Chapter I

Daffodils

i.

It all started in one particularly hot Summer afternoon, the kind of day where your shirt will surely be slick with sweat.

Haruki noticed him ever since the first time he stepped into the room with much fervor expected of a kid, but somehow he still doesn't understand anything about that kid.

First, why are his bangs blond? They contrast greatly with the black strands of his hair, and it really makes him stand out from the other kids who also have the same hair color as his (not talking about himself, because he has chestnut brown hair). Like, is it even possible to have two hair colors?

Second, why does he look like he's so... what was the right word again? Haruki thinks he's very familiar with the face the kid is making (I saw myself making that face once in the mirror, he thought), that sort of face he makes when there's that feeling of "gwaa" and "fwoosh" against his chest, not in the good way of course.

He can't pinpoint what exactly was bothering him about this guy. And whatever that sort of feeling that makes him feel a bit... ticklish but not in the way that makes him laugh, that sort of thing.

"Haru, come here for a bit," his mother's voice called him, and with tiny steps, he walked to her, who beckoned him towards the genkan.

His mother stood up and walked towards an old-looking guy who certainly didn't have the same look as the kid. Mom told him that he can't listen to adult talk, so he sat at the edge of the genkan, taking off his shoes.

There's still that feeling of someone boring holes into his shirt, and he looked behind, only to see the kid still looking at him, with the same face still.

Like a tame kitten looking for someone to play with.

"Haru, are you done taking off your shoes?"

Nodding his head, he stood up and went inside, sitting on the tatami like his mother did.

"I am glad that you accepted our invite for a play date, Ms. Adachihara," the old man sitting across them said, a smile on his lips.

"It's my pleasure, Mr. Nishinoya," his mother said, returning the smile. "My son has been bedridden these past fre weeks, so I wanted to take him outside for a change. He doesn't have friends yet, so I am hoping that he can befriend your grandson."

"I really am glad we're kind of on the same page," the old man responded with a chuckle. "Let me call my grandson first. Yuu, come here!"

And there he was again, that kid with that look on his face, with that outstanding blond fringe, and with that eyes that look almost like that of cat's. He fiddled with the hem of his shirt as he walked towards his grandfather, looking anywhere but the two guests.

"This kid is really bad with this sort of thing," the old man hit Yuu's-Haru noted-back, who flinched really hard. "He's quite the scaredy cat himself, so I'm helping him get a few friends. That's good, right?"

"Yeah, that's very kind of you, Mr. Nishinoya," Haru's mother said. "Haru, say hi to Yuu."

Haru looked at the kid. Then everything clicked and he recognized that kind of face.

"Mom, I think he's scared," Haru said to his mom, pointing his tiny finger towards the kid.

"Don't point like that, Haru, you will scare him more," his mom reprimanded gently, pushing down his extended arm.

Haru nodded. He stood up and walked over to Yuu, who flinched.

"Hello there," Haru said, a little smile on his lips. "I am Haru, can we be friends?"

Yuu looked surprised at his introduction. He looked up to his grandfather, almost as if seeking approval. His grandfather nodded at him.

"U-um," Yuu stammered, looking down at the ground. "It's nice to meet you too."

Haru felt something tug at his heart, like "zoom" and "fwaah" and felt something so warm spread throughout his chest, through his neck-

A smile bloomed on his face before his young mind could register what truly happened.

"Ah, it's nice being children," Yuu's grandfather remarked, eyes crinkling.

"Yeah, that's true," Haru's mother said, a hand on her cheek.

For some reason, that afternoon became a little more bearable.

The next time they met, it felt like a "bam!", like the feeling of putting together a particularly difficult puzzle, that sort of excitement.

The engawa was open to the buzz of the afternoon air, shoji pushed to the sides.

Haru was sprawled on the floor, feet dangling on air as he hummed a song he heard on television, focused on coloring the picture of a superhero in front of him, when a question just sprung in his mind.

"Yuu, do you have any favorite hero?" Haru asked, gripping the crayon in his hand a little tighter.

Today was another day when both of them visited the Nishinoya residence. Haru's mother decided to let them play with each other.

At first, there was only silence between both of them, not knowing what they should play (they did eat watermelons, read stories, and explored the Nishinoya residence back in their first play date). Then, Haru decided to just play the usual, bringing out coloring books and two boxes of crayons from his backpack.

Yuu looked at him with that look that he still doesn't understand, the crayon from his hand falling to the ground soundlessly. His eyes flitted towards his crayon book, the picture of blue-and-red superhero holding a shield with his hand, the words "CAPTAIN AMERICA" written in large letters underneath.

"Probably..." Yuu started, his voice small and hesitant, and Haru can feel that "fwaah" against his chest. "... This guy."

Haru stared at the half-colored picture.

"Why? I thought you would like, uh," Haru said, waving his arms animatedly, "guys that are-uh, that have stronger power. Like those with 'BAM!' then 'GWAHH!'"

Yuu looked at him confusedly, before a small smile bloomed on his face, looking on the floor.

"I-uh, I want to be reliable like him, even if, I don't have a strong power, " Yuu said, red-faced and smiling and voice so small, yet Haru can't help but feel-

-like he's looking up to someone despite of being in the same height.

There it is again, that ticklish feeling in his chest, that "bam!", "fwaah" and the warmth mingling into a sweet, sweet feeling, much better than basking under the afternoon sun.

"Then, if you want to be him," Haru said, flipping through the pages of his coloring book. "I want to be him, then."

A picture of a man in a red cloak and blue tunic was drawn in intricate detail, the words "DOCTOR STRANGE" written above him.

Yuu looked at the picture before his eyes looked around again, fiddling his fingers.

"Why him?"

Haru smiled.

"It would be bad if our defense becomes injured. So, I will help you heal up, then we can both defend the whole team! Let the others fight, then we will defend! Sounds awesome, right?"

Haru sworn that at that moment, he saw his eyes light up like his favorite lamp.

"Yeah, it is," Yuu said, looking away, pink staining his cheeks.

(Haru still does not understand what that feeling in his chest means.)

The next time they met, it was the spring breeze that accompanied them.

Running at full speed as Yuu tried to catch up with him, ignoring the scream of every joint and muscle in his body, sweat soaking his shirt-

Haru felt so warm, so free and so strong, like soaring through the wind with his wings.

(Haru clutched his blanket with his left hand, downing the glass of water in his right hand in one go as he tried to swallow the medicine his mother gave him without his face contorting into something funny.

"Mom," Haru started, his voice hoarse and for some reason, something stung at his chest. "Will I meet Yuu again?"

The white walls, the needle stabbed through his wrist, the flavorless food, the awful smell of disinfectant and alcohol

Haru can't take it anymore.

He knows that he doesn't want the cold of the aircon, nor the whiteness of the walls, nor the bitterness of the medicine.

He wants the warmth of the sunlight through the opened shoji of an engawa. He wants the taste of watermelons. He wants the sound of the chime dancing in the wind.

His mom smiled to him but for some reason, no warmth spread out through his chest, nor was there that light on his mother's eyes.

"When you get better," his mother told him. "So, you should rest up.")

"Wa-it," Yuu managed to say in between his pants, gripping his knees as he tried to collect his breath.

"I'm sorry, Yuu. You said you don't want to bike here, so," Haru said, feeling the breeze against his face.

It was a rather windy afternoon, which happens really rarely in Summers in Miyagi. It's been a week since Haru was allowed to go out the hospital, so his mother decided to set up another play date between him and Yuu.

Both of them were left to their own devices as soon as the play date started, so Haru decided to sneak with Yuu, and run to somewhere that Haru only knew.

"Why," Yuu started, still out of breath.

"I wanted to show you this secret place that I found while we were on our way to your home," Haru said with a smile. "I bet you would like it."

After a few seconds of resting, Haru pulls Yuu by his hand and leads him to somewhere into the forest, until they reach a cliff.

"Here we are."

A field of flowers. Beyond the field, through the edge of the cliff, was rows and rows of villages, and a river beyond. Daffodils of all sizes can be seen.

It reminded Haru of the Nanohana fields.

Haru giggled as he picked up a flower that was uprooted from the rest, giving it to Yuu. Yuu stared at the flower.

"Aren't they beautiful?" Haru said, as the breeze made the flowers dance to its beat, the musky fragrance of the daffodils wafting into the air.

Haru breathed in the scent, before turning to Yuu.

"Let's explore the world!"

Another large breeze blew through the field, almost as if in agreement, and Haru can't help but let out a laugh, his chest bubbled with something close to "fwaah".

Probably, whatever that was in his chest was already something so simple even a kid like him can understand.

It feels so amazing. I will always prefer this. I wish it was always like this.

"I feel like I can do anything as long as you are with me, Yuu," Haru said.

Yuu looked at him, before pink stained his cheeks again, a rare, small smile blooming on his lips.

"Yeah."

"That's a promise!"

Haru found himself looking forward to the day when they can finally do that.

There was no next time, and the distant memory felt like a dream, fading into the morning sky.

ii.

"Yuu, pedal harder! You won't be able to move like that!"

He knows it, this feeling that is constricting his chest; an all-familiar feeling that he has been acquainted with ever since he was aware of his surroundings.

Yuu pushed his small legs to touch the pedals, all to please his grandfather (whom he has always been with for as long as he can remember), trying to drive the bicycle forward, forward, forward, even with his feet not touching the ground-

What if I fell?

That simple thought breaking through his concentration destroyed the rhythm Yuu has set, the pedals spinning backwards as he fell to the side, crashing towards the ground with a loud oof. A shout of distress escaped his lips.

Tears pricked his eyes, the world blurring behind the veil of tears welling up from his eyes.

"I-told you, g-ramps," Yuu said between hiccups, trying to separate himself from the bike to no avail. "I-don't want to-do this-"

His gramps appeared beside him, removing him from the bike before swatting the stray pieces of leaves on his skin.

"You thought that you were going to fall, weren't you?"

That simple question almost stopped the faucet of tears from his eyes.

"You won't be able to overcome your fear if you keep on thinking on what ifs! Just go on forward! Do the thinking later!"

Fear.

That's right, Yuu thought. It was the name of that lurking serpent behind his mind.

"Focus on the thrill of the moment," his gramps said, using his index finger to wipe the tears escaping from the side of Yuu's eyes. "The moment you do, you will forget that fear, and all you will think afterwards will be, 'If I'd let my fear overcome me, I wouldn't have felt this.'"

Yuu almost tilted his head in confusion.

Was that even possible?

A hope was lit in his heart.

"Passing up the chance to learn and experience new things ... is just one big, fat waste!"

"But what do you do if it's still scary?"

"Well, that's easy enough. Get some help!"

The day Yuu laid his eyes on that guy, he felt something weird.

("For our next mission, you will have to befriend someone that is your same age."

Yuu felt his stomach constrict and turn, and the urge to puke has never been hard like this before.

After all, the prospect of having a friend that is his same age is really unnerving to say the least. What if they didn't like him? What if they think that he was weird? What if they think that the blond tuft hanging over his forehead is creepy because a human having two hair colors is-

"Having a friend help you overcome your fears will help you in the long run," his gramps said, a smile on his face. "Remember what I told you before, and engrave it deeply into your heart.")

Those green eyes remind him of trees dancing to the tune of the Spring air, a calming color that somehow untangled his frayed nerves. He felt like a swan waddling through the blue-greens of his eyes, even though the sun was sitting high on its throne on the clouds.

His heart felt so calm, the distorted cacophony of his heart dancing to that tune-

"I am Haruki. Call me Haru. You are Yuu, right?"

Name like the spring, Yuu thought. It's so fitting. He's like the spring in human form, the first flower blooming after the harsh winds of Winter-

"Yeah," Yuu said, the beginnings of a smile blooming on his mouth.

"I hope you can become my friend," Haru smiled, pink coloring his cheeks. "I, honestly don't know much about friendships, so..."

"Same for me," Yuu said in a voice almost quiet.

"Do you have anything that we can play?" Haru asked, looking around Yuu's room.

He stood up and treaded through piles and piles of books and toys scattered around the floor, looking for something interesting to play. A few minutes later, Haru picked up a black journal with yellow thunder-shaped symbols sketched on its surface.

"What's this?" Haru asked, opening the journal to its first pages.

"U-"

Haru read out the title: "Nishinoya Yuu's Beat the Fear Diary", flipping through pages of messy handwriting of his gramps about silly missions of Yuu trying to overcome his various fears (cue Yuu's surprise with Haru's ease in reading difficult kanji).

Yuu felt quite embarrassed. After all, only a few (5, if he remembered correctly) of the hundreds of the missions were crossed out.

"Sorry," Yuu said, fiddling with his fingers, what ifs springing up in his mind.

"What are you apologizing for?" Haru asked, eyes still focused on the pages of the journal (and Yuu still gaping at the impressive choice of words he has.)

"I mean, uh, it's not manly to be-"

"It doesn't matter," Haru said, closing the journal and placing it on the table. "I am also afraid of lightnings and stuff like that, but I don't think I am not manly or whatever."

Yuu stared.

"It's just normal," Haru said with a finish. "Let's finish up all the missions in the journal! First mission, let's eat some watermelons! My mom told me that they are delicious!"

"But, swallowing those seeds will cause vines to grow in your stomach!" Yuu retorted in his gentle voice, face contorted into a frown.

Haru stared.

"Really?" Haru asked, the smile disappearing on his face, face paling as seconds go by. "I swallowed a lot yesterday."

Yuu and Haru decided not to eat watermelons and chose another mission from the journal (but still acquiesced to Haru's mother who bought lots of watermelons from the market).

MISSION #5
Eat the vegetables in a bento!

"Yuu, you really gotta eat these vegetables!" Haru said, cheeks stuffed with rice, omelet, and vegetables (How can he eat them without screwing off his expression? Yuu thought begrudgingly), stray pieces spilling to the table.

"Don't talk with your mouth full, Haru," his mother said gently yet sternly.

Yuu prodded the vegetables with his chopsticks, still remembering the flat taste it left on its tongue after trying out one of gramp's store-bought bento meals. The vegetables looked well-done, but Yuu still can't get out the impression those green monsters left him with.

They tasted like paper (not that he tried eating paper once, probably).

"What's wrong, Yuu?" the gentle sound of Haru's mother calling him made him flinch. "Do the vegetables taste really bad? You haven't touched your food."

Will she tell gramps that I haven't eaten my vegetables yet? Luckily, gramps isn't here, or else, Yuu thought, shuddering at the prospect of getting another earful from his gramps.

"Yeah, he hates it," Haru said, stuffing another mouthful of his food. "It was written on his diary."

(Yuu had the urge to throw his chopsticks at Haru.)

"Really? But they're an important part of the diet, Yuu. You won't grow tall if you don't eat them."

Yuu looked down on his plate, and with anxiety-filled grip, took a piece of the vegetables.

Calm down. They won't taste like paper. Yuu told himself repeatedly like a mantra, forcing himself to link those green monsters with Haru's eyes.

Taking a mouthful, he savored the feeling of the leaves against his tongue.

(No one mentioned again how he puked it again afterwards, how he practically begged Haru's mother to not tell his gramps a thing, and how he despised those white thingies added with the green leaves.)

-
MISSION #10
Befriend a dog!
-

A dog growled really hard at both of them as they just stood from afar. Yuu was pointing at the dog, as if trying to tell it to calm down, we're not looking for a fight! (To no avail, of course.)

"Yuu, why is it angry at you?" Haru asked, looking at the dog still growling at Yuu.

"Of course it would get angry!" gramps said, earning another flinch from Yuu. "You are looking at its eyes! Don't look at its eyes! It will really get angry!"

Yuu closed his eyes away and tried to still his fast-beating heart, moving towards the dog to try touching it.

Just to please my gramps, Yuu told himself, still moving towards the dog (who started barking) with his eyes closed.

Something firm grasped his hands. Yuu's eyes shot open.

Deep green met honey brown.

"Let's pet the dog without looking at its eyes," Haru said, and Yuu almost felt like melting into those green orbs of his. "I will be with you, so don't get scared."

Something cold was injected into his heated body. He felt like he was doused with cold water in the middle of a Summer afternoon. The cold was then replaced by comfortable warmth, spreading through his chest, calming down every nerve in his body.

Yuu nodded, and together they looked towards the dog, like two heroes looking towards the final villain with all their bravado.

(They were chased around the neighborhood, but the memory of his gramps looking so proud of him was engraved in his mind.)

-
MISSION #15
Buy something from the convenience store by yourself!
-

Yuu stood in front of the sliding doors of the nearby convenience store, and he really felt his knees buckling under pressure.

People are huge.

Despite of the cold breeze of the Spring blowing through their town, sweat rolled down Yuu's skin like bullets. For some reason, his feet felt like they were glued to the concrete.

Just to please my gramps, Yuu told himself, and willed his body to move forward the sliding door and buy them ramen noodles for their lunch today.

"We are not getting lunch today if you don't buy the ramen noodles!" Yuu still remembered his gramps telling him, and the idea of not eating lunch is a scary thought, indeed.

"Yuu, you are too stiff."

Yuu almost forgot that Haru was with him (he's thankful that someone of the same height was with him today). A simple sound of Haru's voice calmed Yuu. A sight of his green orbs lulled his body to a warmth he has grown accustomed to ever since he met Haru.

("Will... Haru come today?"

"I haven't heard anything from Haru's mother," gramps told him, and he felt his heart sink.

It's been 5 months already-of course, Yuu has been counting-since Haru last visited. He became a really important part of his Summer and he thought that maybe, just maybe, he will also be a part of his Autumn and Winter.

Like a youkai, Haru disappeared.

Yuu has never felt so empty like this before.)

Linking their hands, Haru urged them towards the store. Like two puzzle pieces, it just felt so right. The warmth of his hand against his dispelled any what ifs, and left a strength that felt like he can do anything, everything.

Haru accompanied him through every shelf of the store, looking for the familiar logo of their favorite noodles. After picking it up, they bought it from the cashier, before going out of the store with a few spare change and a plastic in hand.

Yuu can't stop the sigh coming out of his lips the moment they left the store.

"Mission accomplished!" Haru said, pumping his fist on air.

He truly is like the Spring.

A thought suddenly sprouted in Yuu's mind. With unsureness, he said,

"Will you leave me again?"

Haru looked at him with a curious glance.

"Why?" Haru asked back, confusion spelled out in his face.

Because, I don't think I can win over my fears without you. Yuu thought, but his tongue felt stuck.

Suddenly, a smile was on Haru's lips, and he broke out into a run.

-
"Let's explore the world! I feel like I can do anything as long as you are with me, Yuu."

And maybe, with this promise, he won't leave Yuu again.
-

The rains were not stopping. The familiar pitter-patter of the droplets against their roof became a music to Yuu's ears after a long time of listening to them.

It was almost 2 months ago, when he and Haru last met in the middle of a field of daffodils.

I thought we were going to explore the world together, Yuu thought bitterly, looking at the journal with more and more missions being crossed out.

Maybe, Haru was truly like the Spring, disappearing into the Summer heat. Maybe, he truly was like a youkai, disappearing into the dawn of the day after a night of playing with him.

But maybe, like Spring, he will appear, dispelling the despairs of the Winter winds.

Yuu smothered the idea immediately.

I will beat my fears, so that one day when we meet again, I can thank you for everything. Yuu thought, steeling his determination.

"Let's explore the world!" I promise that it will become true.

Apparently, I have decided to start a new story and just get on with it.

I thought, oh Nishinoya's backstory is definitely a cool one! But it only lasted for 1 chapter in the manga (chapter 278). I want to explore that backstory and expound on it. Adding to that I have always wanted to write an OC story for Haikyuu!, so this story is like a mix of those desires.

Anyway, thank you for reading! I will update sporadically due to basically being busy with college life, but I will do my best to deliver. This story is planned to have 20 chapters with a sequel.

See you in the next chapter!