Haikyu!
Higher
Chapter 22: Distance

"Do you have everything that you need?" Shin asked, glancing at the bags that were crammed into the back of the Kozume's minivan. He prodded at the bags, seeing how tightly packed they were, but still wondering if his sister was missing anything. Knowing her, something was still sitting in her room, waiting for him to find it after she'd already left.

Her room would be empty for the next few months as she went to Tokyo, as she recovered from her surgery. It would only be until August, as Tetsuro had promised that she'd be back by the end of summer break, but it was still a long time for a big brother to be without his little sister to dote on. She was always so strong and independent, but seeing her rush off on her own to fix the one thing that had been plaguing her for years was both heartwarming and heartbreaking.

"Yes, I'm sure I have everything I need." Said little sister rolled her eyes, shifting her backpack on her shoulders. "I made sure to grab the papers that transfer me to Nekoma for the next two months. And I'll be back after summer break, so don't start moping now."

He could see the teasing grin on Aika's face as she looked up at him. "You know I'll visit as often as I can, right? I'll come every weekend if I have to," he declared.

She grimaced, looking as if she'd smelled something bad. "I'm good, thanks. How about once every two weeks or something?" She was half serious, he could tell, but that wouldn't stop him from going to see her.

"Nah." He reached down, ruffling her hair with a toothy grin. "I'm going to miss you too much, Ai. After all, you're still my baby girl, even if you are growing up now." His smile became somewhat sad.

After their parents died, Shin had been everything to Aika. Even though he was only two years older, she'd clung to him. At the time, she'd only been eleven. She was still a kid, and she hadn't really been able to handle growing up without parents. They hadn't seen her walk at her elementary school graduation, hadn't watched her become a great setter in junior high, hadn't been there to comfort her as she recovered from the emergency surgery to rescue her leg, hadn't seen the smile on her face as she came home the days that she first joined the Karasuno team.

Shin had been there for every part of her life since the end of elementary school. Even though he'd only been thirteen, only a little bit older than her, he'd had to grow up faster.

At the funeral, Shin had decided he would be the one to take care of Aika. If she could grow up happy, he'd give anything. He nearly dropped out of school after he turned fifteen, wanting to work instead and earn money to see Aika off to college. The only reason he hadn't was upon his aunt's insistence.

Their parents hadn't saved up for years just so their older child could drop out.

But he'd shifted around his schedule anyways, just so he could make Aika breakfast and get home before she did, so dinner would be ready when she was done with club.

After his second year of middle school, he dropped out of his biology club so he could leave school earlier to make dinner for his sister, then get to work at the Karasuno diner. Aika had been worried, since that meant he could no longer walk with her after she was done with club. He'd only reassured her that he wanted to be there for her instead.

Even if she sometimes picked on him for his overprotectiveness, he knew that she still loved him. They were as close as two siblings could be.

The house was going to feel very empty without her.

"Shin?" He noticed his sister peeking up at him, looking at him with wide eyes. She looked worried for him. "Shin? Are you okay?"

He nodded, letting his hand fall from where it was sitting on the top of her head. "Yeah. I'm fine. I just know I'm going to miss you a lot." He could feel his eyes watering, but he tried to push past it, not wanting to make her sad, too.

And then, there were two arms wrapped around his waist as his younger sister, so small compared to him, buried her face into his chest. He could feel her trembling as he hugged her back, pulling her close.

"I'll miss you, too, stupid."

Shin choked back a sob, and pushed her away quickly, feeling as if he'd keep her with him if she stayed wrapped around him any longer. "Promise you'll be safe?" he asked, looking her straight in the eye. "I'll come running the minute I hear something went wrong."

She laughed a little. "I know you will. But… I'll be fine. I'll have Ken and Tetsu. They'll keep an eye on me, too."

"They'd better." Shin looked at her one more time, memorizing the way her eyes sparkled. "You'd better get going. It's going to be a long car ride, and if I make you wait any longer, you guys won't get there until dark."

Aika nodded. "Okay. I'll call you when I get there." She smiled at him one last time as she scurried towards the car, bowing in apology to Kenma's father, who had taken the day off to pick her up. Looking back at him, she called, "Bye, Shin!"

He waved, not wanting to risk words as she got in the car, not looking back, even as the car started up and drove away. But Shin didn't move from his spot. Not until that minivan was nothing more than a dot as it moved further and further away.

God, I'm going to miss her.

Practice was a little quieter without Aika around.

The silences, which were currently being filled by the sound of the ball bouncing off palms and the court, were no longer home to the scratching of Aika's pen against her notebook. She wasn't there to offer any advice to the boys as they tried to improve.

She wasn't there for Hinata to ask her if he was doing well, and she wasn't there to reprimand the boys who were goofing off instead of practicing. She wasn't there to help Ukai out, she wasn't there to keep Shimizu company, and she wasn't there for Takeda to fuss over her leg.

Without Aika there, it was easy to see how important she'd been to the team before she'd left.

It was obvious to Kageyama, too. He missed the way that she'd always answer any question he had, even if his questions weren't exactly phrased like questions. Sometimes, she answered questions that he didn't even vocalize. She just knew that there was something he had to ask, and she told him what he wanted to hear.

He missed the way she was always looking out for everyone on the team. She pushed her way into other people's problems, even if she didn't belong there. She was constantly trying to help everyone on Karasuno to become even better than they already were.

Now that she was gone, it was obvious how much they relied on her.

"Kageyama!" Said setter turned to see Sugawara looking over at him, a knowing look on his face as he fought back his smile. "You're staring at where Aika used to stand during practice. You miss her, don't you?" he asked softly.

He felt his face flushing a little. "O-of course not. We should finish clearing out the gym," he snapped, turning away, back towards the net that he'd been in the middle of taking down.

"It's okay, you know." Kageyama froze. "Feeling something for someone else is a normal thing. If you like her, you shouldn't fight it."

He turned to look at Sugawara, who was still watching his junior. The older setter had a look of clear understanding on his face as he nodded, his own eyes sparkling with something akin to reluctance or sadness. He didn't move, even as Kageyama looked at him with confusion.

"I… I don't understand," Kageyama murmured.

Sugawara chuckled a little, sheepishly smiling. He softly replied, "Call it intuition. Most guys can figure out when they have a rival. And from you, I get that feeling. Maybe you don't know it yet, but when it really hits you, you'll understand." He offered Kageyama that same reluctant, sad smile before turning away, not giving another look back.

A rival? For what?

Kageyama really didn't understand why Sugawara was calling him a rival, why he was saying he got some sort of feeling from him, or why he was saying that Kageyama had some sort of feelings for their assistant coach.

All he knew was that hearing that Sugawara thought of him as a rival for something other than the starting position as the setter made his blood boil.

He wasn't quite sure what he was fighting with his senior over, but he was sure it meant a lot to Sugawara.

Daichi was waiting as Suga walked out of the gym.

"Suga… I didn't know," were the first words out of the captain's mouth. "I'm supposed to be the captain, but I can't tell my own team's feelings? Not yours, and not Kageyama's…"

Suga simply smiled sadly back at his friend. He shoved his hands in his pocket, turning his gaze towards the concrete of the school's sidewalk. "I tried to hide it, Daichi. It's not your fault you couldn't tell. Besides, I don't think Kageyama even realizes his own feelings." His tone was joking, but the look in his eyes was tortured.

Hesitating, Daichi looked to Suga.

The two of them had been friends for three years, ever since the first day they met. Suga had seen Daichi struggle with his own feelings for a girl back in first year, but then watched as he devoted himself to the Karasuno team instead. And Daichi had watched as Suga placed everyone else's feelings before his own, only saying what he felt if he was asked or he felt as if it would help someone else.

In speaking to Kageyama, in confessing that he'd fallen for Aika, Suga was doing the latter.

"You know, being selfish isn't a bad thing. Even if Kageyama likes her, what makes you think it'd be better for her to be with him? What if she was meant to be with you, and you're just giving up like that?" he challenged Suga, wanting to hear how his friend really felt.

Suga simply smiled again, this time a less forced smile. "I'm happy if she's happy. If I can be the one who makes her happy, then that's great. But… I was planning to go to college in Tokyo, or maybe study abroad. I know, it's a big dream now, but if I have the opportunity, I'd like to take it. And I don't want her to have to wait for me to come home," he admitted wistfully.

Daichi frowned at his friend's selfless attitude, even when it came to something he really wanted. "She's the type of girl who would wait for you if she liked you enough." His argument was quiet, but Suga heard it, even though he looked like he was somewhere far away.

For a moment, Suga didn't reply. He only sighed, looking up at the sky that was quickly turning dark. Daichi followed his friend's gaze, trying to see what Suga was seeing. He stayed staring, with fixed eyes, even as Suga spoke.

"I like Aika. I really do. And it's because I like her that I want to put her happiness first. Even if her happiness isn't with me."

Aika began school at Nekoma the following day.

She was in one of the college prep classes, just like she had been during her time in Karasuno. She even had one of the members of the volleyball club, the first-year libero, Yuki Shibayama, with her. He even sat next to her as her seatmate.

He was a sweet kid, a little timid and constantly feeling the need to apologize, but he stayed next to her the entire day as she tried to adjust to the Tokyo school. It wasn't so different to her, given that it was still a school, but it was a little lonelier.

"It's only been a day since you came here," Kenma commented softly as he sat next to her on the school's stairs. "You made it through day one, but I can tell that you miss your team." He watched as she leaned against the wall of the stairs, sighing deeply as she did.

Her hair was pulled up in a ponytail, the end of which she played with in her hands as she carefully laid out her reply. "Of course I miss them. I was going to help them get even better so we could all go to the Spring Tournament Qualifiers together… we were going to train over summer break to prepare. But I can't be there now." She sighed again, dropping her long hair to settle over her shoulders. "There's still so much I wanted to work with them on. I left some notes for them, but I… I wanted to be there see it happen. You know?" She looked to Kenma with pain in her eyes.

He could see how much it was killing her inside to be away from the team she'd come to love so much. Aika had never really been good at goodbyes. Even if she had a chance to go back to them, she still felt as if she'd abandoned them when they needed her most.

"I understand," he murmured.

Slowly, he looked to her, seeing her staring blankly at the opposite wall again. Her eyes were far away, like she was at Nekoma physically, but her spirit was back in Miyagi with Karasuno.

If she could have gotten her surgery there, she definitely would have. Unfortunately, the hospital that Kuroo had recommended for her, had booked her an appointment at, was the most modern one with the most high tech equipment. She could only get her surgery there, in Tokyo.

But Karasuno wasn't trapped in Miyagi for their training.

With the right opportunity, Karasuno would be able to come to Tokyo for training, and Aika would be able to help them. They could be together, at least for summer break.

Kenma subtly pulled out his phone, flipping it open and searching for Kuroo's contact. He opened a new message with his older friend and captain, and looked to Aika, who was rubbing the sleeves of her new uniform blazer, as if the fabric made her uncomfortable.

Making a decision, he typed a message to Kuroo.

He never asked for anything of Kuroo. It'd always been Kuroo who'd been insisting that Kenma join him for some new activity. The only one that had stuck was volleyball. All Kenma had ever asked was for alone time when he needed it.

But this was for Aika.

Kuroo was sure to agree.

Author's Note:

Happy 2018! I hope your year has started off well!

Hello! It's Chiyuki again. I've returned with season two of Higher, based on season two of Haikyu!
I'm really excited for everything happening in this season. Much of it is already written, in fact.
I will resume updating every Monday from here on out. I hope you guys are okay with once a week.

I am attempting to work on another story, as well. But I'm wondering what fandom you would read for?
I'll try to tease it here, but if you look on my profile, you can make some guesses, haha.
I'm very excited though. Especially because it's a bit out of my comfort zone of fandoms I write for.

Thank you for enjoying!

-Chiyuki