Disclaimer: Haikyuu does not belong to me. It is property of Haruichi Furudate, Weekly Shonen Jump and Shueisha.
Chapter 4 – A Little Brighter.
'This is my classroom, here,' Hinata said as he ushered me into the classroom for Class 2-1, which wasn't as far away from my own as I'd thought. At the sound of his voice, two boys raised their heads to look our way.
One of them had sharp eyes and spiky black hair, and had his gakuran opened up. He sat with his legs spread wide and had a relaxed posture, leaning on the table behind him. At the table he was leaning on, the other boy sat in a more reserved position, with his legs together and arms resting on the desk. He had short, curly light brown hair and eyes of the same colour, and his face was dotted with light freckles.
Upon seeing us, their eyes widened, and the spiky haired boy straightened his posture as we approached them.
Gesturing from me to the two boys, Hinata introduced us, 'Izumi, Koji, this is Mogami-san from the girls' volleyball team that I told you about earlier, remember? She came to eat with us!' he told his friends, and the two boys looked me up and down, still seeming a little stunned. It was a little unnerving if I was honest.
Hinata continued, unaware, 'Mogami-san, these are my friends, Yukitaka Izumi,' he said, gesturing to the light-haired boy, who nodded with a nervous smile; 'and this is Sekimukai Koji. They're the ones who've been setting the ball to me sometimes.' Hinata explained, and the dark-haired boy nodded as well, raising his hand to a lazy wave.
Hinata looked around a bit, and then got the attention of a classmate nearby, asking if he could take a seat for me, and then quickly pulled it over next to Koji, who shuffled out of the way.
Feeling more than a little awkward, I bowed my head to the two boys, who bowed their heads slightly in return, 'It's nice to meet you, Yukitaka-san, Sekimukai-san. I'm Mogami Moeka, from Class 2-4.' I introduced myself again, before taking a seat next to Sekimukai.
'Nice to meet you too,' they both repeated, still looking a little taken aback. We took out our bento, while trying to think about something to say to each other.
Hinata on the other hand didn't seem bothered at all, already feeling more at ease now that we were with his friends.
While munching on some of the spring rolls from his bento, he started speaking animatedly about how I was going to help him spike volleyballs, and so on. Eventually, the conversation took off, and Sekimukai and Yukitaka started to relax, even smiling, and laughing with Hinata.
I felt a little like I was intruding, even though Hinata invited me. It was clear to me that these guys had a close knit friendship, and even though Hinata had said that he'd had to pester them a lot to help him, it was clear to me that they did care about him and want to help him.
I couldn't help the small smile on my face, and before the bell went to signal the end of lunch break, I managed to join in on the conversation a little too. Lunch came to an end, and I closed up my now empty bento and got up from my seat. Bowing to the boys in thanks for letting me eat with them, I excused myself to head back to my classroom.
Hinata stopped me on my way to say, 'I'll see you after classes at the gym, okay?' and he gave me a smile.
I nodded shyly back, 'Yeah. I'll see you later!' I replied with a smile, and with that, I was on my way.
Classes seemed to drag over for the rest of the day, but luckily, I didn't zone out again and managed to get my notes written properly. While we were changing into our volleyball clothes, Michiko wouldn't stop teasing me about how this time I was the one zoning out in class, but she agreed to share her notes with me so it was worth it.
As soon as practice starts, we always begin with a 10-15 minute jog around the school campus to warm up, and Hinata waved us off before quickly getting to his usual routine of spiking the ball against the wall. This time though, he seemed more anxious than focused. Maybe it was because he knew I'd be helping him out today.
Our jog was over faster than usual, and when we made it back into the gym, Hinata was already running over to where Michiko, Hatsumi, a few other girls and I were getting a drink.
'Mogami-san! Are you ready?' he asked me, and I turned to him.
A few other girls looked over curiously from their drinks, wondering what he was talking about. Michiko decided to fill them in.
'Since Moeka-chan's getting into Setting, she decided to help Hinata-san with his practice…' as Michiko continued explaining, I guided Hinata to one of the nets. With a small smile, I watched as his eyes lit up and his mouth popped slightly open.
'We're gonna use the nets?" he asked, sounding surprised. He glanced over at our senpai and the coach. I patted his shoulder.
'This isn't just practice for you, Hinata-san. It's also helping me practice setting. Since it's like that, Hatsumi-senpai said she talked Kaori-senpai and Coach Tezuka into it. So, yes, we're using the net!' I told him, and I watched a big smile spread across his face.
He literally jumped with joy, 'Aw'right!' he cheered, while I pointedly stared. Once again, he'd jumped nearly my full height. Can he seriously jump that high consistently? If so, that's impressive!
'W-What…?' he stammered, having noticed my stare.
'I-It's nothing! Just, you can jump pretty high huh? That's a great start, for volleyball.' I replied and he responded well.
He rubbed the back of his head, looking self-conscious, but decidedly pleased.
'R-Really, ya think? That makes me happy…' he mumbled. I giggled a bit at how modest he was being right now.
'Yep! Anyway, shall we get started…?' I asked, and picked a ball out of the nearby basket and held it out to him. Hinata nodded rapidly, and took the ball. 'I'm still getting used to setting, but I'll do my best. Just throw the ball up to above my head and start your run up right after. I'll set it to you!' I said and he nodded, taking the ball and running to his position.
After tossing the ball up to me like I asked, he began running towards the net quickly. I turned my attention to the ball above me, and just like how Hatsumi-senpai showed me, I put my fingers and thumbs into a triangle shape, placing my sight of the ball right in between the eyes.
Okay, here goes…!
I set the ball, and it went up like Hatsumi-senpai said it would. My mini-internal-celebration was interrupted, when Hinata's form came into my viewpoint, and time seemed to slow down.
My eyes widened, and my mouth fell open as he leapt into the air at a speed that made it seem like he were taking off. His arm was raised and pulled back taught, aiming for the volleyball.
And then before I knew it, Smack! Bam! The ball bounced harshly up from the ground on the other side of the net. I looked over to it as it bounced slightly again and then began rolling away, surprised.
It had all happened so fast. Was it always like this for Setters? Or is it just because it's Hinata…?
I looked back at him, to find him staring at his stinging hand and grinning, 'So cooool…!' he cried, and turned to me, making me jump, 'Can we do it again?!' he asked me, oblivious to how I was feeling.
It took me a moment to collect myself, but when I did, I grinned.
'Of course! This is practice for both of us, so we're gonna keep doing this!' I agreed, and Hinata cheered, going to get the ball back. As I watched him go, I grinned.
Yep, Hinata was probably going to become something special. All he needed was a nudge in the right direction and the right kind of help.
And I wanted to be a part of that.
So we continued to practice for the next few days, and Hinata and I were getting more used to Setting and Spiking together. It really had been a good idea to approach Hinata. His enthusiasm was contagious, and so I ended up practicing Setting for longer than I would have otherwise. It was surprisingly fun, especially seeing Hinata's expression after he got a ball in on the other side.
Though, that had stopped today. Now he seemed more frustrated and competitive, because this time he had an opponent on the other side.
Michiko had started joining in with us, practicing her receives on the other end of the court. She'd been catching a lot of his spikes, something Hinata hadn't encountered yet.
Wiping my brow clear of sweat, I let out a breath, 'Hinata-san, do you want to give it a rest with spiking for now?' I asked him and he turned to me with an intense expression.
'What?! No, I can do it! I swear I can! I've almost got it, I'm sure of it! Just a little more…' he said, gritting his teeth and frowning over at Michiko, who didn't seem bothered by his chagrin.
I laughed quietly, 'It's fine, Hinata-san. I was just thinking how we've been doing nothing but spiking for the past few days. I wondered if you'd like to try other things, like receiving. Volleyball's not all about scoring points after all – as you saw Micchan do, volleyball's about preventing the opponent from scoring too.' I explained.
'Oh,' Hinata's frown receded and he seemed to relax; he nodded determinedly, 'Let's do that then!' he agreed and I nodded back to him.
'By the way, do you know how to receive?' I asked him, and he shook his head saying he'd seen us doing it but he'd never actually paid attention to what we'd been doing with our arms. I nodded, and beckoned him over.
'Okay first your legs should be apart about the same width as your shoulders go to, and your knees bent slightly but not too much. You should lean over slightly, and your arms need to be about this much apart like this,' I demonstrated for him, bringing my arms about a half a foot apart hanging down in front of my legs.
Hinata imitated the position, glancing to my form, then back at himself several times.
'At the last moment, when the ball's about to reach you, you bring your hands together to create a kind of 'platform', with the back of your thumbs facing upwards, and the rest of your fingers tucked in underneath.' I explained, putting my hands together like I said.
Nodding several times and muttering, 'like this?' Hinata copied me.
'That's right! You should arch your shoulders a bit too. But don't lock up too much, because you need to be ready to move and bring the ball up so the Setter can get it, or someone else can bump it to them.' I explained, and got up to check Hinata's stance.
I began adjusting his position slightly, awkwardly moving his arms a bit.
'From there, it's all about your timing. You have to swing your arms up at the right time to get the ball. And it's important that you're standing at the right point. If the ball's going too fast and a bit higher up, it might end up hitting your shoulders instead, or even your face. And that would be bad. You could hurt yourself, or the receive could fail and end in the opponents getting a point.' I told him. 'Um… did you get all that? I'm sorry, if I hit you with too much information at once…!' I said hurriedly, grabbing my hand in the other and fiddling with them anxiously.
Hinata shook his head, his expression serious, taking it all in.
'No, it's all good! Only…. Um, actually, could you say it again?' he asked, his serious expression morphing into an abashed one.
Looks like it was too much all at once after all.
Giving a light smile, I nodded, and proceeded to explain it again step by step. We ended up going over it a couple of times, before Michiko came over and offered to do a serve to let Hinata try receiving it.
Hinata was all for it, albeit a bit nervous. I stood off to the side a bit, and raised my clenched hands in front of my chest with a supportive nod.
'You can do it, Hinata-san! Just relax, and remember what I said about the timing. If it looks like the ball is flying too high for you, move back a bit and get into position again.' I called to him as Michiko prepared to serve outside the court on the other end of the net, bouncing the ball against the ground a few times.
'Got it!' Hinata said, determined, and he got into position.
'I'm gonna serve…!' Michiko said, and threw the ball up to serve. Hinata tensed up.
'Hinata-san, relax!' I hissed to him, as Michiko hit her serve and the ball came flying over to our side the moment after.
Getting his arms and hands into position, Hinata watched the volleyball like a hawk, and it quickly came down in front of him. He swung his arms up to catch the ball like I'd shown him, and his movements were good for his first try. But the ball hit on an angle off his arm, and it flew towards me.
Hinata and I yelped, but I managed to duck away in time.
'I-I'm sorry…! I dunno what went wrong-!' he cried, 'Are you okay, Mogami-san?!' he asked me, and I laughed, waving it off.
'Don't mind, Hinata-san! That was good for your first try! Y-You were just unlucky is all. Your movements were right. You just need to practice it.' I told him.
Michiko agreed, coming over, 'Moeka-chan's right! Not bad, shrimpy~' she grinned at Hinata, and Hinata flushed.
'My name's Hinata! Hinata Shōyō!' he corrected her. She only laughed and ruffled his hair. Hinata brushed her hands away, pouting. I laughed at the two of them, and while Michiko joined in, Hinata's pout only got bigger.
It'd barely been a week, but things were going well so far. Ever since I started helping Hinata practice, I feel like practices have been more fun than usual. Not only that, my Setting is coming along ok. I've been getting along with Hinata well, too.
Sucking in a breath and letting it out, I spoke up, smiling; 'Hey, let's try it again Hinata-san! Are you up for another serve, Micchan?' I asked them. They both nodded in agreement and we continued practicing until the sky grew pitch black, and the coach called out for practice to be over.
After getting changed, Michiko rushed off to catch the last bus, waving back at Hinata and I as she did. It struck me as different that Hinata hadn't rushed off as well on his bicycle. This time, he stuck by me, walking alongside me as he pushed his bike along.
I turned to him, 'This is new... Isn't your house further away than mine?' I asked him curiously, tilting my head as I adjusted my sports bag on my shoulder.
'Well I thought, isn't it getting darker lately? It's already October… I didn't feel right about letting you walk alone in the dark…' he explained, keeping his eyes facing forward.
I smiled, 'My house isn't that far away. But that's sweet of you, Hinata-san.' I replied, my heart warmed at his gesture.
Hinata pretended his cheeks weren't starting to blush, and continued, 'And I kinda wanted to talk to you too,' he added, and looked at you, 'I never would've expected you of all people to offer to help me. 'Cause you seemed kinda shy!' he added quickly.
Looking back forwards, he continued, 'I've been trying on my own since I started with volleyball, but I never really knew what I was doing, 'cause I didn't have anyone to show me. All I could do was throw a ball at a wall and try to hit it right. And like today, I finally got to learn how to bump a ball up! I never would've got the technique down if it weren't for you, Mogami-san!' he said with an excited smile, glancing at me again.
I blushed, 'E-Eeehh? W-Were my instructions okay…?' I asked, feeling really shy at the compliment.
Hinata nodded, 'Yeah, they were great! You even didn't get annoyed when I didn't totally get it the first time!' he replied, and looked up, smiling, 'So far it'd just been me, and Izumi and Koji when they had the time, but I feel like now I'm really making some progress. And next year…!' he paused, and turned to face me.
'Next year, I'm going to get some new recruits from the 1st years coming in, and I'm definitely gonna play an official match! Just watch me!' he said, and I smiled and nodded.
'I will! I'll be right there cheering for you.' I agreed, and Hinata grinned happily. I paused, 'Well, if the boys' and girls' matches aren't at the same time, I will. I'll definitely try, at least.'
Hinata nodded, 'Yeah, that's right. You'll be playing official games next year too. Let's both do our best!' he said, holding out a closed fist to me. I looked at it for a moment, wondering what he wanted me to do.
After a moment, I curled my hand into a fist and held it out to him, and he quickly knocked his knuckles against mine and nodded, turning back to face forwards.
Adjusting my sports bag again, I held onto the strap, smiling to myself secretly. Lord knows if Michiko had been here she'd have definitely teased me for this goofy grin.
But I don't care. Even though it's been getting darker, sooner than usual, due to the incoming winter, it feels like my life's gotten a little brighter.
I guess it's all thanks to Hinata.
onigiriri: Thanks for reading another chapter of this story. I decided to start making the chapters longer, so I hope you enjoyed it! There are still a few more chapters set pre-Karasuno, but Yukigaoka vs Kitagawa Daiichi is coming up soon!
I'd really appreciate any feedback or support you could give me. Thank you!