Chapter 2: Everyone Loves Hinata
"The walls so high and you won't feel.
The moon is always spying on your fears.
I make it to the golden gate and fail.
So then you throw your fantasy away to fade.
Oh and I take,
take it in vain.
So I fake,
fake it again."
A furry orange rectangle stares at Tobio innocently. He hates it with a passion. Tobio's somewhat duty-felt perusing means he's fairly familiar with the object itself, but he doesn't feel guilty about it. He'd skipped a day of school after remembering that his class were going on a trip which he had no interest in, and had decided to spend his self-permitted holiday scanning Hinata's phone with mild interest. Well, there's a hell of a lot of cats on that phone and Tobio learnt that the hard way. He did, however, manage to gain Hinata's phone number - just in case! - and shed a smirk at a few of his dorky selfies.
The mass of synthetic fibres extend so far from the phone itself that Tobio's slender fingers become lost in them whenever he holds it. The charm's a tiny penguin, made of some sort of polymer clay. It's kind of cute, he guesses. There's something about the whole phone, though. Something which sends a message of more than just 'this is a phone'. It's almost as if Hinata's there in the room, and Tobio wouldn't have to think twice about pairing this peculiar item with such a peculiar guy.
He doesn't realise he's holding it again until it vibrates to signify it ringing. Tobio almost drops it out of shock, but decides against it.
"Kageyama? I didn't see you at school today, so I just thought I'd let you know that coach says we should come in for extra practice this weekend to uh practice. Are you there? Ka-" It's Hinata. Of course it's that idiot. In all honesty, Tobio hadn't expected anyone to really notice his absence that day. He isn't too charismatic or memorable, after all, is he?
"What?" Tobio presses the receive button.
"Oh, hi! Yeah so, did you hear what I said?"
"No," the setter lies, not really knowing why. He had heard the babbling boy's message, of course, but something inside him wanted to hear it again. Something wanted Hinata to repeat it, and expand upon it and just talk, talk, talk. (When did he decide listening to his ramblings was a good thing?)
"Okay well first of all, where were you all day? I thought you were coming to the debrief bu-"
"Shut up, dumbass. Are you trying to say I have to explain myself to you?"
"Not at all! No! Um, fine. Well, uh... do you just want to... I don't know, go for a walk or something? It's quicker, and you can like... give me my phone back and stuff. Only if you want to!"
Tobio smiles a little at the nervous stuttering on the end of the line, but it goes as quickly as it appears. What is Hinata suggesting? A walk? Why would he want to go for a walk?
Intrigued, Tobio says a simple, "Fine. Meet you at the bus stop in five."
"Okay!"
Tobio taps the little red phone icon on the screen and slips the fuzzy thing into his pocket. It reminds him a bit of the idiot's hair, and it suits him, he guesses, as much as a phone-case can suit a person. He opens a window and places an upturned palm outside to check the temperature. It's far too cold for autumn, but then he supposes it's only that season because of calendar dates. So, the setter opts for wearing his single blue tartan coat and steps out into the fast disappearing sunset.
His shoes pad along the pavement as he walks, tiny muffled taps becoming the only sound. He lets out a soft sigh. It's a nice evening - aside from the extremely unreasonable cold - with a gentle, tickling breeze. There's no-one around and no cars, so Tobio takes to the narrow road. It's only seven, but the world seems as dead as it did the previous evening when he was walking home at around eleven.
As he approaches the bus stop, he sees Hinata already standing there. He'd decided to not wear a coat and Tobio could see him shivering gently from where he stands.
"No coat?" is the first thing he decides to say, already offering the phone to the shorter. Hinata's wearing some sort of cardigan which Tobio's never seen before and a shirt which reads something he doesn't care to read. Fortunately, the idiot had decided trousers were a better idea than shorts this time.
"Ah, no. Regretting it though," Hinata reveals. He takes his phone and glances at it for a moment, checking the charge. He raises an eyebrow. "Have you been on here?"
"Yes, didn't you expect me to? Dumb selfies, by the way." Tobio gestures to the left. "Shall we go?"
"Mhm." They begin to walk, almost side by side with only about four inches between them. "I wanted to tell you that coach thinks you and I should come in at the weekend to practice for nest week's Tuesday match. He says he'll let me use the spare key if we accept. So are you doing anything? I think we could improve on our signals because last time their coach totally saw through our hand signals. I was thinking maybe a shrug or a cough or something. Always good to have a plan C, hm? Oh and also you missed Hamasaki from History asking out Tsukishima! He was awful about it when he rejected her. All sarcastic. To be honest I don't see what she sees in him - he's nothing like her except for the fact they both wear glasses."
"He'd let you use the key? Bad idea. Coach must be going insane," Tobio comments. When Hinata doesn't respond aside from making a face, he carries on. "Hamasaki? Is she the one with green hair?"
"Yeah, she's in my English class too, but you don't study English so you wouldn't know. Why did you drop it?"
"Russian."
"You study Russian? That's really cool, Kageyama. Say something, say something." The pair turn the corner towards the town almost subconsciously and the bright lights of stalls, shops and vending machines pierce their view. Tobio finds himself patting his coat pocket to check for change as his mouth dries slightly with the realisation of his lack of supper.
"Like what?"
"I don't know um... say, 'Hinata is the greatest ever and everyone loves him'," Hinata decides. Tobio watches him shiver slightly again and almost offers him his own coat, but then remembers that he'd look like a fool.
"'Hinata - лучший и все любят его' or something. It's something like that," Tobio says. He's understated the 'greatest ever' deliberately to just plain 'best,' but his Russian is rusty, so he's not too confident in his translation.
"Sounds pretty Russian. I wish I could speak it, but the most exotic language I understand is French, and that's because of my mum."
"Your mother's French?"
"No," Hinata laughs. "She just wants me to speak it." Tobio's stomach gurgles a little. "Do your parents pressure you to do much? Mine are always on my back."
"Yes, but they live away in Tokyo." Why am I telling him this why am I telling him this why am I telling him this? "Because of work. I see them about twice a year."
"My mum works in Tokyo too! My grandparents live nearby to us, though, which is why Mum trusts me to look after Natsu, I suppose - because if anything goes wrong they're right there, just a two minute walk away. My dad, though, he lives in England. They parents split when I was really little, and Natsu was only a few days old. We don't ever see him."
Tobio nods slowly, trying to take everything in. The most important thing is that Hinata trusts him with this. Hinata trusts him with this. Him. Kageyama Tobio. Biggest asshole this side of Japan. He hides his smile in his coat collar.
"Let's get something to eat." Hinata beams at him, then frowns.
"I didn't bring any money," he enlightens.
"Fine. I'll pay for you."
And he does. The pair sits and eats some ramen at a yatai with a man who accidentally falls asleep after about ten minutes of them being there, and they chat (well, Hinata gushes) about the school day and the match coming up next Tuesday. When they finish, Tobio sees it's eight and asks about Natsu and if Hinata has to hurry back, to which he shakes his head ("She's with a friend tonight.") and so Tobio suggests they take the long route back to their homes via the beach. The orange-haired boy agrees vigorously, so Tobio grabs a can from a vending machine and the duo head off.
The soft breeze nips at their faces as they walk, the sea sloshing nearby.
"The last time I was here, Natsu and I built this massive sand-castle, but I broke it because this crab-type-thing scared me and I ended up falling back onto it. I hate those things."
"Spiders are worse." Hinata laughs.
"I never pegged you to be someone who's scared of spiders. You're always so scary yourself, I just never thought about it." Tobio controls his blush and stomach flip with sheer will-power. "But I suppose everyone, even you, has one. I think mine isn't anything physical. I just... well I suppose I... I don't know how to describe it..."
"C'mon, dumbass, get to it," Tobio reprimands, gently.
"I think that I'm scared of the future, I guess. That's the best way to describe it. There's a lot that's so imposing about the world like thieves and murderers and... I'm not sure but the whole idea of getting a job and moving away is kinda scary."
The lapping waves ebb and flow as they walk, feet leaving footsteps in the sand. Tobio takes a brief moment to wonder how the hell he ended up spending two nights with the short middle blocker, but he sure as hell isn't complaining. He's seeing something different tonight. There's something about the whole atmosphere and conversation. Something which sends a message of more than just 'I'm a bumbling idiot who's totally unaware of anything that's going on in the world which isn't related to volleyball'. The setter wasn't sure what to think. Just like Hinata hadn't ever though of him having fears, he'd never thought of Hinata having opinions or deep thoughts. He's so carefree.
"You don't have to go anywhere. You can stay here and just, I don't know, become a volleyball coach. You don't have to be like your parents, and you definitely don't have to challenge murderers and thieves if you don't want to," Tobio blurts out. There's a moment of silence as Tobio tries to come to terms with what he's just said. As he looks over, Hinata seems to be doing the same. His face looks like the inside of a clock: churning and turning as it thinks over what it's just encountered. The taller is about to say something further when he's beaten to it.
"You think I could be a volleyball coach?"
Okay, that isn't what Tobio was expecting.
"Sure," he agrees, nonchalently, with a shrug.
What happens next sends Tobio's stomach turning faster than waltzers. Hinata hugs him. His hands shake and his heart beats at a million miles per hour as that characteristic orange mop tickles at his chin. Awkwardly, his arms wrapped around the smaller in a way not dissimilar to that of an automaton's. Before he knew it, though, his chest was cold once more but his bodily functions still refuse to calm down. Hinata beams at him.
(Maybe that's why.)
