Haikyu!
Higher
Chapter 40: Hopes

Tsukishima helped Aika up the stairs, allowing her to lean on him as she struggled to move her tired leg.

"Hey, Tsukishima." He hummed in response, looking at her. "You called me Aika earlier." He could see her smiling at the idea of him calling her by her first name. "It was nice. It made us feel like friends, you know? I like that."

He scoffed. "You said so yourself a while back. We are friends," he deadpanned, looking down at her with an unamused face.

"Then… can I call you Kei?"

Her innocent question made his eyes widen as he quickly turned to her. He stared down at the girl with a small smile playing across her lips. There was a softness somewhere in her eyes, one that told him that she wasn't making fun of him at all, that it wasn't just a joke. She really wanted to call him by his first name.

Sighing, he turned his gaze back to the road ahead of them. "Why would you want to call me by my first name? You don't even call Kageyama by his," he muttered.

"Well…" She fidgeted, rubbing her arm with her hand and biting her lip as she looked at her lap. "I guess it's because I'm too nervous to ask him. I-It's the same with Sugawara senpai," she admitted softly.

Tsukishima blinked at her, then snickered quietly, trying to hide it from her. "Then, I'll let you call me Kei. But on one condition." She turned her gaze upwards in confusion, only to see him with a small smirk on his face. "Before the training camp is over, you have to call Kageyama by his first name, too."

He nearly laughed at how red her face turned. She began stuttering, trying to find some form of excuse to get her out of it. He laughed openly at her sudden burst of shyness.

"K-Kei!" she protested.

"Well, you already called me Kei, so no going back now." He slowly reached down to ruffle her hair, unable to resist taunting her just a little bit.

She pouted, crossing her arms. "No fair."

The two fell silent for a moment afterwards, Aika's arms eventually falling back to rest in her lap.

"I'm sure he won't want me to call him by his first name," she said softly, sadness and worry in her voice. "I'm sure everyone's realized by now what happened between me and Sugawara senpai. But if they didn't, I'm sure that they know."

He scoffed. "It doesn't matter. No one holds anything against anyone," he retorted.

"Really?" She sounded doubtful.

Nodding, Tsukishima reached up to run a hand through his hair. "Everyone was more upset at Sugawara senpai than you. When they found out he made you cry, I think a bunch of them wanted to punch him. Of course, Hinata was at the forefront." He chuckled a little, remembering how the small, orange-haired boy had nearly charged at Sugawara, and probably would have hurt him if not for Tanaka.

She giggled a bit as well. "Sounds like Shoyo."

"But seriously. I think everyone except for you can see that the King would do anything for you. If you called him by his first name," he paused, searching for the right words, "it'd probably make him really happy."

He could see the red flush spreading across her face again.

"If… if it makes him happy, then I'll call him by his first name."

It was a quiet declaration, but a determined one.

"Ah! I think I see Aika and Tsukishima coming back!"

Yachi's announcement made the rest of Karasuno flock to the doorway, but Kageyama stayed put, and turned away from the door. He bit his lip, his mind filled with sudden doubts and concerns about the newfound nature of the relationship between Aika and Tsukishima.

"Kageyama? Don't you want to see her?" He looked behind him as he picked up a volleyball from the cart, seeing Yachi staring curiously at him.

Glaring at the ball instead, he shook his head wildly. "No…"

She hummed for a moment. "You know, I don't think their relationship is anything romantic," she admitted. Kageyama immediately stood up straight, whirling around to look at the small girl in surprise. She quickly waved her hands in front of her. "I-I'm not trying to make assumptions or anything! It just comes off like that!"

"Like… not romantic?" he asked weakly.

Seeing the usually proud setter so vulnerable, Yachi immediately nodded, trying to cheer him up. "Yeah! I think that Tsukishima sees her as a friend or a little sister or something, but I don't think that either of them like each other!" she announced proudly.

Kageyama nearly sighed in relief. "Well… I…" he trailed off, not knowing what to say.

For a moment, he could practically feel Yachi's gaze on him, attempting to piece together the puzzle that was his sudden range of emotions. "You really do like her, don't you?" she finally asked, a smile tinting her words.

Trying his best not to yell, he shot up again, his spine as straight as a board. "How… well, I… Yeah, I mean…" He struggled for words, somehow struggling to fully explain himself to the young manager. Sighing, he turned to face her, looking directly into her eyes. "Yachi… how do I ask a girl to go out with me?"

Yachi's eyes widened. She began to panic, not fully knowing how to respond to him. "Um… I'm not super experienced in that area, so I may not be the best person to ask," she replied weakly. "Actually, I've never… been asked out before."

He frowned, but persisted. "But… say someone was to ask you out. How would you want him to do it?" he rephrased, desperation leaking into his voice.

She took a moment, thinking hard, as he deserved the best answer she could possibly give him. "To be honest, I wouldn't particularly care about how he asked me out," she admitted quietly. "If I liked him enough, the how wouldn't matter. I would just want him to be himself." She offered Kageyama a small, shy smile.

He simply stared at the young manager who'd become a good friend to him over the past few weeks.

"Be myself, huh?"

Yachi nodded, a bright smile on her face. She pumped her fist in the air, the excitement that she showed reminding him a bit of Hinata. "Yeah! After all, if Aika supposedly likes you back, then she already likes you for who you are, right?" She grinned, fully showing her teeth.

At her smile, Kageyama couldn't help but be grateful for her seemingly unyielding optimism, especially when it came to his tosses, and now, to his relationships. It helped him realize that he wasn't fighting either of those fights alone. He couldn't help the smallest smile of determination that tugged at his lips.

"Thanks, Yachi. I appreciate it."

She flushed from embarrassment, but nodded back with a smile.

Aika fidgeted as her wheelchair sat outside of the gym that Kageyama was currently practicing his tosses in. Tsukishima, who'd wheeled her up to the school, stood behind her, watching her in slight amusement.

"Kei, I can't just… go in there and call him 'Tobio' without telling him," she grumbled, glancing up at him, like she was begging him to reassure her that she didn't have to do it.

He snickered. "Well, you could always just stop calling me 'Kei' if you're so adamant about not doing it," he drawled.

She glared, crossing her arms. "If you hate it that much, then fine."

His teasing smirk formed a slight frown as he reached down to gently clip the back of her head. "Aika. You're going to do this, whether you like it or not." Ignoring her other protests, he pushed the door open and wheeled her inside. "If you want a relationship with him, then you should have known that this kind of thing was a possibility."

"I never said-!"

"Aika, Tsukishima. Welcome back. We were just about to go off to eat," Sawamura cut her off, his so-called "Captain Smile" on his face. "What are you planning to do the rest of your night?"

For a moment, she hesitated. The familiar warmth of Tsukishima behind her suddenly moved away from her.

He walked back towards the door, waving his hand lazily. "Whether I want to or not, I'm sure the owl and the cat will both summon me to block for them," he said, his voice light and uncaring. "See you later."

"Kei, you garbage person!" she shouted after him, embarrassment taking over her body. "At least take me with you!"

Turning back to look at her, his hand on the door frame, he rolled his eyes. "Loser. Other people need your help, too." Without waiting for her to respond, he jogged out of the gym, probably to find Bokuto and maybe Kuroo.

"Well, that's that. We'll see you later, too, Aika." Sawamura clapped her on the shoulder.

She could only watch as the Karasuno boys - except for Hinata and Kageyama, left the gym, going off to get dinner. She frowned, feeling like she'd been set up.

Heaving a heavy sigh, she turned her wheelchair around, only to see a pair of legs standing in front of her. Her eyes widened as she looked up, only to gaze right into Kageyama's steely eyes. He looked down at her, concern in his eyes.

"You weren't in a wheelchair before you left," he commented softly. "Did something happen?"

Aika flushed under his worried stare. "N-no." She cursed herself for stuttering, choosing to glance down at her hands to hide her red cheeks. "It's just that, um, physical therapy can leave my legs too sore to walk afterwards, so… I-I just wanted to be careful," she managed to get through it without too many fumbles, but she swore that her face was growing warmer and warmer as she spoke.

His steely eyes softened as he knelt in front of her chair, peering up at her. "Aika. Is something the matter?" She didn't look up, winding her fingers together even tighter. "You're not looking at me," he sounded hurt and sad.

Guilt struck her right in her chest at his words, and she slowly looked up at him. Her heartbeat quickened as she met his eyes. She could feel the breath leaving her body as she realized that, as she was looking at him, she could only think that he was incredibly handsome. Her chest suddenly felt tight, and her skin felt like she was being set on fire.

It was like how she had once felt about Sugawara, but also, completely different.

This feeling that she had around Kageyama was more than that.

"Aika?"

Pulling herself. "Sorry…" she paused, hesitating.

"If you called him by his first name, it'd probably make him really happy."

All hesitation drained from her at the memory of Tsukishima's somehow reassuring bluntness, the one that told her that he wasn't just making fun of her, but that he firmly believed that it would make Kageyama happy if she called him by his first name.

"Tobio."

Almost immediately, he turned a bright red, his face overheating. There was practically smoke coming from his ears as he sputtered, searching for words.

"W-what… I, Aika… what are…. Aika?!"

The shade of her skin began to mirror his as the full weight of her words hit her. "I-I'm sorry!" she managed. "I-It was just that, um, Kei! He, uh… he!"

The two of them sat in front of each other for a moment, searching for words as they struggled in the face of the person they liked. After a few moments of awkwardness, she fell silent, not wanting to explain that she was practically blackmailed into the situation by one Kei Tsukishima. Kageyama was quiet soon afterwards, and he stared at her staring at her hands.

"Aika." She didn't look at him, even though he was directly in front of her. He sighed, standing, and aimed his gaze towards the other side of the net. "Can you toss for me? You don't have to move or anything."

Her head snapped up at those words, her eyes wide. "To… Kageyama… why?"

"I don't know," he shrugged. "I just want to practice with you."

Her lips flapped for a moment, gaping at him in absolute shock. "I-I'm rusty, I can't guarantee that you'll get a good toss, and-"

"I don't care about that." He looked back at her, his eyes glittering. "I just want to hit one of your tosses."

For a moment, she was silent, just staring at him.

She heaved a giant sigh, one so theatrical he couldn't believe it was real. And she reached a hand out, bracing herself to move from her wheelchair.

"Help me up."

He grabbed her by the hand, gently pulling her smaller frame to stand next to him. Her hand was small in his, delicate, but he knew that she worked hard to put all of her strength into those hands. He held her hand a bit tighter as he stared down at her.

"You can call me Tobio if you want."

"Hey, shrimp and glasses."

Both Karasuno players glared at the tall Nekoma captain who was standing behind them in the gym. He grinned that cat-like grin as they glared.

"Sorry, sorry. I mean, Hinata and Tsukishima."

The boys perked up when they heard their names. It was probably the first time that Kuroo had actually called them by their names, rather than some stupid nickname. His cat-like grin had fallen away, and he seemed gentler, more serious, than they'd seen him in the past.

"You both do a lot for Ai. Thanks for looking out for her. I haven't been the best of friends to her this past few weeks, but I'm glad she has both of you. It makes me more comfortable to send her back to Sendai."

Exchanging a look, Hinata and Tsukishima both bowed. Hinata fell into a complete right angle, while Tsukishima merely bowed his head.

"I'll keep looking after her! I'm gonna keep watching out for Aika for as long as I can!" Hinata announced, his loud voice ringing throughout the entire gym as loudly as possible.

Tsukishima rolled his eyes, but added, "She said we're friends. So, I guess I'm kind of obligated to watch out for her." He paused, snickered a bit, then continued, "After all, she's going to need someone to keep giving her little pushes."

Hinata laughed as well. "I'm glad it's all working out now, though!" he announced.

"Ah, you mean with that King?" Kuroo drawled. "Heh. It feels like forever since I first thought of them as a couple. Maybe they'll be together by the next time I see them."

Silence fell over the trio, just for a brief second, but in that second, the entire air darkened.

"I'm gonna kill him," Kuroo deadpanned.

Hinata cracked his knuckles. "I'm rooting for them, but I'm gonna punch him, too."

"Pfft. As if you could aim a hit on His Majesty." Tsukishima rolled his eyes, but he didn't tell either of them that they were being idiots.

"Achoo!"

The ball fell to the floor of the gym as Kageyama missed his toss. He wiped at his nose, wondering if he was getting sick.