Chapter 8: OF ROMANCE

The Sun

Hinata took the bus to school the next day, feeling drained. Gazing out the window, he let his mind dawdle away-

"Don't struggle against them so much," The man whispered as he tugged at the shackles-

Hinata doubled over, his face flushed. Pulling the sleeve of the jacket he wore tighter, he clenched his teeth. He hoped no one would get close enough to notice the red lines marking both his wrists.

He adjusted his timing going into class to match the teacher's, if only to avoid the unnecessary contact with the rest of his classmates. He could see some of them giving him glances throughout the class, some ridden with worry, some just plain curious. He wonders if anyone else notices the shadows under his eyes, given the lack of sleep he's had the past few nights. Hinata hid his face in the folds of his arms, forcing himself not to think about it.

Classes went by quickly enough, and soon lunch time was upon them. Hinata made a dash for the exit, hoping to escape any unwanted questioning but was stopped at the door.

"Shoyo, wait a second!" His classmate, Reo-kun grabbed him by the arm. "You don't look well, are you okay?"

Donttouchme

Hinata motioned his hands in disregard.

"No, no, I'm quite alright. Just feeling a bit sick that's all. I might need to go to the nurse's office and get some medicine or something. Or maybe just a lot of rest." He babbled, his eyes looked at the classroom, not quite seeing their faces.

Theyknow

Hinata's insides clenched and twisted.

Reo-kun dropped his hands and Hinata shoved them into his sweater pocket. Hinata forced a smile on his face. If he had been focusing on his classmates' faces, he might've noticed the worried look they gave him.

"Oh... okay. Um, get well soon."

He nodded, rushing out.

Kageyama

Kageyama wouldn't have admitted it, but the reason he had been squatting beside Karasuno's gate in the early morning was because of a certain fiery-haired boy. Alas, his plans were foiled when the teacher-in-charge started his duties early, and told Kageyama to stop loitering around. The raven haired boy proceeded to loom outside class 1-1, before his class rep ushered him to enter class before their teacher showed up.

With a scowl, Kageyama stared holes into their classroom's clock, willing time to move faster.

When the lunch chime finally resounded throughout the school, he nearly kicked his chair backwards as he rushed out the door, heading straight for Hinata's classroom.

"Oh... okay. Um, get well soon." Kageyama heard a male voice said, before he saw a flurry of movement, and the fiery-headed boy dashed outside, bumping directly into him.

"Hinata!" Kageyama shouted, mostly from the shock of the impact. Hinata fell backwards but before he reached the ground Kageyama grabbed his arms and pulled him forward, steadying him. Hinata pulled his arms back violently, as though he had been burned.

"Hey Kageyama, d-didn't see you there!" The smile he gave Kageyama looked out of place with his shaken form. It looked forced, giving Kageyama a curious feeling in his chest.

"Hinata-"

"I know we usually have lunch, but I think I have to skip this one. I think I might've caught a bug or something, so I might rest up in the infirmary! I know you want to chew me out for not coming to practice yesterday, but it can't be helped, what's that saying about idiots and colds! Guess that makes me-"

"Hinata!"

"Anyway, I've got to go, next time kay?" He turned around to leave, but Kageyama grabbed his arm again.

"What's wrong?! Something's bothering you isn't it, just tell me-" Hinata wriggled out of his grasp, followed by a shaky laugh.

"Honestly Kageyama, I'm alright. Just a little cold. Take a chill pill." His face was downcast, and for some reason he was gripping his wrist tightly. "I'm alright." He said again, as though saying it out loud would clear whatever doubt Kageyama had towards him. He left the raven haired boy standing in the hallway, his hands fisted at his side.

Youth, as they say, is made of moments; of the embarrassing or horrifying variety. Most would attest though, that of all the flavors of youth, moments of confusion always seem to be predominant. Kageyama prided himself to be an exception to this, knowing right of the bat his passions, and having no qualms with devoting his entire being (or life) into volleyball, confident with his ability to reach greater heights. Well, omitting that particular length of time he had spent agonizing over his failure as a setter anyway. Going to Karasuno had strengthen his resolve, had made his goal in volleyball much clearer, more within his grasp. Outside of volleyball, he has never had much reason to fret. Outside of volleyball, not much mattered.

So it comes as an unexpected surprise when he finds himself constantly puzzling over a certain spiker (missing from practice once again) not because they couldn't practice their new and improved quick, but because this was out of character for the shorter boy. And he's worried there might be something wrong.

"Kageyama, look out!" He hears before a volleyball hits him squarely on the side of his head. Tanaka comes over to him, his face the picture of worry.

"Are you alright?! I'm sorry, I didn't see you standing there!" And indeed he hadn't, for Kageyama had wandered into his line of attack, volleyball between his hands and mind elsewhere.

"I'm alright." He said, absolutely furious at himself for being so out of focus. The Spring High tournament is closing in on them, and he needs to put all of his energy into honing his skills.

"I'm alright."

Kageyama tries to dispel the memory from his mind, pushing his way through practice.

Night time comes in a rush and a certain raven haired boy could be found sequestered in his room, chronically telling himself not to think about what had been hounding his mind the entire day, namely, Hinata Shoyo.

He doesn't understand, can't even begin to fathom what could possible shake Hinata so badly he's not only willing to sacrifice his time for volleyball, but also to distance himself from all of his friends. If only the shorter boy could just tell Kageyama what was bothering him.

A memory surfaces, of when they had lost to Aoba Johsai, and Hinata and him had hit a dry spell with their quick. He remembers the fight he had with Hinata, how he doubted not only his spiker's ability but his own as well. And yet Hinata had managed to push his way through, barreling past Kageyama and his turbulent emotions like it was nothing.

Hinata Shoyo, ever a force to be reckoned with. What could possibly distress him so much to the point of stopping him dead on his tracks.

The raven haired boy stood upright and started messing his hair in frustration.

A knock came from the door.

"Tobio-chan, dinner's ready!" His maid called. Kageyama sighed.

Dinner was peaceful, as it usually is. Kageyama dined with the maid as she made small talk about the happenings of her favorite drama, and the state of their old washing machine (it needed an upgrade).

"Tobio-chan?" Kageyama blinked out of his thoughts.

"Sorry, Nana-san. I- my mind was somewhere else."

The maid hummed, giving a curious look over at Kageyama. She had known him since he was an elementary school student. The last time he had been so disheartened was after he had lost his volleyball match, and if she was not mistaken, when he was fighting with his friend.

"Are you fighting with that friend of yours again?"

Kageyama gaped, looking at her like she had grown a third eye. Bingo.

"H-how-"

"Oh come now Tobio-chan. You should be more surprised if I hadn't notice how upset you were." She said, scooping some rice into her mouth, swallowed before continuing. "So, what's the deal with you two? Disagreed on volleyball again?"

Kageyama stared at his own bowl of rice, shook his head before saying slowly,

"No. It's not volleyball related. At least, I don't think it is." He grew quiet for a moment. "I asked him what was bothering him, but he refuses to talk to me."

"Then maybe it's a personal issue." Nana said, thinking that that would be the end of the discussion.

"Yeah, but I thought he'd at least let me know about it. It's not a good feeling, being kept in the dark." Kageyama scowled at his tamago, his frustration still evident in his face. The maid continued eating before saying casually.

"Well, even if you guys are friends, you probably don't tell each other everything."

"And why the hell not?" The maid blinked at Kageyama, before the boy realized what he had said and blushed slightly.

"Sorry..." He said apologetically. "It's just, seeing him down like that..." He stabbed at their fish dish. "It bothers me. I can't stop thinking about it."

"Oh my..." Nana said, biting into her chopsticks. Kageyama looked up, his dark blue eyes glancing at the her, hand still posed to take a piece of their side dish. It might not be- then again, her instincts about these things were rarely wrong.

"Tell me a bit about your friend, Tobio-chan." She said, a sly smile hidden creeping to her lips. Kageyama's eyes looked sideways, his mind thinking.

"He's annoying." He started, "and a bit of an idiot. He talks big for someone super small- he's even shorter than you, Nana-san. His hair's usually all over the place, and he makes the dumbest jokes. His only redeeming quality would be his passion for volleyball." A small smile tugged at the boy's lips. "He gets super intense when we practice, even though his technique resembles that of an elementary school kid. He says dumb things like "gwaaaaaahhh" when he gets excited over a huge gym, or when his favorite manga updates. But when he jumps, sometimes he looks like he's flying. Oh, but he has horrible nerves before a match, and the weirdest things calm him down. This one time-" Kageyama pauses at the warm look his maid is giving him. "What is it?" She shakes her head almost wistfully.

"Nothing. Just, never thought I'd see the day you'd have a crush on someone. I guess you have grown up after all."

"C-"

CRUSH?!

Kageyama turns seven shades of red, his arms flailing so hard he knocked his rice bowl over.

"I don't have a crush on him!" His maid merely lifted her hand and started flicking her fingers one by one,

"You think about them all the time, you want to know everything going on in their life, and- you probably visual how they move and think too." Well, that last one had been a guess, but remembering her crushes in high school, the point resounded true enough.

Kageyama merely gaped, the last point hitting closer to home more than he'd like. Sure there had been times when he would visualize how Hinata would move on a particular day, his conditions and emotions, especially before a match. But that's strictly for volleyball purposes! He had never-

An image of Hinata, standing right in front of him, eyes blazing-

"He's a boy!"

The maid only shrugged. "We're living in the 21st century, Tobio-chan. It wouldn't surprise me that much. Besides, when was the last time you've liked a girl anyway."

"Just because I worry and think about him, doesn't mean I like him!"

"Actually, it does."

Seeing how distressed the boy was, Nana decided to take pity on him. She gave a lighthearted giggle, meaning to lighten the mood and ease Kageyama's nerves. Still, she wonders if he'll realize it himself someday.

"Sorry for teasing you, Tobio-chan. You're the master of your own heart, you know. If you honestly have no romantic feelings for him, I won't bother you on the subject. Now, that drama I was telling you about..."

He dreams of scattered images.

Of a boy with frayed nerves before a competition, swearing that he'll win, no matter what the odds.

Of that same boy jumping so high he must've been gifted with wings at birth.

(Where had he been all these years, what had he been doing?)

An image of him with tears streaming down his face, basking in the evening light, swearing that he'd be the one to defeat Kageyama one day.

The shape of the dream shifts...

To that of a boy with fiery red hair, and arms enveloping him. Of heated moans and coy smiles.

"Kageyama..."

The boy jerks awake, his skin feeling too hot, his heartbeat too erratic. He grabs his mouth, his emotions running rampant inside of him.

What was that?!

What the hell was that?!

The memory resurfaces, screaming at him with clarity, making his skin tingle in the cool air. He is suddenly aware of his erection, aware what such a dream meant.

And then-

He'll think I'm disgusting.

The boy's mind echo into the silence of the night.

A bit of Kageyama in this one. Hmm...

Sidenote: Reviews are like firewood to the blazing heat in my soul. Anything is much appreciated :)