First, I am so sorry for not uploading anything last week. Unfortunately I got ill and it just lasted forever, it is also the reason for the short chapter, as I am still slightly ill.

This chapter is set right after the KageHina fight (can I call it that?), just so no one is confused about the timeline. Also, it will be a couple of chapters before it happens, but I will eventually go beyond what is going on in the Anime and enter Manga territory. I will state VERY clearly when that happends, just so you are prepared if you are an anime-only reader.

Disclaimer: I do not own Haikyuu!

~What Doesn't Kill You Makes You Stronger~

His face was red, his eyes puffy and his cheeks wet, but Kageyama would deny to anyone that he was crying. He just happened to be upset and went running in the pouring rain. That was all there was to it. He had no idea where his feet where taking him, he just ran and ran and ran. He wanted to get rid of the frustration that was building up inside of him and this was the only way he could think of.

As he was running, all noise seemed afar, except for the sound of his every breath and the rain falling around him. He didn't notice the people around him, nor the people he almost ran into, had they not moved aside at last second. Even in the pouring rain, he felt nothing but his beating heart that threatened to burst out of his chest at any moment. Despite everything that Kageyama was feeling and not feeling, he just kept running like his life depended on it.

He eventually collapsed on a set of stairs and remained there for what seemed like forever until he finally came to his senses. At first he looked around, trying to figure out where he had ended up, as t served as a great distraction from his previous thoughts, but then he realized where he was and all those thoughts came right back to him, and he felt like he had been punched in the guts. Kageyama had run right to the building, where he had met Hinata for the first time and, if memory served him right, this was the exact place where Hinata had declared that he would one day beat Kageyama. Kageyama but his lip and buried his head between his knees. This day had been nothing but a downwards spiral of horrible events, everything just seemed to go wrong and Kageyama didn't know how to fix it. And then a fight had broken out. It wasn't the most violent of sorts, but Kageyama would never in a million years have imagined Hinata getting into an actual fight, let alone with him and it hurt Kageyama to think that he was the one to have pushed Hinata over the edge. It was just that Kageyama was so scared and Hinata was so stubborn and now he was just lost.

Kageyama reached for his phone. Had he not been desperate to fix everything between him and Hinata, he wouldn't have called, but desperate times called for desperate measures.

"Hello~ This is Takehiro," came the answer and Kageyama tried to speak, but the words just didn't come, "Tobio? Is that you? Do you need something? … Hello?" Kageyama was so desperate for help, but the words was stuck in his throat and he was afraid that if he spoke, he would throw up.

"Tobio, if this is you, then I don't know what you want, but I'll wait. Just take your time." Takehiro's sweet voice was calming and Kageyama could feel the tears threatening to fall again, but this time for a different reason.

"Help me," Kageyama whispered, and he was afraid that the words were swallowed up by the rain, but thankfully Takehiro picked up on his plead.

"What's going on?" Takehiro asked concerned, clearly giving Kageyama his full attention, like he always would whenever Kageyama came to him.

"I fought with Hinata," Kageyama said, sounding as broken as ever.

"Hinata... Ah, Chibi-chan. So, let me guess, you fought and now you don't know what to do about it. How typical of you Tobio. Tell me what you fought about."

So Kageyama told him everything that had happened that day, he told him about the quick-strike, and how Hinata was starting to seek independence. He told him about all the failures that came with it and the fight it had resulted in, when they couldn't come to an agreement. When he was done Takehiro was silent for a while, before he slowly started talking.

"As much as I can see where you're coming from, I also don't quite understand why you don't want Chibi-chan to be able to stand on his own feet. It's not like he would leave you in the dust or anything. You have the talent, the experience and the abilities to do whatever you want on the court, why not let Chibi-chan try to achieve that too?"

"It's not that I don't want him to grow and become stronger, I'm just... I'm just afraid that he'll make the same mistake as me... Hinata has so much talent, but almost nothing else, if he starts drifting away from the team, he'll never be able to make it. He'll be isolated. I don't want that to happen, not after I know what it's like."

"Oh, look how much you've grown, Tobio," Takehiro said lovingly and Kageyama could see his affectionate smile so clearly that he might as well have been right there with him, "I will give you two pieces of advise, Tobio, but you have to figure it out by yourself." Kageyama nodded even though Takehiro couldn't see him,

"First, know that Chibi-chan's growth does not need to be his alone. You are allowed to grow along with him, try to make it work. Second, tomorrow, go to your old Volleyball club, the one you were in before Middle School, don't question it, just do it, I'm sure you'll find it helpful."

"... Thank you, Takehiro-san."

"I'm always here to help." He hung up.

Kageyama remained by the stairs for a while, thinking everything over. It was still raining, but at this point he was soaked to the bones, so it didn't really matter, the water was actually rather calming against his warm skin. He was beginning to question what exactly Hinata had become to him. He rarely got invested in other people and when he did, he could always tell exactly what those people meant to him. He had Houjou, who was his childhood friend, as well as his Volleyball idol. There was Takehiro, whom he had always regarded as an older brother, until recently when things had gotten shaky between them and Kageyama had been drowning in too many problems to ever probably apologize and make it up to him again. And then there was Hinata. Hinata whom he admired and only wanted the best for. Hinata who needed him, as much as he needed Hinata. Hinata who was easy going and understood him, when no one else did. Hinata whom he never wanted to let down, yet still had, making him feel like crap. Hinata who was the friend he had always needed and was now afraid to lose. That was what Hinata was.

Following Takehiro's advise, Kageyama had gone back to his old Volleyball club and met none other than Oikawa Torou. At first Kageyama had no idea what Takehiro had had in mind, but it had slowly made it self clear to him, why Oikawa was the best person for Kageyama to talk to in this situation. Oikawa was The Best Setter in the prefecture and someone Kageyama could only hope to match in a distant future, but he could slowly make his way there, starting right now. And Oikawa reminded him of a simple fact that Kageyama had completely forgotten over the years. The driving force of an attack is the Spiker and not the Setter. The job of the Setter is to set up a toss that gives the Spiker the highest chance of success possible. The Setter changes according to the Spiker, not the other way around. Had this been a few months earlier, Kageyama would never have thought about changing the way he played, but Hinata was special. Hinata needed Kageyama to draw out his potential and seeing Hinata at his absolute best was something Kageyama would do anything for.

Hinata was panting hard. It was no longer a mystery why some of the Second-years had quit for a while. Coach Ukai was beast. Hinata was not a person who tired easily, but right now he was really craving a break. It had been a few days since the fight with Kageyama and they had yet to speak to each other, but Hinata was sure that they were going to be fine. Why wouldn't they be? Sure, the fight had been unexpected, but they had been tired, but physically and mentally, which lead people to stop thinking clearly, which then would lead to people doing things they normally wouldn't. At least this was what Yachi had said and Yachi was smart, so she was probably right. Hinata had been upset that night, he wasn't going to deny it, but Yachi really was his saving grace. The trust she had in him and Kageyama was inspiring and it gave Hinata a strength he wasn't sure he would have found on his own. So Hinata trusted that he and Kageyama would be okay and dedicated all of his free time to practice with Coach Ukai, so that when they were ready, Hinata could stop being so dependent on Kageyama, while still maintaining the partnership they had spent months building.

During his practices with Coach Ukai it occurred to Hinata how dependent he had really been on Kageyama. He had always wanted to be able to stand on court without Kageyama, because even though they were partners, they needed to be able to do without each other. And Kageyama could do it, he was strong and skilled, he was everything Hinata wasn't. The first two days of practice, Hinata had found it almost impossible to spike a toss that was more than a little different from Kageyama's and, as Coach Ukai continuously pointed out, that was a problem. Hinata was utterly useless on his own and he was beginning to understand why Kageyama had been so much against changing the original quick-strike, but that didn't mean that he had to agree.

Hinata was slowly improving, but the more he spiked the tosses of other Setters, the more he missed Kageyama's tosses. It wasn't because they were easier to hit or that it was what he was used to, but Kageyama's tosses felt personal. They were exclusively for Hinata and no one else. The feeling of spiking a ball no one else would be able to spike was by far the best thing Hinata knew, but it was also this feeling that let Hinata continue to practice with all these different Setters, because he knew that if he improved enough, Kageyama would be able to sent him even more amazing tosses that were just for him.

"One more time!" Hinata shouted to the girl currently setting for him. He was tired, his legs felt like they were gonna set on fire, but he as determined as ever. The ball went up and Hinata jumped to spike it with everything he had.

This chapter was mostly exploring KageHina's platonic relationship, but I hope you like it. Please leave a review and maybe even give me a cheeky favorite, if you did. And even if you didn't, I hope you have a good day!