Chapter 2: Natto bad way to start the day

That same night after the four of them ended their call with Sawamura

Some hotel in Tokyo

Hinata's POV

"I wonder if Eijun-kun's going to be surprised tomorrow?" Atsumu-san snickered and was already imagining Eijun's reactions.

"Knowing Junei, he will be but I know he can do it. Remember that one time he joined our secret practice with Kuroo and them at the gym 3 back in high school, Hinata? Man, that kid's amazing! Even Akaashi saw the potential!" Bokuto smirked at me as we were all headed to the meeting room. I nodded in agreement and recalled that secret practice of ours. He may not know it but he's a natural at volleyball, probably on par with Tobio when Tobio was at that age. And the fact that he's a southpaw like Ushijima-san and is flexible with his joints like Omi-san, he would've been a nasty player to his opponents.

"How is he with the baseball team, Shoyo-kun?" Atsumu-san turned his head towards me and asked. Eijun from time to time would update me with his daily activities. He'd rant some stuff and would even ask some pieces of advice. Though there were some point in our texts when he was depressed and Tobio and I did our best to give him time and patience to help him get through it.

"Based on his texts lately, I'd say the team is starting to rely on him more." I said proudly.

"Hmph. They better be. He chose baseball over volleyball after all, given at how he's a monster to both of the sports." Atsumu-san said with annoyance in his tone. I can't help but wonder if he's annoyed either to Eijun choosing baseball or his teammates not giving him enough credit despite how he works hard just like the rest of the team, probably even harder. I assume it's the latter.

"He's part in a school known to be a powerhouse where everyone is competitive with one another. You of all people should know that, Atsumu." Omi-san said as he was readjusting his mask. He's right. I've heard that Eijun's school, Seidou High, is a known powerhouse and is usually the challenged and not the challengers. You either get left behind or strive to be at the top. Not to mention the number of members his team have and compare that to ours when we only had 12 members back in my first year in high school is insane.

"But that doesn't mean they go around and invalidating his feelings!" Atsumu-san pouted as he crossed his arms in front of his chest.

"Eh? But Tsum-tsum, you're the least person to say things like invalidation." Bokuto-san stated. Omi-san and I nodded in agreement, recalling the times when he doesn't mince his words every time someone spiked poorly from his toss. "Besides, I'm sure Junei is aware of his environment and his place in the team. That's the price to pay when you want to be an ace. We've all been there. Doesn't matter which sports it is, there will always be hardships along the way. If he's in a really low place like last time, we'll be there to back him up as his beloved senpais."

Last time huh? Bokuto-san probably meant that one time Eijun called us last year when he had the yips. It was hard for him and I was frustrated that I couldn't do much for Eijun. Tobio was even more frustrated than me and was planning to go to Seidou himself to go and kidnap Eijun for what ever reason but I managed to calm him down. We couldn't do anything but listen. We all stayed up for Eijun and little by little, he started to feel a lot better. I always knew that Eijun is strong but even the strong can fall down. He's human after all. Weeks after, he called us again and told us that he and his team won and are headed to Koshien. I congratulated him and Bokuto-san, Atsumu-san, Omi-san and I went to Koshien secretly without him knowing. He had some bloopers in his first match but I was disappointed they didn't let him play for the other matches. Omi-san and Atsumu-san were annoyed and Bokuto-san and I were tempted to go talk to his coach but we were soon caught by our team members and we were dragged back to our gym to practice.

"Hmm well you're right Bokkun" Atsumu-san agreed but I don't know which statement of Bokuto-san he agree on. "but I still think it's a bit unfair to lil Eijun-kun."

"That's because you have a soft spot for Sawamura-kun." Omi-san stated. Atsumu-san is fond of Eijun and he and Osamu-san tend to treat him like their own little brother hence they teased him the most. Can't blame him. Eijun is a ray of sunshine and he deserves every bit of love and appreciation.

"Aww. Jealous, Omi-omi?" Atsumu-san teased as he gave a playful smirk to Omi-san. We finally arrived at the meeting room and he opened the door for Omi-san.

"Ew." Omi-san quickly walked inside and looked away but I swear I saw him blushing behind his mask. I laughed as the meeting was about to start. Those two are so obvious.

During the meeting, we discussed some strategies and the starting players for tomorrow's game. The game is going to start in the afternoon but it's still important to be ready. The coach and the trainers were all presenting some additional remarks as we all listened and shared some opinions. There is this one part of the event tomorrow which the team is looking forward to though and it was—

"And now the most interesting part of the event tomorrow." Coach Samson said as if he was reading my mind. The team started to get all lively all sudden. We all started cheering with glee.

After the meeting, I received a text from Eijun telling me that his boss approved. His way of calling his coach 'boss' is so Eijun-like. I remembered he used to call Ukai-san Sergeant and Daichi-san scolded him big time.

"Hey guys. Eijun said he will come tomorrow!" I announced and showed them the message.

"Hey hey hey! Now what did I tell you? I knew Junei will go." Bokuto-san suddenly did a headstand out of excitement which led to Meian-san scolding him afterwards.

"Tell him to be ready at 7am tomorrow. I'll have Samu pick him up in his school." Atsumu-san grabbed his phone and dialed some numbers. I think it's Osamu-san.

"I'm one step ahead of you, Atsumu-san!" I texted Eijun what needs to be said. I got a feeling he thinks that 7am is normal for us pro-players to start the game, I just know it. A few minutes after, a familiar name was calling my phone.

"Tob-Uh I mean, what's up Kageyama?" I give the most normal greeting sound as convincingly as possible.

"Hinata-boke! How dare you asked Eijun first!" His voice was so loud that the rest of the team probably heard him. I put my phone a bit of distance from my ear as he shouted.

"Not my fault you were slow, bakayama!" Sometimes it gives me a bit of satisfaction that I'm one step ahead of him this time.

"I bet you were really aiming for him because of the special event tomorrow before our official match." He sounded so frustrated it's funny.

"Well, yes and no. But mostly because I really wanted Eijun to watch me defeat you again." I confidently declared. I heard him snort behind the lines.

"You wish. Well good luck day-dreaming about that. Though we finally have someone in mind for tomorrow." He sounded like he was hatching a plan and it worries me, knowing Tobio.

"Oh? and would you care to share who that is, Tob-i-o?" I teased in an almost whispered tone. He likes it when I do that.

"Heh. Why don't you just wait until tomorrow, idiot Sho-y-o." He copied the way I called his name, as if he's making fun of me.

"You know you don't have to add 'idiot'! And the way you said my name just now sounds like you're making fun of me, you meanie!"

"You started it! You know how I get worked up when you call my name like that."

"Y-you. Have you no shame when we're out in public right now? Baka. Kageyama, baka." I set my distance from the team, making sure no one heard us talking. Seriously this guy is just unbelievable.

"Hmph. You reap what you sow." I could tell he's enjoying my flustered reactions.

"I hate you."

"I love you."

"Y-y-y-you idiot!" I hang up immediately. I got out of the meeting room to cool myself. Tobio really knows how to push my buttons. Suddenly, there was a message from him.

From: Weird Tobi-oreo I meant what I said baaaaaaka. :P Anyways, does Eijun know about the part that he's going to participate in our friendly match before the official match begins tomorrow. To: Weird Tobi-oreo Nope. That's the fun part. He doesn't even know that he'll be our special VIP tomorrow. We want to see his reaction once he found out, after all. ;) From: Weird Tobi-oreo You guys are spoiling him too much and at the same time bullies. But do send me a video of his reaction. To: Weird Tobi-oreo Says the one who anonymously sent a dozen boxes of sports drink for him and his team. :P You guys from the Adlers would do the same too. And yes I'll make sure to send you one tomorrow. ^^ :*

He didn't reply after that and I got a bit worried. My phone rang and it was him again.

"Shoyo. What time is your curfew over there?" He said. I know where this is going.

"About 4 hours from now." There was a short pause before he cleared his throat.

"My place?"

"Your place." I hang up and carefully ran out of the building.

Seidou Dorm, 5:05 am

Sawamura's POV

I slowly climbed down the bunk bed, making careful steps as not to wake Asada up. It's a good thing I have enough time to do some early run before the car will come and pick me up. I quickly changed my clothes and head out. It was still dark, only the lights from the bathroom was on. I stretched and did some laps around the field before I head out to the side road to run again. It was about an hour and a half when I got back and saw some members of the team slowly starting to get out from their rooms to eat breakfast. I was about to enter the dinning hall when I saw the time. 6:40am! I hurriedly went to the bathroom to quickly clean myself.

"Good morning, Sawamura-senpai." Okumura greeted me when he entered the bathroom but I was too busy washing my face.

"Morning! Sorry, but I'm in a hurry Okumura." I quickly wiped my face with the towel and ran passed Okumura and several team members as they all head their way for breakfast.

Asada and Kuramochi-senpai are probably in the dinning hall right now since the room was quiet and empty. I forgot to tell them I'll be gone but I think it's no biggie since I'll be back in the afternoon and it's not like they'll look for me. Looking at the time, it was 6:45. After changing, I quickly ran out and head outside of the dorm. I sure hope the car is not here yet. I approached the main entrance of the dorm and what do you know, the car is in fact already here. There was a person standing outside the car, I think it's the driver. Gah it's so embarrassing for a stranger to wait for me and the game is probably about to start. I knew I shouldn't have done some extra runs.

Without looking at the person, I stopped and bowed to apologize while at the same time catching my breath. "Hello! My name is Sawamura Eijun. I'm sorry for being late even though I was asked to get ready before the appointed time."

A familiar voice teased and gave me a pat in the head. "Tsk tsk tsk. And here I thought your parents taught you better than that, Eijun-kun." I looked up and saw a tall black-haired version of Atsu-san. My eyes lit up as I stood up.

"Osa-san! So you're the mystery driver?!" And he gave me his wide smile and patted me again. Miya Osamu, Atsu-san's identical twin brother. They were known as one of the best volleyball setter-hitter pairs in the nation back when they were in high school.

"How's it been Eijun-kun? Did you get enough sleep? Did you went potty before going here? Do you feel any sore from your body after practice? Have you eaten your breakfast? Did you—-"

"Geez. Stop asking me questions as if I'm some sort of an irresponsible kid, Osa-san!" I covered my head in his next attempt of head-pats. He and Atsu-san were always like this to me for some reason. I remembered they keep on pestering and teasing me during our video-chat along with Shoyo-san and the others.

"Oh, so I'm sure you're 'adult' enough to realize that you are wearing your shirt inside out?" He casually said as he got in the car. I scrambled myself to fix my shirt and then I got in the car and we set off to our destination. The way to the arena was a few minutes away and Osa-san and I talked, mostly me talking and telling him all about my pitches and everything about the team and baseball. Although he looked quite confused when I mentioned my pitching grips, he gladly listened.

"By the way, I was serious about one of my questions from earlier, Eijun-kun. Have you eaten your breakfast yet? I saw one of your teammates heading to what I assume was your dinning hall and I figured since I came early," he quickly grabbed something from the dashboard and handed me a paper bag. It was still warm and I could smell something inside the bag. "Special onigiri. I made it super nutritious for you."

"Really? Thank you so much Osa-san. I've alway wanted—" I grabbed an onigiri from the bag and it was a cat-shaped onigiri. I looked at Osa-san, who pretended to whistle while driving.

"You know you coulda just made a normal shaped one!" I yelled while he continued his whistling. The smell was good from the onigiri so I ended up chomping a big bite from the cat-onigiri.

"It doesn't matter so long as it tastes good, right?" He chuckled and sounded so proud after seeing me chomping done from his onigiri. Despite its cute look, the onigiri was indeed delicious; the warmth of the rice and the seaweed matches well with the fillings inside. However, I noticed there's something funny in the fillings and I had a bad feeling about it. I stopped and looked at the onigiri.

"Osa-san." I held my breath.

"Yeah?"

"What's in your onigiri?" I hope it's not what I think it is.

"Hm, well spring onions, a bit of natto, egg—-"

"Did you just say natto?"

"Yeah? Since you're an athlete, you need all the nutrition you can get for the morning and natto is good for the bones and it strengthens your immune system. This product is still new so I was hoping you'd be the first to try my testing product!" He proudly explained and gave me that 'ain't-my-onigiri-awesome-amirite' look. I turned blue all of a sudden. I was about to vomit it all but I cannot in respect of Osa-san's hard work for the onigiri he made just for me. I held my breath and finished the remaining onigiri and swallowed it whole before I could let my mouth feel the natto inside the onigiri. It was heart-wrenching but good thing the rice was soft and easy enough for me to actually swallow it. Osa-san panicked as he saw my struggle in swallowing the food but I gestured to him that it was okay. I just hate natto and I guess I can't blame him for not knowing my hatred for natto. But wait a second, did he just say it's a testing product?!

"Why the hell are you using me as your little guinea pig for your new product?" I yelled as he handed me a bottle of water and jugged it down, clearing the remains of natto lingering in my mouth.

"Oh look. We're here!" He stopped the car and ran out right before he could even answer me.

"What the? Where do you think you're going and just leaving your precious guest here, Miya Osamu!" I took off the seatbelt and ran after him. He was laughing as I chased him down the parking lot and into a big building. We ran straight all the way to the hallway and into what I think was a gym inside the building. The gym was properly taken care of and is it was so clean that I could hear the squeakiness coming from my shoes as I ran after Osa-san. For a guy who stopped playing volleyball after high school you'd think his stamina and speed would deplete. He suddenly stopped running and I managed to catch up with him. His back face in front of me, he slowly turned and smiled and pointed something behind me. I followed his direction and I saw the four of them with a huge grin on their faces, well one of them was wearing a mask and is sulking for some reason.

"Not even a second you arrived and you're already causing a ruckus, Sawamura-kun."
"That's Junei for you!"
"Samu's already makin' fun of you already huh"
"Long time no see, Eijun!"

I grinned as I ran after them. Shoyo-san was the first one who reached out to me and gave me a warm hug followed by Atsu-san and Kotaro-san. Omi-omi-san didn't move and just stared at us. These people are like a family to me. They were there when I was in a low spot last year and they all did their best to make me smile and because of that, I strived hard to improve myself and to move forward.

"How was your travel going here, Eijun?" Shoyo-san said as he and Atsu-san released me from their arms. Kotaro-san continued in cuddling me.

"It was good, Shoyo-san! Though Osa-san made me eat his testing product. It had natto in it!" I glared at Osa-san, who joined us after and stood beside his twin.

"Natto? Oi Samu! I thought you knew Ejun-kun HATED natto." Atsu-san laughed teasingly with Osa-san. If it weren't for Atsu-san's platinum blonde hair, I'd have a hard time telling which is which.

"Like I said to Eijun-kun, he needs the nutrition he could get to last for the morning." Osa-san smiled and gestured something to Kotaro-san. Kotaro-san released me and went somewhere to get something. I tilted my head as he got out and I stared at Shoyo-san, who mouthed 'just wait' to me. Minute or so later, everyone except Omi-omi-san was giggling suspiciously as Kotaro-san returned with a bag. At the side, I saw Omi-omi-san stretching his wrists in a creepy yet interesting way while the twins are doing jumping exercise.

"Here Junei!" Kotaro-san handed me the bag and I looked inside. It was some clothes and a pair of shoes. My face probably showed how confused I was since after he handed me the bag, he explained while grinning. "Those are clothes for volleyball, shoes included."

"Oh, I see. Thank you but what am I going to do with it? And wait, I thought you guys have a game right now!" I could hear Shoyo-san laugh at the background.

Wiping a tear from his face, he approached me. "Our game will start in the afternoon. Who in their right mind would let the players play 7 in the morning anyways? The reason why we want you to come here early is because we want to tell you something."

"Oh? About what?" Why do I feel like I'm being surrounded by a pack of monsters.

Everyone suddenly gathered around me and looked at me with a certain hunger in their eyes. I know that look. It's the same look I have every time I'm in the mound, heart pounding and exciting. The same look when Miyuki asked for a certain pitch and I gladly gave it to him with all my might, the same look when I was the relief pitcher against Ichidai, the same look when I was waiting to be called in Koshien to pitch but never did. The look of never-ending hunger to play more. Shoyo-san threw me a ball, bigger than the hardball I used in baseball but lighter. I instinctively caught it. The ball was all but nostalgic. I remembered how I spiked it easily and would give the opponents a scare. I looked at him and his face was serious but he still smiled and it gave me goosebumps.

"Eijun. Let's play volleyball." It wasn't demanding but it was so straight-forward I couldn't say anything.

Eh?

A/n:

In case people will find this here on fanfiction and saw this story on AO3, it's still me. Just with different name ^_^