Hey again!
So I went to edit this chapter Tuesday only to realize that because I'd come up with this awesome last sentence for the last chapter that I'd have to rewrite this. whole. chapter. So, that happened. And then it decided it didn't want to be rewritten, and one day dragged into two, and soooooo . . . yeah. Sorry for the late update. XD
It has not helped that her favorite sister (that's me!) has been very busy with school work and actual work, to the point where instead of contributing as we go along like I'm SUPPOSED to, I'm stuck cheering from the sidelines and reading in between spurts of text books and hastily eaten food. the next chapter will be similar unfortunately (blargh midterms) but I promise poor Mikey DOES have support and love from her co-author as well as actual editing help.
Disclaimer: We still no owny. Pity.
What is he doing here? Kageyama thought, mind whirring through all the reasons why someone like Hinata Shoyo would choose to come to Karasuno, of all places.
Besides that, he thought furiously, hands clenching against the volleyball, did he get the wrong gym or something? He's supposed to be playing basketball.
Kageyama watched as he glancing behind around in confusion, then raised a hand and pointed at himself. "Wait, me?"
The pure confusion in his tone make Kageyama pause. He didn't know anyone else who had orange hair, was short, and kept the company of someone invisible, but maybe . . . "You-you are Hinata Shoyo, correct?"
"Yeah," the newly confirmed Hinata replied, "But I don't know who you're supposed to be," he finished bluntly. He winced nearly immediately, and Kageyama's gaze flittered to the side, trying to see what had caused it.
There was nothing there.
Still, he was waiting for an answer, so Kageyama bowed, trying his best to make a good first impression. Is it a first impression if we've met before and he doesn't remember it?
"I'm Kageyama Tobio," He said, introducing himself. "We met briefly last year."
"We did?" He asked, sounding rather shocked before propping a hand on his chin, evidently thinking hard. "You weren't part of the basketball team, were you? I would've remembered playing against you."
"No, I played volleyball." Kageyama said. Hinata said nothing, shifting a little bit.
He really doesn't remember? He thought, slightly incredulous. Someone who'd had such a big impact on his middle school life?
Hinata merely shrugged, turning to talk with the invisible person next to him.
Kageyama, meanwhile, was just trying to figure out how exactly Hinata didn't remember meeting him. After all, it wasn't something Kageyama was likely to ever forget.
"Seriously, who does he think he is?"
"I know, how are we supposed to be able to spike those reckless tosses he sends?"
"Hey!" Kageyama growled, whipping around. The two stiffened, turning away and avoiding his glare. When all they did was continue muttering as they walked away, he couldn't help the tightening of his shoulders as if shielding himself from their words.
After all, it didn't matter that they were hosting a small tournament, or that other schools participating would hear their comments. They didn't care about who heard them complaining-when even the coaches didn't comment, though, he knew he was on his own.
Eventually, he took refuge just outside the gym doors just to get a respite. He wasn't hiding, he told himself. But even he wasn't sure if it was the truth anymore.
Unfortunately this was just about the time when another sports team walked past. He was determined to stay out of their way, to not give them any reason to belittle him, but then something knocked into his shoulder, and he snapped.
"Oi," His glare instantly turned to the person closest to him, which just turned out to be a "Shrimp," He blurted aloud. The orange haired kid whipped around, levelling him with a sharp stare.
"You talkin to me?" The shorty demanded.
"Oh no, here we go," The mutter came from what Kageyama assumed was one of his teammates.
"Sorry, but," Kageyama said, trying to backtrack, but realizing as the shrimp strode forward that yes, he really was tiny. "How are you supposed to play when you're so short?"
Kageyama would swear to the moment he died that Hinata looked like he was an animal in that moment. All dark persona and eyes that would still shine even in pitch black.
He'd learn to never poke fun at the things that truly mattered to Hinata, because, despite how much they fought on a daily basis, Hinata was really scary when he got mad.
"Height doesn't matter!" The kid yelled, pointing a finger into his face. His blue haired teammate scoffed a little, but- to Kageyama's surprise and irritation, didn't disagree.
"If you can't pull your weight, you're nothing but a hindrance," Kageyama stated. If this kid's teammate's weren't going to show him the way the sports world worked, then it fell to him.
They stared each other down, the intensity only building until it was nearly suffocating. They might've sat there forever if not for the call from the gym. "Look out!"
A ball came flying out, bouncing off the floor and high into the air.
Before Kageyama could even think to move out of the way, though, a blur of orange jumped up and caught it. His mouth gaped. The kid had jumped nearly six feet in the air to grab that, with an agility most of his team couldn't match.
"Wha-" He stuttered, watching as the shrimp started twirling the ball on his finger, staring in fascination at it.
"Hey, send it back!" Came the call. Shrimp paused, rolling the ball across his arms and shoulders without even taking his attention of the person trotting towards them. Then, with a quick grin and flick of his shoulders, it was in the air again, only a moment passing before he was jumping and sending it smashing down to the floor, ricocheting up and over Kindaichi's head.
"Oi, Chibi-chan, stop showing off to this guy and get to the locker room," The blue teammate drawled. "You know Akashi'll be mad if you make us late to our game."
"Ah, shoot!"
As if his teammate had hit a switch, the shrimp's intense demeanor instantly vanished, transforming him into a slightly nervous middle schooler.
A slightly nervous middle schooler that was currently running down the hallway away from Kageyama.
"H-Hey!" Kageyama yelled, trailing after him. The shrimp paused uncertainly, half-turning to give Kageyama a bewildered stare. "You didn't tell me your name," He said, eyes glancing down at the jacket that he wore. Teiko.
A shiver made the hair on the back of his neck stand on end. Oikawa-senpai had told him a little bit about Teiko. Apparently, they had a motto for 100 wins, 100 victories. Basically, they weren't allowed to lose.
So, he thought, eyebrows furrowing as he came to a halt in front of the kid. How does he win when he's so short? Even if he can jump . . . His teammates' faces entered his mind. Even if his teammates jumped, they still couldn't spike the tosses he gave. What made this kid any different from them?
"Ah, I'm Hinata Shoyo!" The bewildered look was gone, replaced by a bright grin. "I play small forward for Teiko! Ah, that is, when Akashi puts me in," There was a small pout at that, but genuine irritation in his eyes.
Hinata wanted to be able to play. Kageyama felt the sentiment to his core. He'd been taken out of games before, just because he couldn't sync up with his teammates.
"What- what makes you different?" He demanded. "How are you able to keep up with them? How do you get them to listen to you?"
Hinata cocked his head like a bird. "Listen to me?" Then, he burst out laughing. Kageyama was lost for words. "Man, I wish I could get them to listen to me. Aomine makes my life miserable most of the time, and man, Kise can be a royal pain in the butt."
"So- how do you get along with them? How do you play, even when they're . . ." Kageyama floundered. It had been obvious from the moment he'd seen them- they were a true team. They joked, bantered, but none of it was meant viciously- not like his team did.
Hinata's eyes sharpened, but this time he didn't feel like prey in an eagle's claws. This time, he felt like he was being examined. It wasn't necessarily any more comfortable.
"The Miracles . . . they're flawed, sure. But they each have their own gifts, ya know? And we're all a little strange. If nobody could look past that, we'd all be lonely! And I don't want anyone to be lonely, so I'm gonna make sure that we all stick together! Cuz we're a team!"
Kageyama couldn't speak. His mind was whirring- spinning, trying to figure out what Hinata was saying. Did he mean- did he mean that teammates were supposed to stick by you, no matter what you did? Then why did his not do that? Were they not real teammates?
"Hinata, Akashi says he'll add ten laps to your warm up if you're not ready in two minutes," A deadpan voice came from down the hallway. Kageyama jolted, as did Hinata, but then the oranget was cursing and running down the hallway.
"Dang it, I'm late!"
Kageyama didn't realize he had reached an arm out to try and catch him til all he had was a hand full of air.
"Ano," the deadpan voice said, and Kageyama flinched, stepping backwards and whipping his head around to try and find where it came from. "I'm right here," It came again, and a head of blue hair filled his vision. "I just wanted to say . . . If your team doesn't accept you because you're different, that's not your fault. Don't give up just because you haven't found your place yet."
And then the blue was gone, before he'd ever gotten a good look.
But now. Now it was plain to see- both Hinata and the blue ghost were here. Except for whatever reason, they didn't remember him.
While he'd been reminiscing, they'd started warming up, jackets and shoes tucked away neatly in a corner. He watched silently as Hinata jogged around the gym, chatting excitedly with the empty space next to him.
He contemplated continuing his serving practice, but he didn't remember what number he left off on, and he wanted to talk to them anyways.
He fell into step with them as they looped back around, consciously choosing the side that Hinata wasn't beaming at. He didn't want to run over the ghost again.
"-And I figured that we'd at least get to play on our first day, right? So I'm just wondering what positions we'd all get! Do you figure they'd rotate us to see what we're good at?"
"They might evaluate us first, Hinata," The quiet monotone replied. "Find out what our strengths are."
Hinata waved a hand, not even winded by talking and jogging at the same time. "We'd breeze past that! After-" He cut himself off, eyes darkening and going silent. Surprisingly, the ghost didn't speak either, a tenseness blanketing itself over the conversation.
He glanced between Hinata and the empty space he kept getting flashes of blue from, confused at the sudden change. What had Hinata said that would cause that kind of reaction?
Kageyama took a calculated breath, trying to break himself out of the suffocating atmosphere. "Ano," He started, drawing both people's attention. "Do- do you really not remember meeting me at all?"
Hinata blinked at him in shock, and then, stopping, burst into laughter. Kageyama slowed to an uncertain halt, unsure of what to do with someone who was doubled over in hysterical giggles.
"S-sorry," He said, hand trying and failing to cover his cheek breaking grin. "I'm not laughing at you, promise- well, maybe a little bit, but-" He dissolved into laughter again, keeling over on his side when he began wheezing for breath.
"That's a bit rude, Hinata," The ghost said, appearing by Kageyama's side, staring with displeasure down at the oranget. "It was an honest question."
Kuroko (He really needed to start using the ghost's name) turned to him, something Kageyama thought might be a smile quirking his lips. "To answer, Kageyama-san, you would be the volleyball player we met last year at the Kirisaki Daichi tournament, correct?"
"I thought you didn't remember," Kageyama said, trying not to come off as accusatory. Kuroko blinked.
"I didn't, at first. But there were only so many volleyball players I've encountered, and you were the only one from last year." Kuroko said, turning to look at Hinata picking himself up off the floor. "I can't speak for Hinata, though."
"Ehhh," Hinata said thoughtfully, staring at him. They waited, but then he shrugged and turned away. "Nope, nothing."
Kageyama snapped, vein throbbing. "Don't keep us in suspense just to end it like that!"
It was to him chasing Hinata around the gym that the doors opened to a group of upperclassmen.
It almost made Kageyama want to sigh. When he'd wished for a real team, this wasn't exactly what he'd had in mind.
Kuroko was tired.
It wasn't a physical tiredness, not like when he'd been running for too long and needed to sit down. It was more like . . . a weight on his shoulders, a numbness in his brain. Like he wanted to take a nap and just . . . escape for a while.
He pushed it away, focusing on the people walking through the door.
He bowed automatically, Hinata turning and doing the same, shoving Kageyama's head down with him. It wasn't long before it dissolved into a mini scuffle playing out in the background.
Kuroko sighed. There wasn't really a point in trying to break them up. Hinata had accepted Kageyama, and that meant fights and challenges were going to be the norm. He'd have to get used to it.
Unfortunately for Hinata, the upperclassman didn't seem to understand the futility of the situation, because he instantly yelled at them to stop fighting. But, judging by the way they both froze mid move, Kuroko suspected he wouldn't have to intervene too often to get them to behave.
"So you two are the new recruits? I have to admit," He said, walking forward to look at the duo, who quickly extricated themselves to stand at attention. "You're a bit shorter than I'd imagined you to be."
"Eh?" Hinata snapped, eye twitching with irritation. "You wanna say that again?"
"Maa, maa," The silver haired one said, walking forward and raising his hands to show they meant no harm. The door slid open once more to admit two more. "Let's not get off on the wrong foot. This is Daichi, he's our captain. I'm Sugawara, and that's Tanaka."
Hinata bowed again, eyes still calculating. "Hinata Shoyo, this guy's Kageyama." He jerked a thumb beside him, and the first year jumped as if unused to being introduced by someone else.
"Ah, right, you said here you came from Teiko. You and a-" He checked the papers again, "Kuroko Tetsuya? Did you two play volleyball there?"
Hinata shook his head, eyes darkening. Despite all of Sugawara's efforts, it seemed, the captain was determined to make this first meeting as hard as possible. It formed a pit in Kuroko's stomach. He'd hoped that they'd get a good team at Karasuno. Would that hope really be dashed on the first day?
"No," Hinata said, looking like the word was physically painful. "Me and Kuroko played basketball for Teiko. We're switching over this year."
Hinata's tone brooked no argument, made it very clear that it was not a subject open for discussion. It seemed like the newcomers lacked a certain thing called tact, though, because the tall blond one butted his way into the conversation like a pro, cocky grin and all.
"Ho, really? The shorty is from Teiko's basketball team? Bet you flunked out of the fourth string so you had to find another sport." The cutting drawl made Hinata's hands curl, and Kuroko's nerves hummed as the blond's friend snickered.
"Nice one, Tsukki."
"And you are?" Daichi said, tone holding just a hint of warning. Kuroko glanced over at the captain, who was now facing so he could see everyone in the room. He couldn't tell who the Captain would side with, but he moved so he was on Hinata's right, between him and the newcomers.
"Ah, this is Tsukishima, and I'm Yamaguchi- we're looking for the volleyball team."
"This is the volleyball team!" Tanaka boomed, puffing out his chest and jabbing a thumb into it proudly. Tsukishima only let out a disinterested, questioning hum.
"Oh, really? With how short this guy is I thought we'd stumbled into the wrong gym." Tsukishima said, unconvincing grin on his face, and Kuroko felt his irritation rise.
"Oi," Kageyama snapped, striding forward a couple steps, but the blond only cut him off again, grabbing the stray volleyball off the floor and propping it on his head.
"Ah, but then again, we do have the King of the Court here, so I guess we're two for two on losers."
The words made Kageyama's eyes widen, and Kuroko could only watch as he seemed to cave in on himself, looking so much like how he had in middle school that Kuroko wanted to hit something.
Was this kid a Miracle? Where did he get off bringing that darkness into people's eyes?
He stepped forward, eyes narrowing in anger, and for the first time, forced himself to be seen.
"Excuse me," The words were ice cold. "I'd appreciate if you didn't talk about my friends like that."
He nearly felt the surprise behind him, and knew Kageyama would be wondering how he counted as a friend after only two encounters, but Kuroko knew Hinata wouldn't be letting him go, and had already accepted him into the group.
He kept his eyes forward, though, staring straight at the blond, ignoring the upperclassmen freaking out next to him and the blond's friend squealing.
Tsukishima -he would remember the blond's name, if only to know who he might need to track down later.- shifted backwards a tad, scrutinizing him.
"Who are you?" Tsukishima said, voice low, and so different from the patronizing tone he'd used earlier.
"Kuroko Tetsuya," He replied, in the same tone he'd used for foreign dignitaries and guests his parents had brought to so many parties. "Nice to meet you."
Tsukishima prided himself on his cool demeanor. It was always satisfying to see the depression on Aniki's face when he failed to react to teasing or tickling or whatever else he tried to "crack his younger brother's cold exterior!" with.
But even Tsukishima leaned back when faced with people appearing out of thin air and using a mask to rival his, using that icy cold tone to make him feel utterly small. It was unnatural.
"Kuroko- so, you're the other one from Teiko?" The Captain asked, taking a half step towards them. Those pale blue eyes shifted thank goodness away from him to answer the question.
"I am. And we were not from the third string," He said, glancing back at Tsukishima sharply, making him stiffen, "Nor did we drop out because we couldn't play. Quite the opposite, in fact."
Tsukishima narrowed his eyes, fingers twitching at the riddle in front of him. This Kuroko, whoever he was, was skilled in word games. He made the point of contradicting Tsukishima in the number of strings, the insinuation behind his remark, and proving his superiority without giving away just how good they'd been.
He noticed, though, that Kuroko didn't deny they'd dropped out. "So you quit because you played too well? That seems a bit backwards," He drawled, cataloguing every shift of expression.
He almost regretted it. Something dark and haunted and desperate seemed to swallow him whole. Just looking at it made Tsukishima claustrophobic- He looked to the ghost's orange haired friend only to see similar emotions there, but with more fearpanicdesperationhurtfearpainpainPAIN.
"Yeah, well, the Miracles are just about as backwards as you get," The oranget mumbled, toeing the floor.
Tsukishima's eyes widened, and Yamaguchi voiced both of their surprise. "Wait wait wait, the miracles? You mean the Generation of Miracles? The prodigies of Teiko?"
Kuroko turned away, and while Tsukishima was glad he didn't have to see the boiling pot of emotions he hid away under that mask, he also felt a flare of anger.
He'd heard rumors of the Generation of Miracles, almost more than the King of the Court, and not all of them good. Most people he talked to who'd played them spoke of how the Miracles trashed everyone on the court- in every aspect.
Looking at Kuroko and Hinata, it was easy to see that the Miracles hadn't just crushed everyone on the other side of the court. They'd crushed their own clubmates as well.
Tsukishima felt a single twitch of his finger. Yamaguchi glanced over to him, and he knew his best friend had caught the motion and understood its meaning.
The upperclassmen were trying to restore order to the gym, trying to make sense of everything that was going on, but Tsukishima didn't care about any of that. He'd pushed too far, and dug up something he'd rather have stayed buried.
That darkness, he'd never seen anything like it. It was worse than Yamaguchi's stuttering nervousness left over from being bullied. He'd hated even that- it grated on his nerves, the knowledge that some people got a kick out of hurting others.
But this, this was something else entirely.
"Tsukki?" Yamaguchi's worried voice was what prodded him forward, scrutinizing the two in front of him who were watching him warily, oh so warily, but they weren't beaten, not broken, not yet-
"You played basketball in Teiko and you think you can just switch over and everything will be fine?" He said, overriding whatever nonsense the Captain was spouting.
"Huh?" Hinata said, blinking at him in pure confusion. Well, that was better than before.
"Just because you went to an elite school doesn't mean you know how to play volleyball," Tsukishima continued, walking forward until he was looking down at the two. "And switching in with no knowledge of the sport is only going to slow us down."
"Oi, Tsukishima," Daichi said, trying to stop him. Tsukishima continued to ignore him, watching a fire spark in Hinata's eyes, watched the shift of their shoulders from slumped to something more defiant.
"You should just give up now," Tsukishima finished, smirk twisting his lips.
"No way," Hinata said instantly, fists clenching. He cocked an eyebrow and the oranget snapped his head up, eyes flaming. "We don't get to play volleyball- something we worked and worked and worked at just because you said so?"
Tsukishima tried not to let his pride at a successful manipulation show as he rose back to his full height, Hinata stepping forward and puffing out his chest. "You don't get it, do you? Yeah, sure, we're short. That never stopped me before. Why am I gonna let it stop me now?"
"Hoo, so confident," Tsukishima snarked. "Think you can take me on, shrimpy-chan?"
A chill ran down his spine as a new glint entered the oranget's eye. "I'm going to make you regret calling me that," He said quietly. A flash of blue over Hinata's shoulder told him that he'd have a bit more competition than he'd bargained for.
Tsukishima couldn't stop his smirk.
Maybe this club wasn't going to be as boring as he thought.
Whew! Finally done :)
Again, really sorry with the late update, y'all.
Also, long chapter is long. Not all of 'em are gonna be FOUR THOUSAND WORDS but we just couldn't find a good place to stop without killing the momentum, and we'd already split the planned chapter in half.
I told her y'all wouldn't mind (case I know I don't, and sometimes i swear I'm more of a reader than a writer) and we got to include (or push in in my case, I love to be mean to these poor boys, where as Mikey loves to comfort them in their sadness) all kinds of juicy goodness of past hurt, future friendships, future drama, and much much more! And a hint to all you people who actually read these (cause really you should get some reward) for the speculation you all love to do between the chapters- pay close attention to the wording, motivations, etc. Small things have big reasons behind them. we love to hash out the smallest details, to drive the plot without ever putting those details in. Those little things a huge clues to things that are going to happen in the future. I seriously doubt any of you will be able to guess even half of what were going to pull, in this or any following works, but you deserve a fighting chance ;)
Big shout out to everyone who reviewed and favorited this story! It makes our day, and I'm pretty sure everyone's tired of hearing me brag about it. Seriously, you guys are awesome.
Keep reading and reviewing! Peace out!
~Mikey and Raph
(or to make it easier)
-Writing in Tandem
