Even after practice ended, Kageyama wanders around the gym aimlessly, feeling desperate and creepy for trying so hard to find Asahi. Finally, as if on cue, Asahi stumbles out of the locker room, looking dazed.
"Asahi!" Kageyama screams a little too loud, and Asahi's reaction is too calm for someone as jumpy as him.
"Oh, it's you, Kageyama," Asahi enunciates, and Kageyama's taken aback by his tranquility, which throws Kageyama off guard enough to forget his question for a brief, terrifying moment.
"What can I help you with?" Asahi says with a grin, and Kageyama relaxes. He tries to think of a way to phrase this question of addressing growing pains without sound like a moron as he did with Tsukishima.
"I'm suffering through growing pains, and since you're pretty close to my height I was hoping you'd have some advice," Kageyama says too quickly, his heart racing. Asahi seems to understand the request, though, and he seems to glow with the pride of being treated like a true senpai. Giving out advice was probably his specialty, after hanging out around the kind duo of Daichi and Sugawara.
"I hope you're stretching enough, and getting enough calcium in your diet," Asahi says brightly, and Kageyama makes a mental note of this. "Plus, I find alternating between heat and cold pretty helpful…" Before Asahi can elaborate, Tanaka and Noya call for him wildly from the other side of the gym, to which Asahi blushes and apologizes for the interruption. He leaves Kageyama alone with his thoughts in this huge gym.
Kageyama is stunned out of his thoughts when he hears a familiar voice questioning:
"Are you okay, Kageyama?" Hinata asks in that comforting high pitched voice of his, as if Kageyama and whatever bothered him actually mattered. The aches and pains of growing hurt him so much that a part of him wished he could open his mouth and say it. But, as always, pride got in the way. It was likely for the better: Hinata couldn't see Kageyama in a moment of weakness, because what if he wasn't taken seriously? Kageyama shuddered at the thought of Hinata seeing him as weak or worse, as someone who succumbed to
something as natural as growing. Besides, Kageyama already told two other people about his unfortunate pains, and that was enough of an embarrassment. Both of his parents loom over people with their imposing height, as both sides of his family. Growing shouldn't come as a shock.
"I'm okay," Kageyama finally spits out, as he begins to gather his belongings.
"Well, if you need anything..." Hinata chirps. Kageyama swore there was something like bashfulness in his voice: it was endearing in a way only Hinata could muster.
"I'll find you if I do," Kageyama said, swallowing his pride long enough to realize that hinata's offer was genuine, born of the sincere desire to help. It was strange, acknowledging that he could need other people, especially someone as annoying, needy and strange as Hinata.
