AN: Ok, so since nobody's reviewed yet, I'll just post in alphabetical order. So Karasuno should go something like; Anxious Ace, Calm Captain, Loud Libero, Lonely Little Giant, Melancholy Middle-Blocker, Panicked Pinch-Server, Salty Setter, Sunny Setter and Wild Wing-Spiker, unless people vote on this chapter. Anyway, Enjoy!
-AP
The Calm Captain
Silent but deadly or loud but anxious. Those were the traits that made up Karasuno High School's Boy's Volleyball Team. Most people didn't notice; People thought, Tsukishima's quiet, so he must care about others a lot, and talk minimally in his team. People thought; Nishinoya's loud, so he must be overconfident and full of himself, he must have a good, worriless life. Both of those things, though examples, were false.
Tsukishima was cold and melancholy towards most of his team, but his input was much. He had no problem criticizing behind closed doors. The only thing right about most people's deductions was that he didn't have many friends; Even in the team, he only seemed to trust Yamaguchi.
Nishinoya was confident, sure, but just the right amount to be comforting in a game. His life at home was far from perfect, and though nobody revealed his secrets because he didn't, everybody knew that his life was far from perfect. And he worried. In fact, despite his overreacting and exaggerating nature, he was probably the most worrisome on the team, especially when it came to games. He was always observing, making sure nobody was down in the dumps, making sure the ball goes up or he dies trying to make it do so.
That was the contradictory nature of their team. They masked how they truly were to deceive opponents, and, in some cases, to deceive their teammates.
The only one who knew the ins and outs of this phenomenon was Sawamura Daichi. He studied his team, knew what comments fired each of them up, knew how to motivate them and how to help them negotiate their way out of difficult situations. Equally, he knew what comments discouraged them, knew how to make them feel awful, how to make them lose the will to play. The latter knowledge is something he'd never use, just a useful skill to have. So he could tap into what other teams' taunting would make them play better or worse.
The job of the captain is a complicated one.
The captain needs to be caring, but firm. Like a parent. Needs to be encouraging, but know when the others need to rest. Like a Coach. Most importantly, he needs to understand and co-operate with his teammates. Like a friend.
Daichi didn't know if he was any of these things, but he tried to be. Was that all that mattered? In some situations, no. But his teammates seemed comforted by his presence and, no matter what happened, he liked that. He liked that the team felt safe around him, and he liked that when anyone was in trouble, he was one of the first people they thought to tell.
So when Hinata came, after practice, solemn and quiet, contrasting his usual happy-go-lucky attitude, Daichi knew two things. One, something was very, very wrong, and two, Hinata didn't trust anyone else with whatever he was about to say. He kept these things in mind as the boy opened his mouth, letting information of his upbringing, his father, his bullies, spill out into the open.
Tanaka and Kageyama would just be angry. Suga, Yamaguchi and Asahi would just be upset. Tsukki would be indifferent, as always. Noya would understand, but he seems like the type to get angry. The first years didn't know what his life was like outside of school, and the libero wanted to keep it that way. Daichi respected his peer's wishes. So, he was the only option, and as the only option, it was his job to be the best friend he could right now.
He let Hinata speak. He listened. He nodded. And he would help because he had to help. Because this small, confused boy needed him, and he had to know he wasn't alone. "Hinata, thank you for trusting me. You don't have to tell the rest of the team if you don't want to but I promise, I will help you. If you tell the others, we all will." Shoyo nodded, eyes watery and staring at the ground as his captain patted his shoulder as a form of comfort.
"Oh, and, it wouldn't hurt to talk to Noya." The ginger boy looked up, cocking his head to the side in confusion. Daichi laughed a little despite the situation. "I know it seems strange to ask, and I'm not going to reveal anything Nishinoya-san would be uncomfortable with, but he's...He'd understand, is all I'll say. So talk to him. He can help you more than I can." He didn't let the circumstances get to him. It was awful, yes, but life usually was. Deep inside, he was angry. His team didn't deserve hurt or pain. His team were the best thing that ever happened to him. But he kept it to himself, kept calm and composed.
That was his job.
He sighed. "I'll help you, Hinata. I'll get you out of there. I promise." Daichi said it with enough determination for the middle blocker to offer him a weak, uncertain smile. "I-It's not really that big of a d-deal-" His captain immediately interrupted, shaking his head vigorously and staring straight into the small boy's usually fiery brown eyes. "It's a huge deal. Someone hurting you is a gigantic deal, Hinata. Don't ever assume you don't mean that much to people that it would be." The boy was shaking, but nodded. "Oh." He said simply in response.
Hinata left then, and the first thing Daichi did as he locked up was turn, away from the direction of his home, and walk towards the Police station. The walk was vaguely short, but whilst he was walking (at an uncharacteristically fast pace) he thought. With Nishinoya, the only reason nobody had reported his parents was because Noya had nowhere to go. He needed someone to look after him and nobody could, so usually he'd spend as much time away from his house as possible. It was pretty effective.
Hinata's parents were already separated, and, from what the small boy had said, his mother was an absolute parenting angel. So he could just live full-time with her, instead of part-time. Hinata had somewhere to go. Places to stay if things got too much. So that meant that Daichi could finally report one of those bastards that decided they had a right to hurt his team.
Nobody had a right to hurt his team. No one. He'd never forgive anybody who did.
Daichi had a messy upbringing. His parents died when he was young, so he spent most of his childhood hopping through the foster care system. Some people were
nice, some people were mean, he dealt with it because that was just who he was. He was humbled and composed because he needed to be to protect those around him. However, after the worst foster home he'd ever been in, he found an amazing one. A family that loved him like one of their own.
After that, he vowed he'd never let one of his friends get hurt like he'd been hurt all those years.
When he found out about Noya, he felt like he failed, but the libero reassured him otherwise. He said that if he could trust Daichi enough to tell him this, then obviously the now third-year had done a good job. Daichi kept that in his head. Hinata told him in confidence. Hinata knew he could get him safe, and the captain would be damned if he didn't. He continued marching down the road, hoping to God that Hinata wasn't late home today, that he was safe and okay. He shuddered at the thought of a horrific beating that he'd let his friend go home to, one that could be happening right now.
If it wasn't Hinata's, it'd be Noya's.
He threw open the doors of the Police station, startling the relaxed men inside, and walked up to the reception as a man on a mission. The captain took a deep breath and looked up at the confused adult above him, and then said the words he hoped people would've said for him so much earlier than they did.
"Hello, I'm Sawamura Daichi and I'd like to report a case of abuse against a child."
AN: Ignore the accidental line break half through a sentence up there. Anyway, yeah. This is basically part of my own little Haikyuu! universe. I might write more of it, if people like it. This has more hints to it than "Anxious Ace", so I thought I'd state it here. Dadchi strikes again...Anyway, thanks for reading, review to vote for what you want next or just to say hi! Thanks!
-AP
