Kageyama didn't do much all Summer long. He'd blocked Oikawa and Iwaizumi's numbers for the time being simply because he wasn't sure if he could handle talking to them at the moment.
And with Hinata around more often, he didn't feel the urge to text them either.
Currently, Hinata was trying to persuade him to come to Karasuno because it was supposedly where his idol went. Kageyama didn't care much about that, and hadn't even heard of the guy before Hinata brought it up, however he had heard rumors Ukai coming back to coach which was enough of a reason to deeply consider it.
The other reasons were that he definitely wasn't going to Seijoh after what happened, and he failed the entrance exam to Shiratorizawa.
"I would be sad that I won't get to beat you in an official match, but maybe after high school!" Hinata told him while asking about whether he was going to go to Karasuno.
"Stop thinking three years ahead already." Kageyama snapped. "And I haven't made a decision yet."
Hinata huffed, "Just admit you're going to Karasuno. Why would you want to go to any other school?"
"I don't know…"
"Exactly."
As it turned out, Hinata was right. The more Kageyama thought about it, the more Karasuno seemed like the best choice. They were a mediocre school, and it might be hard to put them on the map. But if he went there and Coach Ukai came back then he was sure even a mediocre team like Karasuno would do well.
With that in mind, he accepted the invitation to Karasuno, and threw the one from Aoba Johsai away. His mother had asked what changed his mind and Kageyama told her the players at Karasuno were bound to be better than the ones at Seijoh which considering Hinata was the only other player he knew going there, wasn't very likely to be the truth.
Either way, it got her to stop asking questions without Kageyama having to explain what really happened.
The first day of school, Kageyama woke up two hours early and couldn't go back to sleep. So, he got up and decided to put an immense amount of time into getting ready with a vigor he knew wouldn't even last for two more days. He couldn't help it though, first days always made him feel anxious.
When he got downstairs his father hadn't even left for work and his mother wasn't up, which meant it was still early. Kageyama's father raised an eyebrow when he saw him already downstairs, "Do you know what time it is?"
"Um… like, seven?"
"No. It's five."
"Oh." Kageyama murmured, stared at his father reading the newspaper a little longer, and then wandered around the house, making sure everything looked okay until his mother got up and he helped her make breakfast.
Whenever he was standing next to her, it made him realize how tall he'd gotten. Considering his club, he usually spent most of his time around people who were just as tall or even taller than him and he didn't much notice the difference until he stood next to his mother, who didn't even quite reach his shoulder anymore.
"So, um, mama, I was wondering about something." His mother said nothing or even gave a different look to indicate she'd heard but he continued anyway. "What do you think of me?"
She furrowed her eyebrows, "You're my son."
"I mean my personality. Do you think I have a good personality?"
"I suppose."
Kageyama could tell she didn't really understand what he was trying to say. He didn't even know what he was trying to say. He just wanted to hear her say that he was a good person and there would be people out there that liked him. He didn't know how to phrase the question that might warrant that type of response out of her though.
"Do you think other people will like me?"
"Yes." She sighed. "If someone wants to be your friend, then they will try to get to know you."
"What if someone else has already told them the worst things you've ever done?"
She shrugged, "I'm not sure, but I think it depends on the bad things they were told." She glanced at him. "Tobio, have you done something?"
"I wasn't a good teammate last year," Kageyama said vaguely, dishing out the food. "What if my new teammates know that I'm a bad person?"
"I do not think you're a bad person, but I suppose you might show them how you've changed."
Kageyama glared at his rice and looked at her, "How do you know that?"
"I spent many days in my youth obsessing about how to make everyone like me."
"Well why not anymore?"
"It was a waste of time. People either like you or an alternate identity you created for them. Just be yourself, Tobio."
Kageyama frowned because sometimes all he wanted was to be someone else. And once upon a time Oikawa had told him to not be himself, although he could've been joking. He knew his mother was serious though because she never made any jokes. And it was his mother, she probably had better advice.
"You should hurry and eat or you'll be late." She said.
Tobio glanced at the time and started eating quicker.
Once he got to school, the big building was a little overwhelming, and the hallways seemed very intimidating compared to middle school.
It was unusual for first years to start club activities early considering they weren't required to for two weeks and that time was usually used to search for a club they wanted to be in.
Kageyama had already signed up for volleyball though, and knew that was the only club he wanted to do, so he wanted to get started as soon as possible.
No doubt Hinata felt the same way.
Tobio decided it would be okay to go check out the gym. Classes didn't start for a little while longer, so it shouldn't be a problem to get some early practice in.
It was so early, even the second and third years probably hadn't arrived yet. He walked down to the gym and realized he'd dressed for school instead of volleyballs. So even though there was no one in the locker room, he went in a private stall just in case someone came in.
At this point, Kageyama wasn't sure where his parents stood with the 'no-showing arms' thing, but Kageyama always wore long sleeves at home anyway, and now Kageyama wasn't even sure if he felt comfortable showing his arms anywhere.
There hadn't been any writing since the end of middle school. Kageyama knew because he'd checked every day almost obsessively. The habit had weened in the past couple weeks and he figured he'd see it when he showered or something.
And besides the soulmate thing, Kageyama was still uncomfortable undressing in front of others.
When Tobio was finished, he walked out into the gym and started practicing.
He hadn't been at it very long when he heard a gasp-like shriek from behind him and completely missed the volleyball, resulting in it landing on his head.
"Yamayama! You actually came here!" orange hair invaded his vision.
"Didn't I… tell you that?" Kageyama asked the red head, gingerly rubbing the back of his head.
"No! The last time we talked you said, 'Stop thinking three years ahead. I haven't even made a decision yet'." Hinata growled in an overly grouchy voice with a hard scowl on his face to imitate Kageyama.
"I don't sound or look like that!"
"Yeah, you're right. Your expression is more like," Hinata pulled an even grouchier face, "this!"
"Shut up! People with dumb smiles don't get to make fun of my expressions!"
"Oh yeah, well I bet your smile is grouchy too!"
"I'm not grouchy!"
"Then what are you scowling for, hm?"
Kageyama decided to turn away at that point because he was pretty sure his scowl got even deeper.
"So…" Hinata paused as if he was unsure whether he should ask his question, "did Shiratorizawa reject you or something?"
"Yeah." Kageyama muttered bluntly, not exactly proud of that fact. "And it's not like I'm going to Seijoh, so I came here."
Hinata squealed again, making Kageyama wince, "Would you stop that!"
"Sorry, I'm just excited. You're finally gonna see what I'm really made of Kageyama Tobio!"
Kageyama, for his part, rolled his eyes at Hinata's over enthusiastic exclamations.
Their talk was interrupted however, by voices from outside a gym, one voice sounding vaguely threatening and the others were trying to tell him to stop.
"You don't have to threaten everyone, Tanaka."
"What're you gonna do about it? Nothing!"
Kageyama was pretty sure he heard a sigh of exasperation before three people walked into the gym. Tobio stiffened and stood straighter because they must be upperclassmen.
Hinata stared suspiciously and sidled up next to Kageyama, maybe slightly behind him. "Um, hi." Kageyama said and could've smacked himself. What kind of a greeting was that?
"Hello, you two must be first years right? Kageyama, if I remember right." A dark-haired boy said. He was toned, his skin slightly darker than the others, and he gave off a vibe similar to Iwaizumi.
"Yes, I'm him."
"Wow, you really are tall," the one who spoke this time had lighter hair and a beauty mark near one of his eyes.
"He's not that tall," this time the bald one who had an unpleasant expression on his face. "You're a third year, Suga, you should be establishing dominance!"
The boy with the beauty mark-Suga, laughed lightly, "Stop it, Tanaka." After he turned back to Kageyama, "So, how tall are you, exactly, Kageyama?"
"Six feet."
"Wow, really—"
"Hey!" Hinata shouted and Kageyama winced. What an idiot. Didn't he know he wasn't supposed to interrupt people like that? Especially their seniors, and especially they were just introducing themselves for the third time. "I'm here too guys!"
"Oh yeah. Shoyo, Hinata, was it? I'm surprised you two decided to join Karasuno."
More like it was his last option.
"Too bad shorty over here hasn't had a growth spurt yet. Then he could really get up there." The bald guy said, giving a shark grin.
Hinata huffed, irritated, "I know I'm short, but I can jump, okay. So I'm gonna fly high and become Karasuno's ace one day!"
Kageyama rolled his eyes.
"Don't roll them too far or they'll fall out of your head." Hinata growled and poked his arm.
"I'll not roll my eyes when you get your ego checked. It's too big for your body."
"You're talking to me about ego! Shut up!"
"You shut up!"
"Hey now, no fighting. It's only day one." The dark-haired one said, clapping his hands together to get their attention.
"Fine." Kageyama said and glared at Hinata. "Dumbass."
"Takes one to know one." Hinata smirked at him and nudged his side playfully. Kageyama crossed his arms and huffed.
"Whatever." He muttered.
They got to practicing in the gym, and after school he and Hinata decided to practice in the park even more. "Why do you keep just giving me receives!"
"Because you suck. They're sloppy, slow, and fly off your wrists into the middle of nowhere like you're still a junior high first year."
"Yamayama is mean." Hinata whined. "Just one good set and then I won't bother you anymore and I'll receive until you think I'm good enough just please one set!"
"No."
Kageyama wasn't going to give into what Hinata wanted even if they were friends. "Spikers who can't receive don't get to spike my sets."
"Asshole." Hinata muttered to himself.
Kageyama ignored him and spiked again.
It was starting to get dark though, and he figured he should head home soon before his parents began to worry about him. He'd texted them he was going to be with Hinata, but it had been a couple hours since then.
"I should probably get home." Kageyama told Hinata. He was pretty sure most teenagers would be against their parents not letting them stay out after dark, but Kageyama didn't really want to be out in the dark anyway. Especially not alone.
He'd gotten better with the dark itself, and it didn't scare him as much anymore. But now his mind wandered to things that could be in the dark. Not stupid monsters, because they didn't exist, but people who might want to hurt him wandered through his mind occasionally.
"Want me to walk you home?"
Kageyama frowned. Even though he actually would like some company, he didn't want Hinata out in the dark either. "No, I'll be okay."
"Kay, text me when you get home."
"Okay."
They both grabbed their bags and headed in opposite directions towards their homes.
Once Kageyama had showered and dressed, he went downstairs to have dinner with his parents. The fighting had died down between them to almost nothing, and they barely spoke. Kageyama wasn't sure if that was good or bad.
"How was your first day?' His father asked.
"Good. My teammates seem nice." No one had talked about the king incident at his middle school, which he was sure must've been floating around, so they at least weren't terrible enough to throw it in his face.
"And your friend, Hinata, he's on the team, right?"
"Yes."
"You two should have fun together." His mother said and Kageyama nodded. They probably would have fun.
"We will."
After that they fell into silence, though it wasn't entirely uncomfortable and after dinner Kageyama went upstairs to do his homework for the rest of the night.
When a few more days of practice had gone by, Daichi suggested a practice match between them and the other first years that were supposed to be joining the club soon.
Kageyama didn't see a problem with that, and Hinata was obviously buzzing with excitement at the prospect of a game. "Okay," Kageyama said.
So, they kept practicing in the gym, and then after he and Hinata practiced in the park until it was getting dark, after which they would part ways to go home.
One late evening, Hinata was practicing his receives and complaining about not being able to spike anything. "I already told you, you need to get better at receives first! If we can't even get the ball up in the air you'll never be able to spike anything!"
Hinata stomped his foot and huffed, crossing his arms. "You never let me do anything except receives!"
"Receives are important!"
"How important can they possibly be!"
"Important!"
Kageyama growled angrily to himself and tossed the ball to Hinata with a bit more force than necessary while saying, "Come on, we should probably clean up."
Hinata reached up to catch the ball but before he could it was snatched out of the air by someone else.
"Hey!" Hinata exclaimed.
Kageyama's mind instantly ran through all the possible ways he could be murdered, but his mind stopped when he recognized the uniforms of Karasuno.
There was a tall, blonde kid with glasses and a nasty smirk on his face, and the other boy had dark hair, freckles, and was around the same height as Kageyama from what he could tell.
"Well, hello, what's an elementary schooler like you doing out this late?" the blonde one asked.
Hinata scowled, "I'm in high school! Who are you, anyway, and what right do you have to ask me that!"
"You're the other first years from the volleyball club. Aren't you?" Kageyama took a guess, although it wasn't that hard to figure out. Two guys who saw them playing volleyball and decided to pay a visit. Even if they weren't on the Karasuno team, it was obvious they had some kind of connection to volleyball.
The taller of the two boys, smirked but didn't say anything."
"Oh yeah!" Hinata asked challengingly. "Well we're gonna win on Saturday!" He shouted, pointing at them.
"Didn't anyone teach you it's rude to point. And if winning the match is so important to you, maybe I'll just throw it." The boy said with a lazy shrug.
"What!" Hinata cried, outraged.
Kageyama narrowed his eyes and clenched his jaw. "It really doesn't matter if you throw the match or not. We'll win either way."
"Oh? Is that so? You really haven't changed at all, have you? You're still the King of the Court, huh."
Kageyama clenched his fists. He wasn't like that anymore. He was confident in his own skills and that he could pull through no matter what, but that didn't mean he was the same as he was in middle school.
He couldn't treat his teammates the way he had in middle school, and as much as he was loathed to admit it, he did need them, which they had showed him when they abandoned him on the court.
"Never, ever call me that you bastard," Kageyama growled striding over and grabbing the blonde by the collar.
"Tsukki!" the other boy muttered worriedly, causing who Kageyama assumed to be Tsukki to glare at him.
In the end, Kageyama decided to let go because he didn't have time for a fight and had to get home, plus Hinata kept tugging on him annoyingly.
He still glared at Tsukki though while grabbing his stuff.
"Oh, leaving so soon, King?"
"Don't call him that!" Hinata growled and Tobio watched as he jumped up, over the other boy's head and snatched the ball right out of his hands.
"We will win on Saturday," Hinata said confidently, "and I will spike this volleyball right over your head."
"Don't take everything so seriously. Learn to have fun once in a while."
Hinata stared confusedly, probably wondering as Kageyama was about what that meant, but Tsukki did not elaborate and started walking in the other direction.
After he was gone, Hinata turned to Kageyama, his eyebrows furrowed. "I want to keep practicing!"
"No." Kageyama said. It was too late, and they both needed to get home. So, Kageyama started walking in the other direction again, ignoring Hinata's whining protests.
A/N Sorry guys if it's a little fast paced. I just remembered that I wanted to post two hours ago and hadn't even had the chapter quite completed or edited, but I wanted to get this out cus it's a New Year and these are new events yknow? So yeah. Anyway, hope you enjoyed, I always love reviews!