Haikyu!
Higher
Chapter 28: Solitary

Aika couldn't help but smile as the message from Kageyama showed up on her phone.

To: Aika Yamada
From: Tobio Kageyama
We have a practice match today.
It's against Ouginishi High.
I promise we won't lose.
Will message with results.

She couldn't help but laugh at his hurried message with short, awkward sentences. They were just like what she expected out of him considering his awkward personality. He was much more poetic, although that was a bit of an overstatement, when she was talking to him in person.

"You're smiling again. Is it another message from that Kage guy?" asked Tetsu, who was reading the message over her shoulder. He had somehow snuck away from spiking practice to tease her, since she was distracted from her notes.

Pulling her phone away, she stuck out her tongue at him. He pursed his lips childishly as she returned to her messages. "His name is Kageyama, and yes, the message is from him," she replied shortly.

To: Tobio Kageyama
From: Aika Yamada
Go focus on your game!
Let me know how it goes.
I'm rooting for you guys!

"You guys are so cute, it's sickening," he muttered. "Why don't you just ask him out already?"

To his surprise, Aika looked at him with genuine confusion. "Why would I do that? Kageyama and I are teammates and friends, but I don't like him like that." She returned to her notes, putting her phone away, and left Tetsu to stare at her in shock.

He wasn't sure how to respond. He knew that Kageyama had feelings for Aika, given his red face and his vow to bring her with him to nationals, but he'd also been sure that Aika had returned those feelings. She rarely let anyone in, and after knowing Kageyama for less than three months, she'd felt comfortable enough with him to begin to open up and let him into her private thoughts.

"I… I thought…"

A hand on his arm stopped him, and Tetsu looked down at Kenma, who only shook his head. "She's always been this way, remember?" murmured the smaller boy, whose golden eyes, filled with something like sadness, gazed at Aika.

Although Tetsu was somewhat taken aback by Aika's sheer obliviousness when it came to romance, he remembered that she'd always been that way. Romance had never been a priority for her, especially when it was between herself and another volleyball player. She'd always thought of them as equals, although she was well-loved by so many people. She'd nearly always responded to someone's feelings with kindness, but had never acknowledged them as anything more than a friend.

I never thought I'd feel bad for Kageyama, but this girl really is something else.

The practice game against Ouginishi was a complete wash, but Kageyama was just excited to be playing against another team.

It felt right to be back in his uniform, wearing the number nine on his chest. He was nothing short of absolutely ecstatic to be back on the court and playing again. Practice was absolutely great, since he could feel himself growing as a player, but nothing beat playing against another team.

He remembered that Aika was waiting to hear the results, and he only proceeded to play his best, taking into account everything that he'd learned over the past few months.

All of the things that he was learning rushed into his mind.

There were so many things he had yet to perfect. He and Hinata both were still growing, still improving, and he had a long way to go. He needed to keep learning more, he needed to keep practicing.

As the game ended, he put his practice clothes back on and pulled his phone out along with his T-shirt. He flipped it open when he saw the notification of a new message. He could feel his skin heating up when he saw that it was from Aika.

To: Tobio Kageyama
From: Aika Yamada
Go focus on your game!
Let me know how it goes.
I'm rooting for you guys!

Ignoring the fact that his cheeks were probably incredibly red, he typed back to her.

To: Aika Yamada
From: Tobio Kageyama
We won, 2-0.
Thank you for cheering.
Hinata and I can't come this weekend.
Final exams are soon.

As he looked over the message, he wondered if there was something strange in it. Something didn't feel right as he read it over and over again. He pursed his lips, wondering if there was something more that he could add to the message.

"Something wrong, Kageyama?"

He turned to see Sugawara staring at him in curiosity. He turned back to his phone, not knowing how to explain to Sugawara that he was talking to Aika, especially now that he was beginning to understand why Sugawara had called him a rival all that time ago.

It was because Sugawara liked Aika, and he thought Kageyama did, too.

"Just… I don't know how to talk to someone through messages," he admitted quietly, shame filling his chest. "I don't know if I'm being awkward or something, so I don't know how to talk to her."

There was a brief moment in which he could hear Sugawara sigh sadly. "Is this Aika you're talking to?" the elder finally asked, as if he'd known all along. Kageyama froze, having wanted to avoid mentioning her to his senior. "It's okay, please don't feel like we can't talk about her. You know, she's not the type to message much, either. Considering only a few people have her contact info, she's only really opened up to you and Hinata. As long as you say something to her, I don't think she'll care if it's awkward," he replied, a sort of half-smile on his face.

Kageyama looked down at the phone screen again. "I think I get it." He added one last thing to the bottom of the message.

To: Aika Yamada
From: Tobio Kageyama
We won, 2-0.
Thank you for cheering.
Hinata and I can't come this weekend.
Final exams are soon.
Good luck on your exams.
See you in Tokyo.

As he did, he could hear Sugawara chuckling in amusement. He flushed, but hit send before he could change his mind. Closing his phone, he continued to clean up, trying to ignore how funny this must have looked to Sugawara.

Hinata was the only one who could make it after school on the Friday before exams started to study at Yachi's house.

Yachi looked at the bright, orange-haired boy who was always positive, who'd convinced her to join the volleyball club. Thanks to him, she'd found the courage to practically scream it at her mother. She'd even found the courage to find her own way to be useful to the team.

At first, she'd been overwhelmed by the sheer amount of energy he seemed to exude, plus the endless positivity he seemed to have all the time. But now, she wasn't scared of him.

All of the Karasuno team had been more than welcoming to her. They'd all been nice, and she'd come to think of them all as family, even if it had only been less than a month since she'd joined the Karasuno Volleyball Team as a manager, although she hadn't joined officially.

"Say, Hinata?" she asked as she closed her book.

He looked up from where he was cramming in last-minute English studies, blinking his wide, brown eyes. "What's up?"

For a moment, she hesitated, wondering if it was private. "You said that Yamada… er, Aika… is going to be in Tokyo, too, right?" He nodded. "Do you think she'll like me?" she wondered softly.

"Aika's a nice person, and so is Yachi!" he announced almost immediately, an easy sort of smile on his face. "You're both really great people, so I'm sure you'll get along great! After all, you like Karasuno, right?" A nod from Yachi. "And you're starting to like volleyball, right?" Another nod. "Then I'm sure the two of you will be just fine!"

She nodded in happiness. "I'm glad! I was afraid that Kageyama's girlfriend would think I'm not good enough to work with her boyfriend," she exclaimed, placing a hand over her heart as she breathed a sigh of relief.

Hinata paused, looking at her in confusion. He tilted his head, pushing his lips out like a fish. "What do you mean, girlfriend? Aika isn't Kageyama's girlfriend."

Yachi froze, horror washing over her. "I-I made another assumption! I'm so sorry! I just, I just saw him talking to her one time, and he looked so happy, and he was blushing, too, and you only do that when you really like someone and…!" She managed to stop herself upon seeing the amused smile that tugged at Hinata's lips.

"He was blushing, huh?" He laughed a little. When he looked at her again, the look on his face was much more mature. "Well, you're right about one thing. Kageyama really likes Aika, even if he's not totally willing to admit it. Come to think of it, I haven't even gotten him to accept it yet. He's kind of slow when it comes to this stuff, I guess."

"Really? I couldn't imagine…"

He laughed again, closing his own book and resting his chin in his hand. "I think he just doesn't know how to express that he likes her. Plus, she left before he figured it out, and I don't think he'd be the type to confess over text. I just hope they both figure it out soon, you know?" He smiled softly. "I just want Aika to be happy."

She could feel her entire body relaxing, seeing Hinata so pleased with himself. "Aika means a lot to you, doesn't she?"

"She's my best friend," he replied easily. "I told her that someday, I'll be her Maid of Honor when she gets married. And she'll be my Best Man when I get married!"

Yachi listened with wide eyes as Hinata began another story about how he and Aika had gone to the beach one day just to practice volleyball. Even with Aika's injured leg, she'd travelled with him in order to improve his reaction times, and how, by the end of the day, they'd gone for a walk on the beach and talked about the kinds of futures they were looking forward to.

She felt as if she knew Aika already, given how much Hinata spoke about her.

She must be an amazing person… I wonder how I'll stack up to her.

"Lev, for the last time, I'm not interested! Now get back to practice!"

It was the day that Nekoma finished their exams, and Aika was sitting with Coach Nekomata, who'd taken to her when she presented a new idea to Tetsu in how they should use more individual strengths, considering each person on Nekoma had a different type of play.

However, Nekomata hadn't been the only person to take to her. While the coach treated her as another troublesome grandchild, like he did with most of the Nekoma players, Lev Haiba had taken an interest in her because she was, as he put it, "small and cute."

Needless to say, she'd had Tetsu force Lev through extra blocking practice.

That hadn't caused the Russian player to become downtrodden, though. In fact, it'd only renewed his passion to ask her out, which he'd done whenever she paid him any attention at all. Each time, Aika rejected him, plus he was usually manhandled immediately afterwards by Tetsu or Yaku.

Yaku was another person Aika had easily befriended. When he recognized her, he immediately apologized, bowing deeply.

"I was the one who told Kuroo about your leg! I wasn't aware that it was supposed to stay a secret, so I got concerned when I realized you were friends, and I told him! I'm very sorry!" He'd practically shouted his apology at her, squeezing his eyes shut.

It was easy to like Yaku. He was like the mother of the team, similar to Sugawara, although with a much more violent side to him. Aika had easily forgiven him, saying that it all turned out the best way it could have, and the two had gotten along ever since. Yaku was constantly bringing Aika food or drinks so she didn't have to move during practice, and once, even wheeled her home when Kenma had skipped practice due to a new game coming out.

Everyone on Nekoma had been warm to her, even if Lev was a bit much to handle at some points. She found herself enjoying her time on the cat's side, but still wanted to return to her crows.

"Is he bothering you again?" Yaku asked teasingly as he handed over a cold water. "I can give him more practice again if you need."

She shook her head, looking over to where Tetsu was just throwing as many balls as he could at Lev, who was doing his best to return them, although most of them just ended up hitting him.

"I think Tetsu has it under control," she replied in amusement.

Yaku sat down next to her as he watched the team set up for their spiking practice, something he didn't participate in. "You've been rejecting him for something like two weeks now, right? What, tall beanpole isn't your type?" His tone was joking, but she could tell he was genuinely curious.

She grinned back at him, deciding to tease him just a bit. "Why d'you wanna know? You interested?"

His response was to turn a deep shade of red and stutter out a negative. She laughed softly, enjoying how cute the libero was when he was embarrassed. Looking back out to the team, she laughed again, seeing how enthusiastic the spikers were about hitting the ball.

"Hm… well, I like tall guys. Or, at least, guys who are taller than me." She paused, then added, "But that's not so hard, considering how short I am." Yaku laughed in agreement. "I like guys who are passionate about what they do, but I also like guys who are good at what they're passionate about. But other than that, if I like someone, I like them because of who they are, not because of any one quality they have."

He paused again, studying the wistful expression she wore. "Do you like someone now?" he asked quietly, almost hesitantly.

She slowly looked at him. "Do you promise not to tell Tetsu?" He nodded, his eyes falling to the captain. "I'm actually just trying to get over someone right now. He's a nice guy and all, but we'd never work out. I don't know why we wouldn't… it just wouldn't work."

Yaku leaned back. "I get why you don't want to tell him. He'd skin whoever that is alive," he joked.

Tetsu, as if knowing that someone was talking about him, glanced towards them, a feral grin on his face. The two shivered, recognizing that grin.

Yep… I feel bad for whoever tries to date Aika.

The red numbers at the top of the paper were taunting him.

They read "38" in bright, bloody crimson.

He'd only been two points away from passing, but two points away from passing was also known as failing. He'd failed his final exams, and he had to stay for supplementary classes.

Biting his lip, Kageyama cursed internally.

Failing meant no Tokyo, no practice games, and no seeing Aika.

Dammit.

Sorry for not updating since... early February? Yeah, I think that was it.
My only explanation is that my mental state has been very unhealthy as of late, so I wanted to take some time to focus on myself.
I am now fully back, and I'll be charging ahead with this story!

I also wanted to make some announcements on pacing.
Season two is taking markedly longer to get through, because this is where most of the development really happens, so the training camp ended up taking nearly 20 chapters to get through and finish.
Because of that, I'll be combining the latter half of season two and all of season three into one, so I'll probably take a break somewhere around chapter 40 to finish and proofread the last few chapters and hammer out the final parts of the tournament.

I also had a question for you all - would you want to see me continue into where the manga is currently headed?
I can honestly see myself continuing to write in the current arc, especially because I'm enjoying Kageyama's character development, but I also want to leave it up to my readers. I don't want to draw out the story too long, because it's far longer than anything else I've written thus far.
Please let me know.

Thanks,
Chiyuki