August 13th, 2021

Home.

Iwaizumi Hajime took a deep breath, a smile growing on his face as he peered at the humble suburban house that he had spent most of his childhood in. It was a place where his mother had clamored over white shirts ruined by grass stains and mud, and sock-covered feet trampling down hallways during Christmas Eve.

"You good, Iwa-chan?"

He turned to see Oikawa leaning out of the car window on the driver's side, a pair of sunglasses sitting on his head. "Yeah, I'm good."

"Say hi to your mom for me!"

"You're not gonna come in?"

"Nah," Oikawa waved a hand, "I need to sort some stuff out with the team first—maybe I'll swing by tonight."

"Alright," Iwaizumi raised his voice, "Don't forget to visit your parents, too!"

Oikawa laughed. "Did my mom pay you to say that?!"

After saying goodbye to Oikawa, Iwaizumi greeted his parents with hugs and hearty pats on the back. They welcomed him back with open arms, inquiring about the time he spent training the men's national volleyball team.

"Exhausting," Iwaizumi said solemnly over lunch.

"You're just weak," his younger brother, Satoshi, teased. He was in his third year of university, majoring in astrophysics.

"Hey, you try getting a bunch of volleyball-obsessed meatheads to toe the line. It's not easy work."

Truly, Iwaizumi was glad to be back with his family and infinitely more grateful that he would have some time to rest and recuperate in his hometown. Sendai had raised him—was the place where he had spent his halcyon days. There were little to no blemishes in his childhood and he had emerged from the sea of adolescence to dock onto the shores of adulthood relatively unscathed. He would be making the most of this break and return to work fresh-faced and bright-eyed.

Later in the afternoon, he went out for a walk through the neighborhood with his younger brother, passing the time with idle conversation. Iwaizumi kicked a pebble along the pathway, abandoning it when it flew too far to the side.

"Seriously," Satoshi concluded after ranting about the difficulties of his dating life. "I think she might hate me. I don't get it. I've never had a girl hate me before."

Iwaizumi sighed. He'd honestly forgotten how much of a playboy his brother could be. He blamed Oikawa's influence. "Yeah, girls tend to do that when you present yourself as a player. How can you be so smart but so stupid?"

A hapless shrug. Perhaps it was simply Satoshi's kismet to have the answer elude him for the rest of his life. "What about you, then?" demanded Satoshi. "You got anyone?"

"Nah. Not interested." Iwaizumi had always been indifferent to dating and romantic relationships, all of those things coming secondary to his career as a personal trainer. Too much of his time and energy were dedicated to making sure a whole team of man-children wouldn't get hurt by doing something stupid like falling down the stairs—there was simply no way he would be able to maintain a relationship on the side. "So who's this girl who hates you again?"

"Sunano Mina. She's a pharmaceutical sciences student. God, she's annoying. I can't stand her, but I can't stand the fact that she can't stand me!"

Oh, he's in denial. Iwaizumi nodded. That made sense. He wondered how long it would take for his kid brother to realize his true feelings for Mina. For one who played with people's hearts on the regular, Satoshi could be surprisingly dense with his own feelings. Serves him right for being a little shit.

They passed by a house with a dark blue roof. Iwaizumi stopped in his tracks—he recognized the place. Had been there once, but only once, to help his underclassman study for an exam during middle school.

"What's up?" asked Satoshi, noticing Iwaizumi had halted.

"No, nothing. Just remembered that Kageyama lives here." I wonder what he's up to these days. I thought for sure that he would make it big in the pro league, but there's been no sign of him since middle school. Should I go say hello? "I'll be right back."

Iwaizumi opened the gate and knocked on the door.

A round-faced woman answered it. "Yes?"

He didn't recognize her. "Oh, er—sorry. Is this the Kageyama household?"

"No, this is the Katsuragi household. But we did buy the house from the someone named Kageyama."

Kageyama moved away? "How long have you been living here, if you don't mind me asking?"

"For five years now," said Katsuragi. The smell of burning food wafted through the air. "Oh, excuse me."

Dumbstruck, Iwaizumi could only stand at the porch as the door closed in his face, the woman tending to the roast in her oven. Satoshi stalked up to him, giving a weird look before tugging him away from the Katsuragi's house. "What's with you?"

"He moved." Iwaizumi's throat bobbed. "Kageyama moved."

"Who?"

"My old underclassman back in Kitaichi." Satoshi and Iwaizumi meandered down the street, making a left turn toward the park—the one that he and Oikawa had spent their early childhood practicing volleyball at.

Satoshi raised his brow. "Is it really that weird? It's not unusual for families to move."

"I know. I just... Some part of me thought that he'd still be there." Guilt pricked at him as he realized just how little he thought of Kageyama. Not as an actual person, but more like a piece of furniture. Some kind of permanent fixture in the background that he could go fuss over every once in a while.

"Look at you." Satoshi slapped him across the back. "Getting all sentimental. You're old now, Hajime."

"Oh, piss off, you little brat."

"I bet your bones creak when you run." Sticking out his tongue, his little brother dashed off.

"Come back here!" roared Iwaizumi, chasing after him and feeling more alive than ever.

In the midst of his joy, he forgot all about Kageyama.


"Iwa-chan."

"Hm?"

"Iwa-chan."

Iwaizumi snapped his plan-book shut, whipping around in his seat at the dining table to glare at Oikawa, who was draped across the couch and watching the end credits of some German alien movie on his laptop. "Yeah?"

"Iwa-chan, get me ice-cream."

"Fuck no, go get some yourself."

"But it's your house. I don't wanna be a rude guest."

Exasperated, Iwaizumi threw his hands outward, gesturing toward where Oikawa was lounging. "Have you seen yourself?"

"Your parents love me." Oikawa harrumphed, closing his laptop. "But fine. Ice-cream can be saved for later. We're having a team reunion tonight."

A team reunion on the first day of their return? Iwaizumi felt tired already, but he didn't really want to miss out on seeing the old boys again. "I wish you'd told me earlier. What time?" It was already quite late.

"Eight."

"It's seven-thirty right now!"

Airily, Oikawa laughed. "Calm down, Iwa-chan. With my expert driving skills, we'll be there in no time."

"I just have to tell my parents to save my portion for breakfast tomorrow."

"I'll be waiting in the car, then."

Not five minutes later, the two best friends were cruising down the roads of Sendai, heading downtown. Iwaizumi looked out the window, watching as mundane suburbia gradually morphed into a colorful metropolis. His previous ire at Oikawa disappeared throughout the journey as he thought of meeting up with his old teammates. They'd been close back then, Oikawa the ever-reliable social glue needed to keep them together.

Iwaizumi closed his eyes, taking in a breath.

Yeah.

This was the life.

Hanamaki and Matsukawa were waiting for them at a reserved table in a popular barbecue restaurant. "Eyy!" Hanamaki called with a grin as they made their way over. "Long time no see, man!" He exchanged a series of complicated high-fives with the two of them.

"Hey," Matsukawa said with a nod.

"Come on." Hanamaki nudged him. "Show a little more energy, Issei."

"You're not the one who had to work the graveyard shift last night." Matsukawa yawned. "Be grateful I'm even here. But," he cracked a smile at Iwaizumi and Oikawa, "It really is good to see you again."

They were catching up on times missed when the next few members of their little party arrived. Yuda—the only one of the three reserve third years who had played on the team during 2012—came in with Yahaba, Kyoutani, and Watari.

Iwaizumi could almost see the shadow of their younger selves behind them, and a wide grin broke out on his face was he found himself appreciating how much they had grown up. They'd just been babies yesterday—now they had careers and girlfriends. He was proud. In fact, he couldn't wait to see Kindaichi and Kunimi—he would definitely be feeling much like a mother hen then.

Their table grew ten times louder as the four arrivals got seated.

Not long after, the final two expected guests ducked their heads into the restaurant.

"Over here!" Oikawa enthusiastically waved them over. It seemed he was feeling the same way as Iwaizumi. Hens, the two of them were, and Kindaichi and Kunimi their baby chick.

Like he'd done so with the former second years, he let his imagination wander, Kindaichi and Kunimi's past selves appearing behind them momentarily—

Ah.

Iwaizumi blinked.

There was a third shadow. One that didn't have a physical manifestation, one that faded into nothing. Before Iwaizumi could gain his bearings, however, Oikawa nearly knocked him out of his chair by standing up abruptly. "Kindaichi! Kunimi! My cute little underclassmen are now grown men!"

"That's generally how the passage of time works, yes," responded Kunimi, a wry smile on his lips.

Iwaizumi frowned slightly, seeing what Oikawa didn't—exhaustion bogged down the two of them. Neither of them looked like they had been sleeping well—the droop of their mouth, the dark circles around their eyes... Oikawa would normally be more observant to such tell-tale signs, but he'd already had a few drinks. Iwaizumi would be tonight's designated driver.

The reunion was a blur of high energy and cackling laughter. The young men swapped stories of what they'd been getting up to. Yahaba and Kyoutani were living with their girlfriend and carrying on with their respective careers with the end goal of travelling around the whole world. Yuda was now a preschool teacher and dating a coworker while Watari, bored of the single life, was going on blind dates.

"I'm just checking out my options," Hanamaki said defensively when they all teased him for being unemployed for the umpteenth time.

"You change jobs almost every year!" exclaimed Watari.

"We're always hiring at the funeral home," Matsukawa said bracingly, more awake than before.

Hanamaki made a face. "Fuck no. No offence, though."

Oikawa peered around Iwaizumi to beam at Kindaichi and Kunimi, both of whom had been oddly silent the whole time. While Kunimi wasn't much of a talker, Kindaichi normally couldn't shut up around people he was comfortable with. He'd already grown out of his awkwardness by the time he turned seventeen. "What about you guys?"

"Oh..." Kunimi shifted his gaze away. "I work at a psychiatrist's office. It's pretty boring. Not much to talk about."

"Aw, come on, don't be like that. Complain about your boss or something. Or!" Oikawa was wearing a sword-slash grin. "Spill some patient gossip."

"Patient confidentiality, Oikawa-san, patient confidentiality."

A few boos went around the table.

Oikawa huffed. "Bah—you're no fun, Kunimi, you grumpy old man."

Kunimi rolled his eyes, the tiny smirk on his lips letting them know that he was taking it in jest.

"What about you, Kindaichi?" Iwaizumi attempted to coax Kindaichi into speaking.

"Ah." Kindaichi smiled. It was lopsided. "Well, you all know I'm playing for Tamaden Elephants. My contract expires at the end of this year—after that, I'm planning on going into law."

Yahaba let out a low whistle. "That's a tough road."

"I already have my bachelor's. I just need to finish graduate school."

The reunion ended on a high note. Unfortunately, they were now oldies as Hanamaki liked to groan about, and they valued their sleep time. Some called a cab to get home, while others dialed the number of sober friends. One by one, they left. Soon, only Oikawa, Iwaizumi, and Kindaichi and Kunimi were still milling about by the front of the restaurant, talking among themselves.

"Well." Oikawa yawned. "It's been nice meeting you two again. I'm gonna call it a night, though. Iwa-chan, where did we park again?"

"Down the street, drunkass." The feeling of unease Iwaizumi had gotten from seeing the haggard faces of his underclassmen washed over him again. "Kunimi, Kindaichi... I noticed that you two look tired."

"It's just work," replied Kunimi.

Kindaichi didn't say anything.

"Is something going on?" Iwaizumi pressed.

By now, even Oikawa had stopped stumbling around in an exaggerated drunk act and was paying attention—or as much as his hazy mind could afford, anyway. "You know you can tell us anything, right?"

Kindaichi and Kunimi exchanged a glance.

Finally, Kindaichi uttered the words that would change Iwaizumi's life forever.

"Kageyama's dead."


A/N: Corona happened in this AU but it ended by late 2021. Let's see how that pans out in real life... lol...

EDIT: I wrote that author's note way back earlier in the year when I still had only the first portion of his chapter written. Jokes on me, my state is in lockdown and covid doesn't seem to be disappearing at all ahahaha cries