Prologue

Right before every challenger there is a wall, impregnable, impenetrable; impossible to best. It blocks the vision of those that stand before it. What sight is there on the other side? If I try to climb over, what will be the view from the top?

Hinata Shouyo wonders this every time he attempts to put ink to paper and create. He turns over the flood of questions in his mind, swims in it, sometimes drowns in his haste to find an answer. The view from the top. Will he reach it on his own? Now that was a riddle. How could short, runtish Hinata reach the top of the wall on his own? He couldn't even get a mug from the top cupboard without using a stool.

"Ugh whatever. If the little giant can do it so can I," Hinata grits out as he accelerates. He hovers over his bicycle seat. The crisp mountain air filling his lungs (exceptionally large judging by his shout, as he psyches himself up). Hinata remembers a time when crossing the mountain pass from his house to Karasuno High used to make him lightheaded. His body not yet used to the exposure of cold, high altitude mountain so early in the morning.

"Three years already," he muses to himself. Hinata never thought his final days of high school would come so soon. It seemed days ago he was coercing Izumi and Kouji into modelling for his drawings.

"Shou-chan!" A voice calls. Hinata finishes clasping his bicycle in place then turns around and offers the owner of the voice a bright smile.

"Izumin! Good morning." He pounces on Izumi and gives him a warm hug, partly because his thoughts on the journey to school made him nostalgic for his friends but mainly because it was five in the morning and Hinata was freezing.

"Energetic as always," Kouji smiles and pats Hinata on the head, "even though entrance exams are so close."

Hinata pulls away from Izumi and makes a face. "Hey, Kouji what's that supposed to mean? I have entrance exams too."

"Says the guy who has monopolised my Saturday this weekend so we can see his first art exhibition."

Hinata punches Kouji in the shoulder. "Oi you jerk, you agreed to come don't back out on me. 'Sides it's not an exhibition it's a competition. And I'm going to win," He adds with confidence, his brown eyes glinting with ambition.

"Can't wait to see it Shou-chan. You've kept it a secret from us for so long, I wonder what it is," Izumi interjects excitedly. His head shakes with each animated word, blowing wisps of caramel hair onto his face.

"Me too," Kouji adds with a yawn. He buries his face deeper into his scarf and trudges towards the club rooms further ahead.

Hinata smiles, the support of his friends warming him up inside. He too pushes his scarf up to his nose and follows Kouji and Izumi. He struggles to keep up as both his friends are significantly taller than him and have larger strides. "Wait up!" He calls. Taking the metal steps leading to the club rooms two at a time. He quickly catches up and skids to a halt in front of a random door. He recalls it belonging to the basketball club, his suspicions are confirmed when he notices the small orange basketball sticker on the doorknob.

The Karasuno Athletic clubs are all located in a single space. There are three floors of five club rooms in a row. Conveniently his, Kouji's and Izumi's club rooms are all on the second floor. Hinata leans on the metal railing and waits for his two friends to unlock their doors. He is once again hit by a wave of nostalgia as he watches them fumble with their keys. When they were first years, they were all much shorter and less built. Kouji's now formidable spiked up bush of hair was a simple buzz cut then. Izumi who was much closer to Hinata's height (before his growth spurt in second year) was scrawny and hid behind his bangs. Hinata was swelling with pride for his friends, they were now all captain's of their own teams. Well Hinata didn't really count, the volleyball club existed in name only, with him as the sole member.

He sighs and watches his icy breath disappear into the air. It was a shame he couldn't play volleyball aside from practice with the girls team but on the bright side he at least got a space to work on his artwork undisturbed. Hinata pushes off the railing and calls in his friends' direction, "Hurry up and get changed." He then fishes his keys out of his pocket and unlocks the door to the volleyball club room or the now nicknamed Weed room after he and his friends found a stash hidden in the floorboards. Needless to say that was the best joint practice between the volleyball, soccer and tennis club.

Hinata dumps his school bag on a pile of pillows (he takes naps there sometimes). The floor beneath him creaks in a way that has become both familiar and musical to him over the years. The air smells of stale paint and he remembers that he forgot to clean his paintbrushes last Friday. Hinata opens the window to let in some chilly morning air and gathers up the stained paintbrushes, he'll clean them in the sports taps downstairs. Just as he's about to leave the door creaks open and Izumi and Kouji step inside dressed in the Karasuno black tracksuit. Hinata abandons the paintbrushes and settles down on the tatami flooring. Izumi and Kouji do the same. It was their tradition to meet in Hinata's club room before morning practice. They would catch up on extra sleep, do last minute homework, help Hinata with an artwork or just to vent their frustrations. High school sports brought a lot of frustration and Hinata was happy to listen even if he felt a tinge of envy for his friends. He usually ignored it, his desire for them to succeed was stronger.

"So captain," Hinata starts, he chuckles when both Izumi and Kouji say, 'Yes!' Out of reflex. "How long till practice?"

Kouji glances at his watch and says, "Half an hour."

"Enough time for another joint practice?" Izumi asks, a mischievous glint in his eyes.

Kouji's dark eyes grow wide as saucers, "No way!" He slaps a hand to the floor, "I'm not getting high on my last day as captain. Especially when I'm supposed to be all dignified when I pass the baton on to my Kouhai."

Hinata jumps up excitedly. "Yes! Oh my god, is there more? I thought we used it all."

Izumi smirks and produces a foil wrapping from his jacket pocket. "Stole some from my brother."

"You're the best Izumin!" Hinata cries as he pounces on him the second time that morning.

"You're not going to listen to reason are you?" Kouji says, defeated.

"Nope." Hinata and Izumi say in unison.

He shrugs, "Whatever never liked the kid taking over for me anyway. Maybe getting high will help me tolerate his presence."

They all laugh. And when Izumi passes the foil around Hinata's glad he opened that window.

OOO

Hinata checks his phone for the thousandth time. It still reads 11:05. He sighs and slumps onto the park bench. In his eagerness to be on time he ended up an hour early for his designated meeting time with Izumi and Kouji. He bounces his legs restlessly as he waits, his jerky movements often untying the shoelaces of his converse. Two kids walk into the park carrying a volleyball. Hinata instantly jumps up from his seat and heads towards the kids, his bright— Natsu friendly smile on his face. In a matter of seconds he's playing volleyball with the kids. Time passes quickly and soon It's Izumi and Kouji waiting for him instead.

"Bye Onii-chan!" The two boys call after him, "thanks for teaching us."

Hinata gives them a grin and a thumbs up. "No problem."

"Hey guys," Hinata greets, he's sweaty and slightly out of breath from the workout. The flannel shirt his mother had ironed in an attempt for him to look 'smart' was now wrinkled and tied around his waist.

"Don't you look great," Kouji says running his hands through Hinata's messy orange locks.

"Isn't it fine though, Shou-chan looking presentable would freak me out," Izumi adds playfully.

"Hey!"

"True, there's no paint on his face. I call that a win."

Hinata scrunches his face up in an attempt to look intimidating, "It's my war paint."

Kouji pinches him on the cheek. "Alright then let's head to war."

The building where the competition is held annually, is small and modest. It could probably hold the whole Karasuno student body. It takes Hinata a moment to collect himself, the novelty of his situation freezing him in place with excitement. When they approach the registration desk he is still frozen in place. Izumi nudges him several times to get him to speak but his jaw is wired shut. The receptionist asks whether they are guests or competitors and Hinata responds with a flustered, "Yes, no!"

She narrows her eyes in confusion. "Excuse me?"

Kouji rolls his eyes and swiftly takes over the conversation, "Two guests and one competitor. His name is Hinata Shouyo. How much are the tickets?"

After hearing the price Kouji pulls out a couple of notes and pays for admission. He gladly receives a laminated pass attached to a lanyard and thanks the receptionist.

"Quite reliable isn't he?" Izumi says with a smile. Hinata nods in agreement.

Kouji approaches Hinata and hands him his pass. "Let's go hopeless, it's starting soon."

Hinata quickly scans the information on the gallery layout and the whereabouts of his art before he pulls the lanyard over his head and let's it rest on his chest.

He leads the way, weaving through the surprisingly large crowd of people to get to the room with the competition entries. Hinata's shoes makes the occasional squeaking sound when halts too quickly to stare at a painting. After what feels like an eternity (to Kouji and Izumi. Hinata loves art galleries). They arrive at the competition room. Hinata pauses in the large doorway and inhales deeply.

"The smell of canvas. The scent of art galleries."

"Alright Shou-chan. I'm going to guess which is yours." Izumi darts into the room and begins having a staring contest with all the entries.

Hinata laughs. He leaves Izumi to his search and begins checking out the artwork. He bounds around the small room, pausing from painting to painting, sculpture to sculpture. Every individual artwork bringing forth an excited scream or an awed expression. He's staring at an oil painting of a garden when he notices the crowd across the room. He's instantly intrigued and makes his way over. His short stature proving itself useful for once. After fighting his way to the front Hinata finds himself gazing at an enormous landscape painting. Hinata sucks in a breath. The line work on each blade of grass and tree is impeccable. The use of colour and gradient is perfect, vibrant and attention grabbing. Hinata hasn't felt that way about another's artwork in a long time, since he was ten and stumbling into the little giant's exhibition to get shelter from the rain. He is desperate to know who created this...Masterpiece! He wants to meet them right this instant.

The gold plating beneath the painting reads Kageyama Tobio: Not enough. Hinata sears that name into his brain. As he makes his way out of the crowd to find his friends, he hears slivers of conversations.

"…Did you see The king's art piece? Awesome as always."

"Was there any point in me entering? He's going to win this easily…"

"The King is here! Let's see his work."

Hinata wasn't aware that this King (Kageyama Tobio) was famous. They both lived in Miyagi and were probably the same age. It was surprising that Hinata hadn't at least heard a mention of his name until today. He shrugs away the thoughts and pauses when he notices the familiar black spikes of Kouji's hair. Thank god for his outlandish haircut. He makes his way over to them and notices that they're staring intently at his painting.

"Hey guys!" He chirps, draping his arms around both Izumi and Kouji's shoulders.

They both jolt in surprise. "This looks good," Izumi says after the initial shock wears off.

"Yeah. How long did this take?"

Hinata removes his arm from Kouji's shoulder and places a hand on his chin in contemplation. "Hmm, I think three months? On and off cause I had to study."

Izumi let's out an impressed whistle. "Amazing," he nudges Hinata and says, "this is the mountain pass right? The one between your house and Karasuno."

Hinata eyes glint with excitement. "Yeah it is. How'd you know Izumin?"

"I went to your house that one time in second year. Kouji came too,"

"Oh right, I remember."

Their little moment of reminiscence is cut short when a voice booms, "We're ready to start judging!"

Hinata's snaps his gaze to the centre of the room where a cheerful man is standing and holding a microphone. All the people gathered quieten down and assemble into a small audience in front of the man. Hinata vaguely registers the man's slicked back hair and questions how much gel it took him to achieve that look.

"Before we announce the winners I'd like to thank everyone who has attended this gallery. I'd also like to thank everyone who put the time and effort to contribute a piece. Even if you don't win all artwork will be sold and the proceeds donated to charity, so thank you for your hard work." The man bows. He receives a round of applause and when the noise dies down, he straightens up and speaks once again, "I have three pieces lined up here. Picked by our lovely panel of judges. If my assistant could just remove the cloth of the third place painting, thank you."

Hinata stares intently at the three paintings under the cloth, he takes in the size and shape of the canvas and wonders whether his is underneath one of them. His stomach churns with unease. The assistant walks up to the painting furthest away from the man and pulls off the white cloth, flashing the crowd with her dazzling smile.

"In third place we have, Kindaichi Yuutarou. For his painting: Sky limit."

A lanky boy walks into the middle of the room, there's a light blush on his cheeks however what draws Hinata's attention is his hair. The ridiculously tall spiked up locks makes Kouji's hair look cute.

"Turnip-head," Hinata says when the resemblance clicks in his mind.

Izumi and Kouji snort beside him, hiding their laughter behind their hands.

The second place painting is unveiled, it's an abstract painting, a series of swirls and splotches of paint. Hinata honestly can't find the appeal in it.

"In second place we have Kunimi Akira. For his painting: Lazy Days."

The short boy, whose face is hidden behind his bangs (just like first year Izumi) slouches over to his position besides Turnip-head.

The first place painting is unveiled. Hinata's disappointment is momentarily squashed by his awe of the winning painting. It looks even better the second time around. Every fine detail and delicate stroke of the brush monopolising his attention.

"And the winner is… Kageyama Tobio. For his painting: Not Enough."

Hinata registers the reassuring pats Izumi and Kouji are giving him and if he wasn't so curious to know who this King was, he definitely would've burst into tears from the kindness.

Kageyama Tobio walks across the room to his place at the top as if he owns the ground beneath him, as if he owns the air. He moves confidently and gracefully. Hinata notes the way his jet black hair looks blue under the lights, the scowl set on his face and strangely enough the look of hostility passed between him, Turnip-head and the boy who resembles younger Izumi. Kageyama calmly takes his place in the centre.

"A round of applause for these budding artists!"

Hinata is subjected to listen to the defeating applause as he tries to swallow the bitterness welling inside him. The crowd soon disperses and heads to the exit. He is still standing there feeling frustrated. Izumi gently taps his elbow. "Let's go Shou-chan," he grabs his forearm and lead Hinata towards the exit.

"There's an ice cream shop nearby right? Let's get some," Kouji says falling into step with Izumi.

Hinata is infinitely grateful for his friends. He plasters a smile on his face, it's feeble yet just as meaningful. "Yeah, you're paying Kouji."

Kouji smacks him on the back of his head, "Just this once. But pay me back when you're rich and famous."

Hinata laughs, "I'll always remember the little people."

"That's real rich coming from you."

On their way out Hinata spots the Kageyama Tobio standing beside a pillar. He's typing on his phone and fiddling with his canvas bag (which is probably full of the art supplies and thousand dollar cheque he won). Despite his better judgement Hinata heads towards him, muttering a, "be right back," to Izumi and Kouji.

He pauses in front of Kageyama who has yet to notice him. "Hello!" He says confidently.

Kageyama looks up from his phone and raises an eyebrow, "What."

Hinata tries not to wilt under his icy gaze. He takes a deep breath and says, "Nice to meet you I'm Hinata Shouyo."

Kageyama's scowl deepens. "And, what do you want?"

"I was wondering if you saw my painting."

Kageyama crosses his arms over his chest, Hinata prepares himself for rejection but instead The King looks down at him and says, "Thought your name was familiar. You're the one who submitted mountain pass right?"

Hinata brightens. "Yeah I did, so King what did you think of it?"

"Firstly don't call me King," he says through gritted teeth, "secondly I thought your painting was amateurish. It had the fundamentals but lacked the skill to make it stand out. Put bluntly it sucked."

At those words Hinata feels something inside him break, maybe it was the dam that was holding back all his feeling or perhaps it was his frustration of being belittled by a stranger. All he knows is that he wants to cry. Tears prickle in his eyes but he refuses to let the person before him see. He blinks them away hurriedly. "Excuse me?" He questions, naively hoping that he misheard the previous statement.

"Your painting is terrible. Honestly, what have you been practicing all these years?"

The tears begin flowing freely down Hinata's face, torn between anger and hurt he struggles to come up with a response. He draws a shaky breath and says, "Next year just you wait. My art will be everywhere and I'll definitely beat you!"

Kageyama's expression remains blank, "Sure. See you at the top." He pockets his phone and turns to walk away.

Hinata scrubs his tears away with his hands then heads back to his friends. Feeling much better after letting out his emotions, he smiles brightly. "Let's get ice cream!"

OOO

The last few months of high school go by in a blur. Hinata makes the journey over the mountain pass just like always, he hangs out with Izumi and Kouji before morning practice— even though they all resigned from club activities and he still wakes up ridiculously early for school. The biggest change in Hinata's life is the amount of studying he does. The usual morning naps, lunch breaks and sports is supplemented with study sessions. After his encounter with The King Hinata made the decision to attend university in Tokyo. The same university that the Little Giant had attended. In order for that to happen he needed to study a lot, more than he ever had in his three years of high school. Thankfully his friends are geniuses from class 5 and Hinata is grateful to be under their tutelage.

By some miracle he passes his entrance exams and makes it into his university of choice. When he sees his name on the board Hinata immediately snaps a picture and sends it to his tutors (aka friends) with lots of emojis attached. He is euphoric, he can finally begin his journey to becoming the next little giant.

On the day of the graduation ceremony Hinata, Izumi and Kouji meet half an hour early, they stand under the cherry blossoms and enjoy their last time together, the three little brats that caused trouble to Karasuno High (and the vice-principle's wig). Izumi pulls out a brown paper bag from his backpack and holds it out to his two friends.

"God no, please not again," Kouji begs, "we're graduating."

Izumi smirks. "Relax they're meat buns from the foothill store. Even I'm not that reckless."

Hinata happily takes one for himself and hands the paper bag to Kouji. "Loosen up."

Kouji takes his meat bun and they eat in silence. No words are needed.

After the ceremony, after Hinata's mother has drenched him in tears and Natsu has halted circulation to torso with her tight hug. He ventures off to find his friends. He spots them underneath the cherry blossoms, the black case of their diplomas in hand. He jogs over to them.

"Finishing Highschool and getting into college," Kouji begins.

"Who knew Shou-chan had it in him," Izumi finishes.

"Hey! wh-" he's cut off by Izumi and Kouji enveloping him in hug.

"I'm gonna miss you shrimp."

"How can I survive without Shou-chan to brighten up my day."

They pull apart and Hinata sniffs. "I'm going to miss your ridiculous hair Kouji. And I'm going to miss your warm hugs in the morning Izumin."

They all laugh. "I'm going to miss our stupid races," Izumi adds wiping away a stray tear.

"Our accidental run ins with the Vice-principal's wig," Kouji continues. He too laughs and averts his gaze so his red rimmed eyes are hidden.

"And our dumb jokes," Hinata says, he's crying openly, everything about him has always been an open book. "And our…"

"Joint practices!" They say in unison. They come together and collapse into another hug, it's teary and laughter filled. Just like their three years at high school. They pull apart once again.

They clink their diplomas together then turn to go their separate ways. Hinata is walking backwards and waving at the distancing figures. "See you!" He calls. It's an open promise, to try and keep the friendship alive even with them in separate parts of Japan.

OOO

Packing was the only easy thing about going to college. Hinata has one cardboard box and a backpack as he stands in front of his dorm. Being small has its perks. He picks up the box and stumbles his way into the dorm, his room is on the highest floor which is not a perk but he counts his blessings anyway. He resolves to get to the top floor in one trip even if his backpack is weighing him down. The journey is not as hard as he originally assumed (thank god for mountain passes and volleyball). Ten minutes later Hinata has successfully made it to the top floor, he drops his box on the ground with a huff and searches his pocket for his room number. After confirming that it's the right one he picks up the box once again and waddles to room 410. He nudges the door open with his foot and lowers the box enough so that he can see over it. Hinata blinks, under the assumption that he is hallucinating because there is no way that The King goes to the same college as him let alone is his roommate. He closes his eyes (He's just lightheaded from the stairs right?). He opens his eyes. The King is still there. Hinata drops the box. The noise catches King's attention and he pauses unpacking to turn around. He and Hinata make eye contact. They open their mouths and scream.

A/N: Hello! If you've read this fic, thank you. You've already helped surpass my goal of having one reader. Let me know if this was enjoyable. Any typos, awkward sentences or changing tenses (I'm a main offender) also let me know, I'll get right on it. Next chapter will be up soon, feel free to suggest/ theorise what will happen next.

P.s hope someone actually reads this so I don't look weird talking to myself.