Haikyu!
Higher
Chapter 36: Practice

The relationship between Sugawara and Kageyama had been rocky ever since that day.

Most of the team was too busy with their own practices to notice, but neither could look each other in the eye properly anymore. There was obvious tension that grew thicker and thicker by the day. Kageyama threw himself more and more into practice, silently ignoring everyone around him except for Yachi, who often stayed to help him practice his tosses. Sugawara, meanwhile, was still happy and friendly, always ready to offer a smile, but those smiles were often tinged with a soft sadness.

A week passed before the rest of the team started to notice the change in their two setters.

"Hey, does anyone know what happened with Suga or Kageyama?" Nishinoya asked during a break one day, holding a water bottle in one hand as he glanced from one side of the court to the other.

Sugawara had exiled himself to one corner, where he was scribbling something down in his notes, while Kageyama had isolated himself with his phone in the opposite corner.

Sawamura stayed silent, watching as his team tried to reason what had happened to change them so much.

"Do you think they're still competing over the starting spot?" Asahi murmured, looking hesitant as he worriedly glanced at his friend's lonely figure.

Ennoshita shook his head. "No, that was settled. I think it's something different."

"There's been tension since the training camp. Something that happened then?" Yamaguchi suggested quietly.

"Could be. But it's gotten worse in the past week, you know?" Tanaka took a long drink of water between sentences. "It's like something personal happened. Not sure what."

There was only silence between the team then. Everyone looked at either Sugawara or Kageyama, trying to figure out exactly what had happened to change both of the setters so much in just a few days.

"I know," Tsukishima suddenly said. All of the boys turned to look at him as he stared directly at Sugawara's back, his gaze so emotionless that he looked almost angry.

"And? What is it?"

The tall blond turned to look at Tanaka. "It's not really my place to say." He turned again, looking directly at Sawamura. "But I'm sure that our captain here also knows."

All eyes focused on Sawamura in that moment, so suddenly that he was barely prepared for it. "It's none of our business," he finally said, his voice more confident than he felt. "Right now, we're all doing individual practices, and it's not affecting our team so much. Let them figure it out if they can."

There were murmurs of agreement from the rest, but Sawamura focused on Sugawara's back as he stood, wondering if he'd made the right decision to let the two setters try to handle their problems on their own.

"Shin." He looked up upon hearing his sister's voice, a bit of food sticking from his mouth, blinking almost comically. Aika stared back at him, a blank look on her face. "That thing you had to say to Tetsu… was it that you liked him, too?"

Shin froze upon hearing her say that. He gently put his chopsticks down and swallowed his food, then sighing. "How did you figure it out?" he asked softly.

"I remember what Tetsu said to you before we moved. You both thought that me and Kenma had gone to sleep, but we were both there that night." Aika folded her hands, staring at her brother, who only stared back in surprise. "He told you that us moving wouldn't be the end."

He nodded with a fond smile on his face. "And he told me that he'd find us, and that he'd ask me to marry him. So we wouldn't have to be separated again." He chuckled a little, softness taking over his face.

"You didn't respond."

Freezing again, he let his head fall. "Yeah… I didn't."

"But you liked him back."

"Yeah."

Aika hummed, picking up her utensils and beginning to eat. "You're both stupid. Too stubborn for your own good. If you both like each other, why are you both so scared?" she asked.

A self-deprecating laugh fell from Shin's lips. "Aika, this is Japan. Gay people aren't accepted here. If Tetsu and I got together, we'd be persecuted. I'm sure he'd lose whatever he would have gained from being so good at his sport. It's not… it's not worth it."

"Why is that up to you to decide?" she asked quietly.

Shin simply smiled sadly. "Because I care about him so much that I'd give my happiness for his future. That's why it's up to me to decide."

Aika said nothing, simply looked at her brother with disappointment.

"Enough is enough, Sawamura!" Ennoshita exclaimed to his captain as they left the gym. "We leave for Tokyo in two days, and both of our setters are still ignoring each other! I know you said to let them work it out by themselves, but this is getting ridiculous!"

Sawamura sighed as he stopped walking. "I don't know how to fix this," he admitted. "I know what happened, but I don't think that I can change Suga's mind. He's stubborn like that."

"What about Kageyama?" the second-year asked, unwilling to give up.

Once again, Sawamura shook his head. "Kageyama is angry, and he really has every right to be. Suga had something that Kageyama wanted, but Suga gave it up without a fight. Of course he's angry," he explained.

Ennoshita blinked, realization dawning on him. "This something… does it happen to be a certain girl who's waiting for us in Tokyo?" A small, knowing smile tugged at his lips.

Not saying anything, Sawamura brushed past Ennoshita, leaving his younger counterpart to follow him with a new understanding of what happened.

Aika glanced over at Kuroo, who'd been avoiding her ever since their confrontation. He was yelling orders at the rest of the team. Lev was scrambling to figure everything out, making the rest of the freshmen giggle as he struggled, loudly complaining that the captain clearly had something against him to make him suffer like this.

Said captain didn't respond, simply drove the team to practice harder.

"He's stressed, Ai," Kenma said to her, his voice quiet as he sat down on the bench next to her. He held a water bottle in one hand, a bottled green tea in the other. He passed the tea to Aika, who gratefully took it. "I don't know what else we can do for him. He doesn't want to listen to us, especially not about… this."

She sighed, nodding in acknowledgement. "I know, Ken. But they've allowed this to control how they interact with each other for eight years," she tried to reason.

"It's a long time." Kenma looked to where Kuroo was yelling at Lev again, laughing as Yaku threw several balls at the lanky first year, who was simply trying to send all of them back at once, his limbs flailing comically. "But he's too stubborn to really let anyone else help him, especially if he doesn't want to be helped."

Aika sighed, exasperated. "But it's not helping anyone if he just keeps pouting and sulking over it! It's been getting worse the longer Shin is here. Every time they see each other, Tetsu just… it's like he shuts down. And Shin… Shin's just getting more depressed that Tetsu's ignoring him." Her voice started out angered and loud, but as she went on, it trailed off, getting lower and lower, more dejected as she reasoned with herself.

Gently wrapping an arm around her, Kenma held her close. He rubbed her shoulder gently as she tucked her head into the crook of his neck.

He looked over to Kuroo, who was looking right at Aika, and had been since she looked away from him. He frowned at his friend, disapproval written on his lips, and couldn't help the surge of pride he felt as Kuroo pulled his gaze away, knowing sadness on his face.

"We'll keep trying then. Until they both decide to start being adults about their feelings," he said soothingly, pulling her into a hug.

She nodded, allowing herself to relax into his embrace.

"You know, you should explain the full story to Kageyama," Sawamura said the next day as he sat across from Sugawara during lunch, the two having pushed their desks together. "I heard what you said to him, but you left out a very key detail."

Sugawara calmly sipped at his drink as he flipped through his notes. "Oh? And what was that?" he asked.

"You said that there's someone better for Aika. You left out who that person is."

The silver-haired boy hummed, a serene smile on his face. "I think that me telling him wouldn't really help him to believe it," he argued softly. "Kageyama isn't the type to believe anything that he hasn't confirmed for himself. And he hasn't confirmed for himself that he's the right person for Aika."

Pursing his lips, Sawamura rubbed his forehead, still unable to fully comprehend his friend's thought process. "So, what you're saying is… you're trying to give him a push in the right direction, but not telling him where he's going," he said slowly, trying to piece together what Sugawara was trying to say.

"Pretty much, yes." Sugawara smiled softly. "I think the training camp will be good for both of them. It'll allow them to think on what they really feel for each other."

Sawamura frowned even deeper. "But what if she chooses you?"

"Then I'll do the same thing as I did last time," Sugawara said firmly, his eyes narrowing at the very idea. "I don't want to hurt her again, but I want to do what's best for her."

The captain opened and closed his mouth, trying to find an argument, but he knew that no matter what he had to say, no matter how reasonable his points were, Sugawara wouldn't hear it. He would argue because he was stubborn like that, set in his decisions, especially when it came to the well-being of others.

"Okay," he finally said, giving in with a sad grin on his face. "Whatever you decide, Suga."

"Kageyama." The first-year setter looked up to see Ennoshita staring at him with a slight frown on his face. "What's been going on with you lately?" he asked, crossing his arms, similar to how Sawamura would.

Huffing, Kageyama pushed himself off the floor of the gym and pushed past the second-year. Ennoshita quickly caught him by the arm and held on tightly, even as Kageyama turned on him with a stormy glare that would have intimidated most of the team.

"Get off," he snapped, pulling his arm from his senior's grip.

Ennoshita allowed his arm to drop, but still pinned him down with the glare. "You've isolated yourself for the past few weeks, and it's been negatively impacting your ability to work with the rest of us. I know it has something to do with Aika, but if it's affecting all of us, we should talk about it as a team," he lectured, his glare never lessening.

Kageyama bit his lip, willing himself to not snap at his teammate. Instead, he aimed his glare off to the side. "It's got nothing to do with you. And it's none of your business," he snapped, trying to keep his voice level.

"It's affecting the team, so it's all of our business."

"Will you stop?!" Kageyama finally burst, his yell catching the attention of the Karasuno team, including Takeda, Yachi, Shimizu, and Ukai, who all turned to look at the duo with worry and shock. "It's between me and Sugawara senpai and Aika, alright?!"

"What happened?" Ennoshita shot back, clearly attempting to keep calm.

Kageyama, sick of hearing the patronizing tone Ennoshita had taken on, clearly blaming him for the tension as of late, pointed directly towards the mop of silver hair he saw standing alongside the rest of his team.

"Ask him!"

The team, who were all watching, turned to look at Sugawara, who stood in the back. He had the decency to look ashamed of himself.

Ennoshita, pulling his gaze from his upperclassmen, turned to look at his underclassman. It looked like pieces were falling into place in his mind. "Suga… that day that Aika came back crying… the day we left…"

"Yeah." Sugawara managed a bitter smile. "I made her cry."

Although he didn't sound proud of it, the admission was enough to cause a roar of anger from Hinata. The small, orange-haired boy leapt forwards, his eyes filled with rage as he made a move to grab at Sugawara. He was quickly held back by Tanaka, who was also looking at the older boy with something like betrayal.

"Why would you do that to her?!" Hinata shouted, his voice echoing throughout the court. "She never cries, and you hurt her like that?! I thought you cared about her!"

Sugawara said nothing, simply looked down at the floor.

"Suga, what does he mean by that? That you made Aika cry?" Nishinoya asked, his eyes narrowed in confusion.

He still didn't reply, but his hands curled into fists, his nails digging into his palms.

"Just tell them," Tsukishima drawled, crossing his arms and looking bored. "It's not like anyone's feelings are a national secret."

Finally, Sugawara glared at the team. "I just want her to be happy, okay?! She liked me, and I turned her down!" he yelled out, admitting to everything. "She wanted to confess, and I couldn't let her, because I can't let her make a bad decision!"

"Bad decision?" Nishinoya asked, bewilderment on his face. "What about being with you is a bad decision?"

Sugawara didn't say anything, instead looking reasonably embarrassed as he clamped his mouth shut, biting his lip to keep from speaking out again.

"He doesn't want to tie her down to him," Sawamura said for him, disappointment written across his stern-looking face. "Thinks it'd only make her sad in the end."

Tanaka glared. "What's that supposed to mean?! Personally, I think you'd be a great boyfriend, especially to someone like Aika!"

"I do, too," Asahi admitted, standing next to his friend and offering a reassuring smile.

Sugawara offered a small smile. "There's someone who's better for her, though." He looked directly at Kageyama, whose eyes widened in realization. He meekly pointed to himself as the rest of the team followed the older setter's gaze.

"Kageyama…?"

He looked at Hinata, who was watching him with an expression that mirrored how he felt.

"I… You gave up her feelings… for me?" he asked, moving his gaze back to Sugawara.

The silver-haired boy nodded. "Yeah. I see how you look at her, and how she looks at you." Kageyama's eyes went even wider at the admission, his mind racing a mile a minute. "I think you'd be good for her."

Silence fell over the boys. From the sides, the two girls stared at the team, one in worry and one in anticipation.

Finally, a small voice said, "I think Kageyama would be good for Aika." All eyes turned to Hinata, who was staring directly at Kageyama, determination in his eyes. "I think that they'd make a good couple."

"I do, too." Yamaguchi nodded from the side. "He always seems happier around her. And she seems more relaxed around him." Tsukishima said nothing, but nodded at Kageyama in agreement with Yamaguchi.

Ennoshita sighed. "I guess if Sugawara thinks that Kageyama is a good fit, then I agree," he said, a small smile on his face.

"I agree." All eyes turned to Sawamura, who stood with crossed arms.

Nishinoya, from the side, burst, "What?! Why?!"

Sawamura simply shrugged. "Honestly, it's already been decided." He glanced over to the younger setter and nodded. "Just don't mess this up, got it?"

Under the captain's watchful eye, Kageyama found himself nodding.

"I got it."