Chapter Two
Each of the sets drag on, deuce after deuce, they trade sets but they never manage to beat Nekoma. Not even once. He begged for rematch after rematch, hoping that the first loss was just a fluke, then hoped that Nekoma would just tire out and they'd be able to win. He feels like screaming and crying when they lose a fourth time, Daichi pulls him back before he can ask for another rematch. "We have to get home soon, Hinata- there's school tomorrow!" His captain sounds more like he's begging than telling him. Hinata relents, and nods.
They shake hands with Nekoma, the stupid guy who called him short told him that he played well, but he just nodded. "You played great too, your spike was like pwaah!" He returned, the guy smiled brightly and tried to hug him. Hinata let it happen, feeling slightly uncomfortable, hard to breathe properly when his spine was being crushed by oddly strong arms. Kenma gave him a sympathetic look, he offered the older boy a smile then left the gym.
Rivals or not, I didn't expect to lose. Kageyama looked disappointed as well, more so than usual, but Hinata just patted him on the back and told that they'd win next time. Kageyama didn't reply. Their teams lined up again, but he's too ashamed to look at anyone, except Kenma. He marches up to the older boy, Kenma looks away from him, Hinata extends his hand. Dark eyebrows rise with Kenma's gaze, golden eyes capturing him, looking surprisingly lively despite endless hours of playing. He hands Kenma a piece of paper with his number on it, and a rather crude drawing of a cat being hit with a volleyball.
The older boy stares at it for a long time, then looks back up at him, Hinata smiles, Kenma's lips squirm like he's fighting one himself. "See you around, Shouyou." Hinata is pretty sure that it's a tease now, their coaches hadn't organized another practice match so seeing Kenma soon was unlikely, even if he really wanted to learn more about the older boy. My rival is an interesting one, that's for sure.
He regrets just not asking Kenma for his number when the other boy doesn't text by the time their bus is moving. He falls asleep on the bus, wondering what Kenma would be like as a teammate and if he liked strawberry milk or green tea more. They're stupid questions, he knows that, but something about Kenma draws his attention. Kageyama had done the same thing, but the setter had a reputation, King of The Court. Black hair and intimidating presence. Kenma couldn't be more different than Kageyama, or Suga, or anyone he's ever met. Maybe Tokyo people are just interesting in general. Most of the Nekoma team was interesting to look at, Yamamato had a mohawk, which was pretty cool. Their captain had messy, spiky hair and scary eyes. He can't really think of anyone in Tokyo he knows that doesn't play volleyball.
Maybe it's the way he plays. There was nothing special about Kenma's spiking or receiving, but he was smart. Smarter than Tsukishima even. It was a different kind of genius compared to Kageyama, but it was overwhelming and drew him in. Kenma would be a cool senpai, he decides as the bus pulls in front of their school.
He tells his little sister about about Kenma and the Nekoma team during dinner, their mother sleeps through dinner, like she always does on Sundays. He likes the way Natsu's eyes light up when she hears about volleyball, he reminded her to drink her milk so she could be a good middle blocker. It didn't seem like a bad thing to say at the time, but when he was brushing his teeth his little sister bursts into the bathroom, knocking the door into him, but she doesn't apologize, just stares down at him.
He's about to reprimand her, but he falters when he sees that Natsu has their carton of milk against her lips and some of it is dripping down her cheek. Hinata laughs so hard he hits his head on the floor, she drains the entire thing and screams at him, "One more!" He blinks, toothpaste dripping from his chin like milk is from hers, then smiles. "Shouyou, have you seen- What the-?" He jumps up, stares into the sink like he hasn't seen anything. "Miss Sato, I'm gonna be a middle blocker!" His little sister roars. Why does this happen to me. He makes a point to extend brushing his teeth for as long as possible, "Shouyou?" Sato asks once he's brushing his tongue for the third time.
He spits into the drain and turns back to their caretaker, "H-Yes, Sato-san?" He chirps, then looks at Natsu positioned on their caretaker's hip, "Oh, Natsu, what happened to your face?" He asks, feigning confusion. "Middle Blocker!" She squeaks, spiking at Sato's loose hair. Sato sighs, turning blue-grey eyes onto him, "You know, somehow she got the idea to drink the entire carton of milk, any idea how that happened?" Hinata is pretty sure that Sato is fighting a smirk, their caretaker always liked to watch him squirm. He fidgeting under her heavy gaze, "No idea." He squeaked, turning back to the sink, Sato made an odd noise but he saw the black-haired woman leave with a screaming Natsu.
I didn't mean all at once, Natsu. He wondered how much taller Natsu would get from that carton alone, or if she would just throw it all up. Wasteful. Hinata snickered all the way back to his bed, and pulled on a sweatshirt and tugged off his training shorts. There were no messages on his phone when he went to plug it in. He wondered if the older boy had even kept his number. Probably not. Shoving his head under his pillow, he promised not to think about it.
Hinata thought it about until he fell asleep, wondering why Kenma wouldn't text him, the older boy had his phone in his hand the entire time when they had first met. Maybe he's just intimidated by a future ace. He carried that hope all the way to school, skipping breakfast because he didn't want eggs on his face when Kenma texted him, it died as he locked his bike to the rack in front of the school. Morning practice would take his mind off of it, he was sure of it. He tugged off his school uniform in the safety of the club room and changed into his jersey and shorts. Kageyama showed up as he was putting his uniform away, the setter's hair was a mess and Hinata was pretty sure he could smell Kageyama from the door. "Rough night?" He asked, because Kageyama had never been more than a step behind him when it came to getting to the gym for practice.
Kageyama didn't answer him, but he did walk into the room and start changing, a little violently for his taste, but Kageyama had always been a tad intense, in most of the things he did. He checked his phone as he waited for the other boy to finish changing, he decided to text Tanaka-senpai after he didn't notice there was still no text from Kenma.
"I heard there was a sale on pork buns this morning, senpai" There wasn't actually a sale on anything today, not that Tanaka-senpai needed to know that. Kageyama was pulling on his jersey when he got a reply.
"Awesome tip hinata! I bring some for my kouhai!" Hinata almost felt bad about tricking his upperclassman, but Tanaka was an easy to please guy, a certain honorific usually has him doing anything reasonable, along with a mention of Kiyoko-san, but he would reserve the latter for special occasions, like when he needed to be carried places because he was too tired to keep walking. Kiyoko-san said she liked strong guys, Tanaka-senpai.
Asahi walked in with Suga-san followed by Tsukishima and Yamaguchi, he wondered where his other favorite senpai could be. "Good morning, Hinata-kun, Kagayama-kun." He blinked at that, Suga-san had used his given name yesterday and now he was using a honorifics with both of them. "Uh- Good morning, Suga-senpai?" He offered after Kageyama's mumbled response. Suga smirked at him, then started undressing quickly, "A sale, huh?" The older boy smirked.
How did he do that so quickly? He gaped at Suga for a long moment, his cheeks and ears heating up rapidly. "N-What? How did you-?" Asahi snickered from beside Kagyama, "I heard a pretty interesting rumor from Noya, and I just spread the good word to my teammate." Asahi's cheeks were flushed but offered him a smile. "You really shouldn't manipulate people like that, Hinata." Suga said seriously, tugging on his jersey, "Even if it is Tanaka." He added as his collar settled around his neck. Hinata had the decency to look slightly ashamed, more so at getting caught than anything. "Sorry, Suga-senpai, it won't happen again. Promise!" Suga didn't look convinced, but offered him a high-five as they left the club room, Kageyama trailing behind them silently. It felt unusual, even when it shouldn't.
He's still in a good mood by the time lunch rolls around, memories of Tanaka-senpai busting into the gym with an greasy bag and an empty wallet still fresh in his mind. He's not even paying attention when his phone beeps on his desk, but it does draw him out of fit of laughter that has most of his classmates staring at him. He doesn't have lunch today, mostly the reason he asked Tanaka-senpai for breakfast, and is content with running spike patterns in his head.
His phone beeps again.
There are two messages from two different numbers that he doesn't recognize, he wonders if Tanaka-senpai is sending some of his classmates briefly to come murder him, but dismisses that thought after a moment of consideration, Tanaka-senpai would never kill me... on purpose anyway. He flicks his phone open wondering if there are precautions he should be taking to avoid accidental death from his senpai.
"What is your drawing supposed to be?" and
"Better luck next time, chibi-chan"
He thinks he knows who the first one is from, but there are too many people that call him by that stupid nickname to be certain, including Grand King. Huffing, he replies to the first message and deletes the second.
"It's a cat getting hit in the face with a volleyball" He was pretty sure his drawing wasn't that bad.
"Have you thought about taking art classes?" So Kenma could make a joke, stupid jerk, Hinataalmost drops his phone when it beeps again, turns it onto vibrate after the teacher glares at him around a rice cake, he smiles awkwardly and the teacher just continues to glare. Stupid Jerk.
"Don't ignore me it's very rude" So is texting me without telling me who you are. He deletes that message as well.
"No I draw just fine Kenma"
"Kuroo wants to know why you're ignoring him."
"Kuroo?" He was pretty sure that Kenma's friend was named Kuro, maybe they knew each other.
"How could you forget about me? I'm just so amazing, and the captain of a volleyball team" Hinata snorts loudly at that, Kuroo was an odd one, must less intimidating over the phone than in person, that was for sure.
"I didn't know who it was" He isn't sure how to respond to Kuroo, it would be rude to not respond, as the captain he could probably make it so their teams had less games together, which meant less chances to beat Kenma.
"Sorry, Kuroo-san, I didn't know who it was." He doesn't think he's ever texted so formally in his entire life, but anything to beat his rival as much as possible. Kenma didn't respond to his text, he figured that their lunch must have ended. Do people in Tokyo even eat lunch? Kenma and Kuroo both looked rather thin.
"I forgive you because you're cute." He drops the phone, it lands in his lap and it stays there until all of his classes are over. I think I should be freaked out. Should I call the police? Is he going to steal my face and wear it? His English teacher asks him if he has Asthma when the final bell rings. Hinata admits, very loudly, that he has no idea what that is and shoves his phone into the bottom of his school bag before rushing out of the classroom and towards the gym.
Daichi and Suga-san are already at the door, with the former unlocking it, Hinata darts up the last few steps and tries to act normal. "Is something the matter, Hinata?" Suga asks, pushing Daichi away so he can unlock the door instead, Daichi turns to him as he's pushed away from the knob. "You're looking a little squeamish." Hinata huffs loudly, "I'm not cute!" He bellows, punching the wall next to the club door.
I'm going to die here. Is his first thought, which is rudely interrupted by Daichi and Suga calling out his name in unison, then they're crowing over him. "I'm fine." He hisses, body bending over so he can cradle his throbbing fist. "Hinata-" Kageyama sounds shocked, I guess I did just punch a wall for no reason. He'd like to state that there was a reason, but the throbbing in his knuckles is preventing him from doing so.
"I'm fine, Kageyama." He strains out eventually, holding back more claims of not being cute and how he'd murder Kuroo for making his hand hurt. The door is opened quickly and he scurries inside, "Are you sure it's a good idea to practice? You did just punch a wall- which needs an explanation by the way." His captain proclaims, now standing over him. "No reason." He squeaks out, which is the story that he's going with.
"You said something about being cute?" Hinata's fists clench, it clearly doesn't escape Daichi's notice, the older boy grins down at him. "Is she cute, Hinata?" He thinks it's rather presumptuous of Daichi to assume it's a girl, he doesn't think anyone has called him cute for at least ten years. I feel old. He curses Kuroo silently in his head for making him feel old. "It's nothing, just uh- Very excited to practice." Daichi's face clears of emotion as he blinks.
"Right." Daichi states in a way that makes it sound more like not right, but Hinata ignores it in favor of peeling off his school clothes. The other boys follow suit, everything is quiet until Tanaka-senpai shows up, his face contorted in almost rage, with a snickering Noya-senpai on his tail. "You tricked me!" He wails, not for the first time that day, then he's grabbing Hinata by the neck and rubbing his knuckles all over it. My poor brain. Eventually the brute is pulled off of him by a yelling Daichi, and he can finish getting dressed.
Noya-senpai fist-bumps him when Tanaka isn't looking.
Kageyama leads him to the gym, very insistent that they finish their serving lesson. It's not fun, but he gets why Kageyama likes doing it so much. It's like spiking, but with no pressure from anyone but yourself. He notices that the setter's voice is more lively when he's talking about serving, almost like Kageyama isn't setter robot Hinata thought he was. Kageyama's intense stares do nothing to disprove his theory, they only get worse the longer they practice. Eventually they turn into glares and scowls when he misses one, but he likes to think he's getting a little better after each hit. Kageyama still refuses to teach him how to jump serve, growls out the same speech he used the last time he asked for help.
They practice well into the night, but Kageyama gives up on teaching him on to serve, Hinata isn't even sure why he offered if he was just going to give up, he has too much self-preservation instinct to actually accuse Kageyama of giving up, but that doesn't stop him from glaring at the other boy while he practices receiving with his favorite senpais.
"Pre-lims start in a month!" Ukai bellows once practice is over, Hinata isn't sure that giving a speech when everyone is covered in sweat and tired is the best thing to do, but he doesn't say anything, just listens as his coach starts talking about each team, The Iron Wall, is their most likely candidate for their first match. He kind of likes the nickname, it's cool and rolls off the tongue. I wonder when our team will get a cool nickname, Hinata the ace and friends- or The Crow Wall. He reminds himself to write those down later, they were pretty good. Ukai talks about a specific player from The Iron Wall, Aone, he tries imagining what kind of guy would have that name. He's probably really tall like Tsukishima, and maybe scary like Kageyama... or maybe he's really nice, but super cool on the court.
Ukai talks about Shiratorizawa next, a powerhouse school with a really scary looking ace named Ushiwaka. Kageyama had told him that Grand King's team had lost to Shiratorizawa, he never thought that Grand King could actually lose, it was weird to think about. Wondered what Grand King would look like when that final whistle went off and his team didn't score the final point. I'll find out soon, he promises to himself. Trying to pay attention to Ukai's speech, but it's very difficult when his muscles are feeling this relaxed.
"Weak or strong, they're all aiming to win, don't forget that." Hinata doesn't need a reminder, but it's kind of eye-opening in a way. All these strong teams are practicing just as hard as we are. He frowns at that, I'll beat them no matter how strong they are. Takeda-sensei chooses to break his concentration by falling into the room suddenly, he winces at the sound, but the older man is smiling brightly. "I'm so glad you're all still here! I got the pre-lim bracket!" He chirps, waving a piece of paper towards them.
Hinata is kind of disappointed that they wont be facing The Iron Wall right away, they have to face a different team, one he's never heard of. "I promise that we'll win!" Daichi shouts suddenly, and Hinata jerks back, not expecting his captain to be the one that starts yelling for no reason. A murmur of agreement crashes through all of them, Daichi is always right. Hinata leaves the gym with Kageyama, and he changes back into his uniform quietly, wondering if he'll see Kenma in the pre-lims, if they'll go all the way to nationals so that Karasuno can beat them in front of all of Japan.
He's stopped from leaving by Suga, who hands him a piece of paper, hand signs and curved lines all over it. "Uh-?" He asks quietly, tilting his head slightly wondering if it's actually art he's supposed to be looking at. "I'm not as accurate as Kageyama." The older boy admits, then continues talking before Hinata can mention that nobody is as accurate as Kageyama, "So, I have signals that'll tell you what play I'll be doing next." The hand signs make a little more sense. He looks up at Suga, then hugs the silver haired boy quickly, "That's so awesome, Suga-san, and you hand drawing is awesome!" He chirps, and the older boy laughs softly; Hinata tries not to think about drawing and stupid texts. "Well, we should practice them soon, or we'll never be able to use them in a game."
"Right!" He yells, then he's being pushed out of the club room along with Kageyama, "I'll spike any toss you give me!" He calls back, ignoring the insistent hand on his back. Suga laughs, walks them down the stairs and then disappears. He's left wondering if Suga is a vampire, or at least a magician. Kageyama waits for him to unlock his bike, but Hinata isn't sure if it's because Kageyama is actually waiting or just thinking so hard he stops walking.
They speak quietly on their shared path, Kageyama asks about his serving, Hinata glares at him. He asks Kageyama how learning to be human is going, Kageyama smacks his head. They're quiet after that, his bike announces each of their steps with tiny clicks until they're at their last street together. "Good night, Kageyama." He extends, Kageyama offers him a wave as he turns right. Hinata turns left, starts walking his bike up the steep hill, he wonders if there's more milk in the house.
There isn't any milk, Natsu asks for more volleyball stories while she helps Sato with making dinner. "That's too much water, Natsu." Sato informs as she takes the measuring cup from Natsu's hands, "It's two hundred grams for every one hundred grams of rice." He smiled to himself at that, Natsu was getting really good at math, something he'd always hated doing; Hinata isn't sure how he feels about his little sister knowing how to make rice when he doesn't. Natsu seems happy enough to brag about it, so he'll give her this one, he's actually still shocked that she somehow consumed all of their milk in one go. He shudders at the thought of his baby sister being taller than him.
Dinner is quiet, except for Natsu who's bubbly and practically vibrating the table. "How was practice, Shouyou?" She asks for the third time since he's been home. He can't help the smile that forms when Natsu tries to give him puppy-dog eyes, "Well, Kageyama tried-" Natsu interrupted with, "Big brother, big brother, Kageyama is your rival, right?" He nods, opens his mouth to recount the tale, but Natsu is speaking again, "Big brother, big brother, when will I get my rival?" Hinata shrugs idly, "That's up to you, Natsu, maybe when you're taller." He mumbles into his soup, Natsu's face turns pink at that, "Big brother, when are you going to get taller? " He flinches at that, wonders if it would be inappropriate to offer to fight his little sister.
Natsu helps him clean the dishes, he washes and she dries, she asks about Kageyama, wondering she'll get to meet him and if he has a little sister she can beat up. Hinata wonders for the first time if he's actually a good influence on his sister. He promises to himself that he'd be the best big brother ever from now on, starting by buying her as much milk as she could want. I wonder if Kageyama buys his milk in bulk...
He helps Natsu get ready to bed, trying not to get heartbroken when Natsu called him a terrible big brother for not letting her watch TV. He offered her a hug instead as they brushed their teeth, Natsu spit on him. What did I do to deserve this? Natsu insists that Sato tucks her in and reads are a story, he's almost relieved to see her go as he rubs toothpaste and spit from his school pants.
The sweatshirt from last night is pulled on after his uniform is tossed onto the floor, he pulls his phone out of his pants and stares at it. I'm not cute, stupid idiot. He deletes Kuroo's text as confirmation of his non-cuteness and he wants to text Kenma, but he can't find anything to say for a long time.
"Have you played against The Iron Wall"