oh, I'm not!" The guy chirped and Hinata paused, "R-really?" Taking in the guy's half-friendly smile, the boy nodded sharply.
The game was set into motion with a surge of confidence. Don't underestimate me.
A/N: I'd like to apologize for removing the story and then making you wait while I rewrite and reupload, I had planned on doing some 'fixing' of the original ten chapters, but this website doesn't let you organize chapters in the way you want, so I had to delete the entire thing or it'd be even more work. Hope you guys understand.