This is my first Haikyuu fic, and an OC fic to boot. I just want to explore Kageyama's childhood a bit, so I'm indulging myself with this one-shot.
I personally like the popular headcanon about him having a lot of siblings (with a twin to boot) but I'd rather think he's the youngest out of the bunch than being one of the middle kids, though. Either that, or he's an only child living with a single parent.
R & R.
Enjoy~!
Azumi sighed as she turned off her laptop. It was another unproductive day again.
She went back home to Japan so she could write a short, slice of life story about her homeland and incorporating elements of the country's culture. It's been a long time since she's been here and she wanted to share its beauty through her writing.
However, it's hard when you're uninspired. For one, she lived most of her life in America, so she doesn't know much about Japanese culture. On another note, she also doesn't know Japanese views on life and society. Plus, the only person she knew in the entirety of Japan was her grandmother, and the old woman lived in Akita while she was staying at their old house in Miyagi.
Maybe she should go out for a walk to clear her head.
The young black-haired woman sighed as she rubbed her hands together. It was getting chillier and chillier as the days passed. Now that she thought about it, it wasn't such a good idea to head over to Japan during the winter season, no matter how pretty the scenery was in the snow.
Azumi looked around the playground. The benches were taken and she didn't want to go near the slides seeing as there were too many rowdy kids there. The swings were occupied, too. And there definitely was no place for her around the monkey bars. She trudged through the place until she saw another swing set at the farthest corner of the playground.
It was a two-person swing set and no one wanted to walk that far when there was a bigger and nearer set of swings by the entrance. She immediately headed there before anyone could take the spot.
She watched the people continue on their merry way and kids screaming and laughing. It made her cringe. She didn't like loud places and she avoided crowded places even more, but people-watching is important for the moment. If she can't pick anything up from observing the Japanese commonplace then what was she supposed to write?
That doesn't ease her dislike one bit.
She broke off from her thoughts when she heard chains rustling. She noticed a small black-haired kid, maybe six or seven, sitting on the swing beside her. Azumi sweatdropped. She was so lost into watching people far away that she never saw the kid approach her place.
Well, as long as he wasn't noisy and didn't bother her, she won't complain.
On the next day, she came back to the playground.
Again.
And again.
And again for the rest of the week.
And each time she was there, she sat beside the black-haired boy by the swings. He was a quiet kid so she didn't mind his presence while she was taking mental notes about the behavior of Japanese kids. It was as if there was a solemn harmony between them— something that they were comfortable with.
Or maybe she was just overglorifying their status as playground swingmates. She wasn't really sure.
However, some time after they started sort of hanging out, the woman noticed him staring at her. At first, she didn't really mind— as she said before, he was just a six or maybe seven year-old kid; he could be curious on why some lady kept on sitting beside him for the past few days.
She turned to meet his stare, but instead of seeing his eyes on her, she saw his eyes on the snack she was holding.
…Well then.
Azumi blinked and handed the box of pocky to him. "Do you want one?"
He glanced at her and she saw his eyes. His shade of blue-gray eyes was a pretty color, unlike her silver-gray ones. They reflected the deepest parts of the ocean, when it was getting dark, she mused.
The kid hesitated before slowly nodding and reaching out for it. He nibbled on the chocolate pocky like a mouse. It was adorable. She resisted the urge to pinch the boy's cheek because one, they didn't really know each other, and two, he'd probably be uncomfortable about it.
Besides, he looked like the sort of kid who shies away from everyone; especially adults.
Ever since, from "playground swingmates", they became "snack buddies".
That night, she smiled at her progress with her novel.
She was steadily writing the story with ease.
To be honest, she doesn't why she began to talk to him. Maybe it was because he seemed lonely when he was watching other kids play. Maybe it was also because he reminded her so much of her own childhood, when she was too shy to go talk to the other kids and play with them.
The moment she started to talk to him, it was too late to stop and back down.
"You know, if you want to make friends, you shouldn't be afraid of them. Nothing will happen if you don't go there yourself." Azumi began. "Why not greet them with a nice, big smile?"
The black-haired boy gazed at her in shock, as if he couldn't believe she would know how to make friends because it's some sort of holy secret only a selected few know. Her eye twitched.
Was it really unbelievable that she knew how to socialize? Sure, she was a wallflower back in her younger days and she's pretty much a hermit now since she only comes out because of her work, but she does know how to talk to people— she only prefers not to.
It was kind of sad watching him scare a smaller orange-haired boy, though.
"I smiled at him, but he ran away. I don't get it."
"Well then, show me what you did."
Azumi had an incredulous expression on her face when she saw his smile. Him greeting other kids with that smile of his is not a good idea at all.
And it continued on from there.
In the beginning, she simply gave him advice on how to get along with kids his age until she regaled him with personal stories, like about that one time in the convenience store or when she once went to a failed date and took a handful of breadsticks home. Eventually, the kid himself started to respond and share his own stories.
It wasn't long before they treated each other as friends.
She learned that his name was Tobio and that he was indeed, six. He was born on December 22—just a day after her, she mused—and that he was good at sports; a prodigy at them in fact seeing as he did show her his skills and he was an excellent player for a kid his age, especially in volleyball.
Azumi gradually grew a soft spot for him. They became close to the point that when she's on a writing break, she would go hang out in the playground to spend time with him. She gave him food and some stories, and he'd tell her his own, then they would play. The boy managed to make her play with him.
She didn't want it to stop, but things do have to end someday.
She was, after all, not staying in Japan for long.
Days flew by so fast until it was finally halfway through December.
It was then that Tobio learned that she was only staying in the country for a few months before she would leave for her next destination. His eyes widened at the news and she felt her heart clench at the sight. Azumi didn't want to disappoint him, but that's just life— she had to go one day.
"Can't… can't you stay longer?" He asked in a small voice.
The black-haired woman avoided his gaze. "I'm sorry."
She heard him leave and break into a run. She willfully ignored his nearly inaudible sobs as her grip on the swing tightened. It was cruel to make a little kid cry, though she can't exactly do anything about it. It was unfair, but this was for the sake of her job— if she didn't do this, how would she be able to sustain herself?
Azumi didn't stop him.
She groaned and leaned down on the computer chair. For some reason, she couldn't write anything today. The woman glared at her monitor as if it was the cause of all of her problems.
Maybe it was because her inspiration had been her moments with the kid? Or was today just a bad day?
Azumi sighed and shook her head. There was no denying it anyway. She was distracted— she still couldn't forget the kid's tiny sobs that day, and she hasn't seen him since last week. The ravenette didn't want to admit it, but she was really worried. It was obvious that Tobio was so hurt by her heartless declaration that he was actively avoiding her.
Not only that, whenever she went out on walks, she finds herself drifting back again and again to the playground. It was really bothering her.
I want a snack, she thought. When the writer went off to look at the snacks stored in her cupboard, she could only stare at the food blankly.
All that was left was a box of chocolate pocky— Tobio's favorite.
She sank to the ground, buried her face on her knees, and wept.
Azumi passed by the playground again. She brought a box of cake with her to celebrate her birthday along with Tobio, and in hopes of seeing the black-haired boy again.
He still wasn't there.
On New Year's Eve, all of a sudden, Tobio was back.
She saw him facing the other way, sitting alone by the swings in the corner. The young woman hurriedly made her way towards him and guilt rose in her chest when she caught him looking around, only to look down at the ground when he didn't see what he was looking for.
I bet he was waiting for me, The writer thought. I feel really bad.
She approached him with a smile and a box of pocky in hand. She gently placed a hand on his shoulder as he turned his head towards her. "Hello again, Tobi—"
Azumi froze in shock. He had a nasty bruise on his face. Not only that, his eyes were bloodshot and puffy; like he hadn't had a good sleep in a while and cried all the while. Beside him, she saw a worn bag that was overflowing with clothes as if he hastily pushed a bundle of them in it in his haste.
Her smile dropped. "T-Tobio?"
"Azumi-san…" He muttered, and she could see how happy he was when she went towards him.
She dropped the box of pocky on the ground and she grabbed his shoulders. She looked at him with a serious expression. "Tobio, who did this to you?"
"I-It doesn't matter," He said, mumbling a few more words.
"Tobio."
He avoided her gaze. "I… I said it doesn't matter anymore, 'cause I'm not going back to the orphanage."
Azumi's lips wobbled and her eyes began to water. She blinked to stop herself from crying at his heartbroken look. At that moment, the writer knew what she had to do. She genuinely liked him and she knew she won't have a family of her own what with her hermit-like lifestyle. Even if she was just a simple, vertically-challenged college drop-out, she would still like to go through with this.
Besides, she can't deny it anymore— she really wanted to stay longer; to stay with this kid who wormed his way in her heart. And to find out that he was an orphan all this time… it was perfect.
"Let's do this again from the top," She told him. "Tobio, would you like to come home with me?"
The smile he gave her made it all worth it.
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"I hope Karasuno wins this game!"
The blond-haired lady beside her smiled. "You're a fan of the school?"
She shook her head. "Ah, no. My son's on the team."
The younger woman was shocked. "Really? But you look so young."
"Yeah, I get that a lot," Because I am too young to be a teen's mom. Twenty-nine year-old Azumi chuckled. "By the way, I'm Kageyama Azumi, it's nice to meet you."
"The name's Tanaka Saek— wait a minute…"
Saeko gaped at her.
"Did you just say, 'Kageyama'?!"
Azumi (あずみ) means "safe residence". Basically her full name means "Shadow mountain's safe residence", referencing the fact that she adopts Kageyama.
Remember, Azumi knows how to socialize, but that doesn't mean she likes it. She prefers staying at home. Because she doesn't leave the house often, Kageyama doesn't leave very often either, so he'll end up not having friends and being unable to socialize. If they do leave home, they go together, thus, she's the only one Kageyama freely socializes with. He's awkward with other people, also because he grew up in an orphanage.
When they met, Azumi is twenty, while Kageyama is six. So by the time Haikyuu canon rolls in, Azumi is twenty-nine and Kageyama is fifteen. Also, their birthdays are December 21 and 22 respectively, in which both are the dates that winter solstice falls upon on.
Azumi is also short, maybe around 5'2 or so? I'm not sure. But yeah, some height along that one.
And the smaller orange-haired boy that Kageyama scared is indeed Hinata. Poor him, haha.
I hope you guys enjoyed reading this!
Ciao~!