Disclaimer: Haikyuu is not my property. It belongs to Haruichi Furudate, Weekly Shōnen Jump and Shueisha.
Chapter 38 – A Step in Both Directions.
It seemed that my words of encouragement, though they seemed to help Hinata, were overlapped by the words Ukai-san said upon returning to the gym.
"Narita, switch with Hinata." He said, surprising Hinata, Narita and I.
The shaved head second year blinked, caught off guard, and nodded, "Huh? Er, alright!" he hesitantly replied and I could only watch as Ukai-san turned to Hinata and spoke.
"I think the 'Freak Quick' you do with Kageyama is incredible enough as-is. But if, as you said, that move still has room to evolve... then I think I'd like to see how far it can go." He said, and sighed, "I've got absolutely no idea how to do that, though! So for now, don't ditch the sensation of 'being enabled to hit the ball' that you've been experiencing all this time. Also, you'll be staying out of matches for the rest of the day." He finished, and Hinata flinched.
I winced. Ouch. That's got to hurt.
'N-Not right now...! If it's okay, can we talk after the matches are done? ...it'll make me feel better if I can talk to you later on!'
I widened my eyes as Hinata's words from earlier returned to my mind, and I smiled. Maybe this could distract him from not being able to play in todays' matches...?
I stepped towards Hinata, and from behind, I patted his shoulder.
Hinata turned to face me, with a curious expression.
"You said earlier that you wanted to talk after your matches for the day are done. I guess that's technically right now, huh? So... u m, do you wanna go somewhere to talk...?" I asked, suddenly feeling a little shy about saying it. My cheeks were getting a little warmer.
Hinata's cheeks became flushed as well, and he stared at me a moment, as if processing it.
And after the moment was up, he swallowed audibly, blushing deeper, and nodded stiffly. I furrowed my eyebrows, concerned, and touched his sleeve lightly.
"Are you okay?" I asked him, and he frantically nodded his head.
He then turned about face, to face the gym doors again, and almost mechanically walked himself outside, his movements jerky. Still a little concerned by his weird behavior, I opted to quietly follow him outside, to where he'd sat himself down on a grassy hill outside the gym, his hands on his kneecaps.
I quickly took a seat down next to him and looked to him over my shoulder curiously. I put on an encouraging smile; one I hoped would put him more at ease.
"So, what did you want to talk about?" I asked him, and he remained silent, looking down at his hands atop his knees. I tilted my head at his silence, and awaited his answer.
After what felt like an hour but was probably only a few minutes, he finally spoke up.
"In a few months it'll have been two years since you first approached me in the girls' team gym back at Yukigaoka..." he began, and I widened my eyes.
That's true...! It had already been nearly two years... We'd introduced ourselves to each other around October in our second year of middle school, and now here we are a few months into our first year as high school students!
I nodded, "That's right! It's funny how time flies, right?" I agreed.
Hinata nodded, "Um, so... we're pretty close by now. We've managed to stick together so far and I don't think that'll change until at least our 3rd year." He added.
I hummed, "It'd be nice if it could go on longer than that... but you're right. It's likely that we'd go to different universities, if we end up going at all." I said.
Hinata nodded, "Yeah, but... th-that's not why I'm bringing it up. Er..." he trailed off and I looked at him curiously.
"Then what is it?" I asked. His cheeks were awfully red right now. Was it something embarrassing?
My heart skipped a beat, before I inwardly willed it to calm down. I couldn't jump right to that conclusion.
"Well, it's kinda... well, close friends, they... um, they usually c-call each other by their f-f-first names, right...?! AH! T-That is...!" Hinata suddenly raised his voice, yelping, and cried out, covering his flushed face, groaning.
I found myself swiftly turning redder, but a gnawing disappointment gripped my chest. I tried to will that away as well, chastising myself and telling myself I'd already told myself not to expect that.
But at the same time, there was a feeling of fond mirth that tickled my chest in the aftermath of the disappointment, once Hinata's words settled in.
It was kind of adorable really... I let myself smile at how cute Hinata was being right now.
Said red head whined through his hands, "S-Say something...!" he added.
I chuckled, very faintly, and nodded, "You want me to call you by your first name...?" I asked for clarification, my cheeks still pinked.
Hinata lifted his face from his palms and peeked at me through his orange locks, and nodded.
I nodded, and turned to him properly. I felt a bit of nervousness tingling as I prepared myself to say it; "Okay, then Shoyo-kun." I said to him...
...and Hinata's face promptly exploded into a deep shade of red in reaction, and as if my words had been a blow from a weapon, he stumbled back a little, speechless. He clutched at the fabric of his shirt over his chest, looking stunned.
He then looked away as if thinking to himself.
"W-Was that okay...?" I asked him.
He hastily nodded, his lips turning into a small, wobbly smile as his blush faded a little, "I like it...!" he said, and after a few moments, he melted into a bashful, hesitant state, rubbing the back of his head anxiously, "S-So... could I call you by your first name too...?" he asked and I blushed.
Slowly, I nodded my head in consent, eagerly anticipating it.
He kept his eyes on me, his gaze steady, as if going over it in his head as practice, and licked his lips briefly.
"Mo... Moeka-san." He breathed out.
Now it was my face's turn to explode into colour, at the sound of Hinata's voice finally saying my name.
"U-Uhm... yes...?" I shyly asked.
He floundered a moment, "N-No, I was just trying it out loud...! Ahaha...!" he said, leaning away a little and rubbing his head again. I muffled a little laugh at his behavior, hiding it behind my hand, and he nervously laughed in return.
Of all the things Hinata had to say, I'd been hoping but not banking on something romantic, and though it wasn't exactly what I had fantasized about, this was enough. This made my heart swell with happiness.
It really felt like our relationship was slowly developing, and unfurling like a flower in bloom.
The rest of the day went over in a happy blur. I waltzed through it with a skip in my step and it was clear that something had happened to the others, I'm sure. The girls, sans Shimizu-senpai and Yachi-san, were the only ones to corner me about it though.
"Okay, Moeka-chan, it's time to fess up! You're acting like a fairytale princess whose found her true love and wants to sing it to the world." Michiko said to me, and I smiled nervously back at her.
"Yeah like you whenever Keiji-kun actually speaks to you." Shirofuku-san said with a grin to my friend.
Michiko blushed, glaring lightly at her, "Hey we're questioning Moeka-chan, not me!" she complained. Shirofuku-san just shrugged her shoulders.
"So," Miyanoshita-san said with an excited smile, "What happened? A few of us saw you go outside with Karasuno's 10 and ever since you came back in you've been in a noticeably good mood!" she said.
"Did he confess or something?" asked Suzumeda-san, off-handedly, but the bluntness of the question made me blush furiously.
Michiko gawked, wide-eyed, and then she looked incredibly excited, "Oh my god, no way! Did he really!?" she asked, sounding thrilled.
"Oh my..." Otaki-san put her hand over her mouth, though she was smiling.
I gasped, and waved my hands in denial, flustered.
"NO, no, no, no...!" I cried, "If that'd happened, I... I don't know how I would've reacted...! Anyway, no!" I insisted.
Michiko pouted, "Way to reel me in only to let me go... Aww, man...!" she said, puffing her cheeks up childishly.
"Then what did happen? Obviously, it was something good." Shirofuku-san cued me.
I nodded, smiling a little bashfully, "Well, we've been friends for two years now, he told me; so he wanted us to call each other by our first names. So... yeah. We're doing that now...!" I said nervously, fiddling with my fingers.
"That's it?" Michiko blinked, and I quietly nodded. Michiko sighed.
"Simple things like this are sometimes nice, right? I understand." Otaki-san said with a soft smile. I nodded, smiling behind my hands with pink cheeks.
"It's very nice." I agreed.
Michiko sighed out, giving in, and patted my shoulder, "Alright, well if you're happy, then I'm happy too. Congrats, Moeka-chan! Next up, confession time!" she said with a grin and I blushed again.
I'm starting to wonder if my cheeks will permanently stay red if this keeps up...
"Hey, that's enough rushing her!" Suzumeda-san rolled her eyes, and looked around, "Looks like things are all done until a week from now. We should help tidy stuff away before we all head out. It was nice meeting you these past two days, and we'll see you soon!" she said to me, dragging Shirofuku-san away by the wrist as she walked away, waving goodbye with her other free hand.
I nodded, and waved her off.
We got started tidying things away, packed up, and the training camp was done for the day.
As we waited for Takeda-sensei to roll the bus around, I watched from a distance as Hinata said his goodbyes to Inuoka-san, Kozume-san and Haiba-kun. The latter of whose height still amazed me; it was all the more apparent when compared to Hinata's height side-bye-side.
Everything was well until I overheard Suga-senpai muttering to himself, "In the end... Hinata and Kageyama haven't said a word to each other all afternoon..."
Those words... they made me uneasy.
And the uneasiness would not be unwarranted, as I was about to find out.
"So, how was your first official training camp with the boys' volleyball team, Yachi-san?" I asked the meek blonde girl as we walked down the stairs from the girls changing rooms across the way from the gym.
"I-It was fu-fun...!" Yachi-san quickly said and I looked at her patiently; she crumbled, "And a little scary, and confusing I guess... I still don't know a lot about volleyball, but I'm trying my best to learn...! B-But most of them are all so tall that I can't help but feel intimidated..." Yachi-san said despairingly.
I laughed quietly and nodded, "I understand that completely. Super tall people make me uncomfortable too..." I confided.
"I-If that's so then why did you pick Volleyball? It's usually for tall people." Yachi-san inquired.
I hummed, "Well originally it was to have something in common with my friend, Micchan. But I grew to really enjoy it. Tall people still intimidate me though. It's why I switched out being a Middle Blocker. I couldn't deal with how other people could jump way higher up than me, so I decided to keep my feet planted on the ground and leave it to those who could jump higher. Like Micchan... Like Hinata! You saw how he jumps right? I saw your poster, it was really nice." I said to her and she blushed under the praise.
I hadn't been aware of it, but apparently Takeda-sensei had been having trouble working up the funds to rent the bus for the training camps, and Yachi-san had worked together with Hinata as her photography model to create a poster to ask for donations to the club's cause. It was super sweet of her to do!
"E-Eh, that? That was um, nothing... Huh?" she trailed off, spotting something in the gym. That's when I realised the lights were still on. I peeked in with her, as Yachi-san called into Kageyama-kun and Hinata inside.
"You two haven't gone home yet?" Yachi-san asked them.
I stepped inside, "What are you guys doing? Kageyama-kun? Shoyo-kun?" I asked, blushing a little still at calling him by name.
Kageyama-kun and Yachi-san noticed the name change and looked at me in surprise, while Hinata turned red again.
He shook it off, physically, with a wild shake of his head, and turned to us, "Could one of you girls put the ball in play for us for just a little bit?" he asked, finishing up tying the net to the pole edges.
I looked at him for a moment. This didn't surprise me. Hinata liked to practice volleyball at all hours, as much as he could. And he hadn't got to play as much today as he would have liked to either so this was bound to happen.
I turned to Yachi-san with a smile, "Why don't you give it a shot, Yachi-san?" I asked her and she jumped in shock.
"Guwah! C-Could I do such a thing...!?" she quailed, caught off guard.
I chuckled, "Of course you can. All you need to do is throw it so it's going to land right above Kageyama-kun's head. It's pretty simple." I told her.
Looking nervous, Yachi-san nodded her head, "O-Okay, I'll give it a shot...!" she agreed.
Hinata punched the air with both arms, "Aw'right! Thanks Yachi-san!" he cheered, and Yachi-san just smiled shyly, going over to the ball bin hesitantly.
I stood watching from the side with a smile. Next year, I'd be going to the girls' team and Shimizu-senpai would be graduating from high school, so this'd be one of Yachi-san's duties as manager. So she had a lot to get used to.
I'm glad that she was giving it her all so far.
But after watching Hinata and Kageyama-kun go for a while, it quickly became obvious what Hinata was trying to do. With each ball Kageyama-kun set for Hinata, he failed to swing accurately with the ball's path, missing every time. Hinata was trying to do it with his eyes open.
They kept trying, and trying, for several minutes, and Yachi-san and I were each slowly getting a bad feeling, like something was about to go down.
Kageyama-kun's face screwed up into a frustrated scowl, "There's tonnes of other things you could be doing, like attacks you've used all along, serving, and blocking, instead of trying to do this attack that you know you can't pull off!" he snapped at Hinata.
"But I...!" Hinata panted, worn out by his efforts, "I have to make this quick strike work, or my reason for being on the court will disappear...!" Hinata said and I frowned sadly.
"That's why I said there's no need for you to think on your own in this quick strike! The blockers won't catch you with my toss!" Kageyama-kun insisted.
"I wont be able to get any better like this!" Hinata snapped back and Kageyama-kun growled.
"...The first round of Spring High preliminaries is next month. That's right around the corner. When that time comes, what's our weapon gonna be, the perfected quick strike, or the quick strike that's completely useless right now!?" Kageyama-kun rose his voice gradually higher and higher, his anger seeping out as he violently grabbed a fist-full of Hinata's shirt.
I gasped, taking a step towards them, "Kageyama-kun...!" I said, but anything more than that wouldn't come out. I couldn't turn my concerns into words...!
"P-Please, don't fight...!" Yachi-san shakily said, looking scared, but Hinata didn't hear that.
"I want the power to fight on my own!" Hinata yelled out.
Kageyama-kun roared angrily, shoving Hinata, "You're gonna destroy the team's balance with your selfishness!" he shouted.
"Hey! Th-there's no need to get all physical – let's talk it out calmly—" I tried, stepping forward again.
"I'll toss the ball to anyone, as long as I think they're necessary to achieving victory..." Kageyama-kun said, suddenly deadly calm; he turned away from Hinata and began towards the gym door, "The same holds true, even now." He added, avoiding eye-contact with Yachi-san and I as he made his way to the exit.
I watched him go sadly.
And then, Hinata got up, yelling as he barreled towards Kageyama-kun, "KAGEYAMAAAA!" he said, charging into Kageyama-kun bodily and grappling with the furious Setter.
I gasped, shocked, "Y-Yachi-san, go find one of our Senpai...!" I quickly said to the terrified girl, who shakily nodded and scrambled out of the gym; I turned to the boys, biting my lip.
"Hey, cut it out...! Shoyo-kun, this isn't the way to get what you—" I was cut off by Hinata himself.
"I won't let you go until you toss to me!" Hinata grunted, not budging from his hold on Kageyama-kun, who was wriggling, turning red with anger.
Summoning his strength, he threw Hinata off of him, but Hinata got right back up and ran back at him again, trying to resume his hold on Kageyama-kun.
"Just stop it!" I cried at them, tears welling up in the corners of my eyes.
And when it seemed like my words were useless in stopping them and I felt like I could start crying, Tanaka-senpai came running into the gym towards the two of them and separated them with a punch each to both of their cheeks, sending them down to the ground.
I heaved a sigh, watching wordlessly, as Tanaka-senpai took care of things, as Yachi-san returned, huffing for air and surveying the scene.
Today had been so perfect up until now. Why did this have to happen...?
I glanced at the two boys who were good friends of mine and wondered why it came to this.
The walk to my bus station that night with Hinata and Yachi-san was an extremely awkward one. The pregnant silence between us, amongst the sounds of the world around us, was like a thick blanket of tension.
A few minutes later, Yachi-san had awkwardly bid us farewell for the night when her bus-stop came up, and separated from us.
Now it was just me, and Hinata up ahead of me, wheeling his bike along slowly, a plaster taped to his cheek where he'd been punched.
Suddenly, he spoke up, "Sorry about earlier... Moeka-san... You and Yachi-san kept trying to stop us from arguing but neither of us were listening." Hinata said, turning to look at me with a wry smile.
I shook my head, wanting to say it was nothing, but really, I hadn't liked seeing them arguing like that at all.
Hinata turned to face ahead again as he walked; "I could kinda get where Kageyama was coming from. His thinking about where games are concerned... Though I hated him last year after he slaughtered us that one time... I was starting to think we could be friends... or maybe even partners, ya know...?" he said, and his voice sounded sad and a little disappointed.
"Shoyo-kun..." I mumbled, and he dipped his head; I saw the tips of his ears turn red.
"Sorry... I've gotta sort things out in my head. I'm gonna go on ahead...!" Hinata suddenly said, getting on his bike.
I widened my eyes in surprise, and gulped, furrowing my brows slightly; "Okay..." I mumbled.
With that, Hinata cycled away ahead of me.
I nodded to myself, sighing out sadly. My throat felt tight, from the concern over Hinata and Kageyama-kun's argument rising with in me.
Everyone needed time to be on their own, to filter through all of their feelings, I knew this. I'd needed times like this too.
And so, I decided to leave him to it. I hoped that if he ever needed my help, he would let me lend my hand to him.
I sighed out again, stopping at my bus-stop and waiting. I kinda felt like talking to Kageyama-kun too. I wondered if he felt the same way as Hinata did.
Maybe... Maybe tomorrow I would ask him.
Onigiriri: So some fluff, followed by some "angst"(?). I'm so sorry, but this was a canon event after all...! I hope that fluffy cute scene was enough to even it out? Sorry it's not a love confession or anything – I don't think it's time yet! But now they're on a first-name basis! That's good right?
I hope you guys liked this. Feedback is love~!