Haikyu!
Higher
Chapter 41: Days

Kageyama looked over towards where Aika was sitting for what seemed to be the hundredth time since the beginning of the day. Even though she wasn't looking back at him, his cheeks still brightened a little when she smiled at Sugawara, pointing at something in her notebook.

"Oi, Kageyama!" He jolted out of his thoughts, snapping straight up to see Sawamura. The captain's arms were crossed sternly, but he wore an easy, knowing smile. "Come back down, okay? We still have several games to get through."

"Yessir!" Kageyama practically shouted, embarrassment coursing through his veins as he realized that Sawamura knew exactly what - or who - he was looking at.

Still flushed, he turned back to the court, his grip on the ball tightening a little as he fought his instinct to look over at Aika again. Instead, he attempted to focus all of his attention on the game at hand, and on the team on the other side of the net, Ubugawa.

Gritting his teeth, Kageyama spun the ball, taking a deep breath. He tossed the ball up and leapt, bringing his hand back, above his head, as he kept a sharp eye on the ball.

Focus. Don't even let them touch it.

His palm met with the soft, yet hard exterior of the ball, and he felt it bounce right off his skin, hurtling towards the other side of the net. The jump serve was good, it was powerful as it flew towards his opponents.

As the libero received the serve, Kageyama rushed forwards, preparing to toss for the next play, switching places with Sawamura, who ran towards the back. He lifted his hands, his eyes darting around the court.

Tanaka.

The shaven-headed spiker nodded, as if knowing what Kageyama was thinking. He could hear Azumane calling his name as he returned the ball to the setter. Kageyama's fingertips twitched as Tanaka and Hinata both ran towards the net, preparing to spike. He watched the blockers on Ubugawa's side as they ran to block Tanaka, and he swore internally, knowing that Tanaka was no longer an option.

Bending backwards slightly, he let the ball fall into the curve of his hand, he let the ball fly towards Hinata, willing it to drop like it had the night before as he practiced. As the ball left his cupped hands, he remembered Aika, sitting in front of him, smiling as she called him by his first name.

"Tobio."

He could feel his face heating up.

And then, he heard the whistle blow, signalling the end of the game.

Ubugawa, 25-23.

Swearing internally, he followed behind Sawamura as the team gathered, preparing to do their penalties. As he did, he peeked over at Aika, who had moved over to Nekoma, and was now looking at him with amusement in her eyes.

That heat came rushing back into his cheeks, and he looked away.

Shin sighed as he placed the grill down outside the gym. Wiping the sweat off his brow, he looked towards the large building, where there were familiar shouts and the sounds of sneakers and volleyballs hitting the floor. He smiled a little as he remembered how hard Aika had been working, helping every team inside as best she could.

"You're working hard out here. Isn't that thing heavy?" Shin turned to see Kuroo leaning against the doorway, a soft grin on his face.

He rolled his eyes. "Of course it is, but I'm not going to have you help me," he replied easily.

"And why not?"

"Your hands are sweaty. The grill is touching the food, and I refuse to serve Ai anything that has your sweat on it." He bent down, picking up a bag of coal to pour into the grill.

Kuroo scoffed. "Stubborn. Just let me help you," he shot back, stepping away from the door.

Once again rolling his eyes, Shin grabbed a piece of coal, one that was as small as a pebble, and aimed it at Kuroo, effectively hitting the taller boy in the shoulder. "I said no, Tetsuro. You have a game, don't you?"

Rubbing his shoulder as if the small piece of coal had actually injured him, Kuroo pouted. "Not for a while, but that's why I wanted to help you." He jumped down the stairs to join Shin, easily pulling the bag of coal from his arms. "Come on, let me do this for you. I'm trying to be a good boyfriend to you, okay?" he asked softly, looking down at his boyfriend with gentle eyes.

Shin couldn't help the deep red that came over his cheeks.

"Fine." He pushed the bag into Kuroo's hands. "I'm going to go down to the car and grab the food. You don't need to put a lot in. I'll be right back." He was already walking away before he finished his sentence, making Kuroo laugh.

"Cute."

A familiar warmth sat next to Aika as she watched the fierce battle between Karasuno and Fukurodani. She looked over to see Kenma sitting on the bench next to her, his golden eyes also trained on the game.

"They're interesting. Really, Ai." His voice was soft, but she could hear the subtle inflection of admiration in it.

She didn't fight the smile on her face, knowing how hard that her team had worked to become even better than they already were. The past week had been rough on the boys, but they'd become a team that was able to rival the best in the nation.

Kenma pulled his eyes away from the court to look at her. "You must be proud," he said.

Nodding, Aika tightened her grip on her pencil. "I am. I've never not been proud of them. All of them have been working so hard to improve, and you can tell, can't you?"

"I can." He nodded. "Everyone can. I don't think any of us like playing against Karasuno. It's not textbook, like most other games are."

A satisfied gleam in her eyes, she looked towards Bokuto, who was clearly becoming more and more upset by the turnout of the game. Fukurodani was having a much harder time against a rookie school than they would have thought. Annoyance was radiating off of all of the players on Fukurodani's side, but none more so than Bokuto.

"Bokuto clearly isn't having a great time," she pointed out, trying to stifle her laughter.

Kenma nodded in agreement, amused by the struggle of the older boy. "He's an idiot, but he's a good guy. He's more passionate than anyone I know. If anything, I'm sure that fighting against him will make Karasuno even stronger…" He trailed off, seeing how Aika was focused on one player in particular.

The tall boy, the scary setter. The one with dark black hair and cool eyes, the one who'd been there for Aika throughout the entire summer.

She was watching him with affection, the passion in her eyes mirroring his.

"Kageyama is doing well today, isn't he?" he asked knowingly. She jolted, a red coloration coming to her face. "He and Shoyo did that quick they've been working on all week. They're really cool."

Aika hunched over, trying to hide her blushing face in her notebook. She peered up, her eyes landing on Kageyama once more as he ran forwards to toss the ball again.

"Yeah. He's really cool."

It was so quiet that Kenma was sure he wasn't meant to hear it. But he did. He turned forwards as well, focusing on the game, if only to give her the privacy she was trying to create for herself while she came to terms with the way that Kageyama made her feel.

"Kenma!" Kuroo called from the sidelines of another court. "Game time!"

Even though Karasuno lost the game, it wasn't really that much of a loss.

If anything, Fukurodani came away feeling worse than Karasuno did. For them, they'd been the guinea pigs for Karasuno to try all of the things they'd been working so hard on, and those few changes had pushed their team to the limit. The game had nearly pushed Bokuto over the edge, which was nothing new, but the fact that it was Karasuno that did it wasn't to go unnoticed.

At that point, it felt to them like they were standing still.

They were still doing the same things that they'd always been doing. All their weapons were honed, perfectly sharp, but Karasuno was always bringing out new things. They were doing weird, new things with their attacks, and for Fukurodani, it was stressful.

All of them started to think that maybe it was time for them to try some new things, too.

Kageyama searched for the color of wine red that he couldn't stop thinking about throughout the game. He found her quite easily, her hair and height standing out against the boys she was surrounded by.

She sat with Bokuto, Akaashi, Kenma, Shin, and Kuroo, clearly teasing Bokuto with her old friend. The smile she wore was one of ease, one he'd only ever seen her wear when she was alongside the people she'd known for years.

He hesitated in walking over to her. She was enjoying herself, so he didn't want to interrupt her. He bit his lip, tightening his grip on his paper plate.

"Bokuto, you really lost your cool against Karasuno," he heard her tease.

Bokuto let out a grunt of displeasure as he pursed his lips, the semblance of a pout coming onto his face. "Your team is some kind of annoying, you know! Anyone would get upset like that!" he practically shouted back.

A chuckle came from Kuroo, who was sitting suspiciously close to Aika's brother. "Bokuto, I saw you," he retorted. "You were completely out of it."

She nodded in agreement. "Akaashi really pulled you out of your slump there. Letting you get that last point was really nice of him." The light, teasing softness in her voice made Kageyama's heart beat faster, even though he wasn't sitting with her.

"Che." Bokuto continued to pout. "I wasn't in a slump at all. I'm the greatest, I'm too great for slumps!"

"That wasn't what you said during the game." Akaashi didn't even respond to Bokuto's betrayed shout, only continuing to shovel food into his mouth.

"What was it again?" Aika grinned. "'Don't toss to me anymore!' and you put your hand out like you were telling them to run away from you or something!" Kuroo snickered alongside her, and even Shin cracked a smile.

Shin softly ruffled Aika's hair. "Ai, be nice to him, okay? I'm sure he's not that bad…" he trailed off, hesitating. "But I suppose those slumps do sound like an awful lot to deal with during a game." Bokuto made some sort of pained noise while Kuroo only laughed louder.

Aika shook her head, refusing to pity the loud, emotional ace. "It really does, doesn't it? Honestly, I don't know how Akaashi puts up with you, Bokuto. I don't know of any other setter who'd be able to do that," she said, pointing her chopsticks at him.

The spiky-haired ace let out another indignant squawk. "What?! There's tons of setters that'd be able to work with me! I'm great to work with!" He looked towards Akaashi, who pointedly looked away from him. "K-Kenma! Back me up!" he begged the Nekoma setter.

Kenma took one glance at Bokuto and sighed. "It's too draining," he muttered.

Bokuto looked like he'd been stabbed, but both Aika and Kuroo burst into laughter. Desperate, Bokuto glanced around, but it seemed like none of the other setters wanted any part of Bokuto's attempts to prove himself.

Golden eyes landed on Kageyama, and Bokuto yelled, "Oi! Kagemaya!"

Irritation hit Kageyama, and he was quickly reminded of another reason he was hesitant to sit with Aika. Bokuto was simply too loud. But now that he was noticed, he made his way towards the group. "It's Kageyama," he managed to spit out, trying to hold back his irritation.

"Yeah, Kageyama. What about you?" Bokuto demanded.

Aika sighed. "Kageyama can barely keep up with Shoyo, and Shoyo doesn't do those slumps like you do," she deadpanned.

Immediately, Kageyama responded, "I'd take a team of Hinata's over one Bokuto."

It was such a blunt, strange statement that Bokuto went completely blank as he heard it. Kuroo simply howled with laughter, his cackles piercing the air. Shin couldn't stop his laughter either, and both Kenma and Akaashi grinned in amusement.

He looked to Aika, who was giggling into her plate. She looked up at him, meeting his eyes, and smiled softly at him.

"Good answer, Tobio."

From there, it seemed like everything stopped. The five other boys around them stared at the two first-years, who were only looking at each other.

"You guys are that casual with each other?" asked Kuroo suspiciously, his eyes narrowed at Kageyama. "Since when?"

Aika shrugged, as if calling someone by their given name wasn't a big deal. "Since yesterday, I guess. We were hanging out and practicing after me and Kei got back, and I figured… you know, it's fine, right?" She looked towards Kageyama again for confirmation.

Nodding, he affirmed, "Yeah. I've been calling her by her first name since… spring, I guess?" He paused, thinking.

"Since we first met, right?" She laughed. "I guess I'm just used to it. Everyone either calls me Aika or by some nickname. It's not a big deal." She waved it off. "Tobio, sit down. It's easier to eat with others that way."

He took his seat, holding onto his plate that was piled high with barbecue. He quickly offered the plate to her, wordlessly asking if she wanted anything. She pulled a few slices of meat from his plate gratefully, smiling kindly at him.

As they sat together, seeming to be in their own world, the others watched them.

Shin leaned over to Kuroo, his lips brushing his boyfriend's ears. "Relax, Tetsuro. He's good for her. Besides, don't they look cute together?" he asked quietly.

Kuroo grunted a little, displeasure rolling off of him. "Doesn't matter if they are. I'll still kill him if he ever hurts her," he grumbled.

"I don't think he will." Shin smiled. "They deserve this. So go easy on him."

Even though the tension forcibly left Kuroo's shoulders, he still kept an eye on the two, who were speaking softly about the games of the day, smiling and laughing like they were the only two sitting together.

The sun was setting.

"Here, Ai." Shin laid a bag in Aika's lap, smiling sadly at his baby sister. "I packed some extra clothing for you, too. And there's some snacks in your backpack, just in case. It's a long drive back to Sendai. I was worried you'd get hungry on the way."

Aika held the backpack close to her. "Thanks, Shin. I really appreciate everything you've done," she muttered, emotions clear in her voice.

Although he tried to stand strong, Shin felt tears welling up in his eyes. "I'm going to miss you, Ai. I'm going to miss you so much."

He wrapped his arms around her, hugging his sister tightly. "It's only for a few months, Shin," she muttered. "I'll see you again soon." But even as she said this, she hugged him back, clinging tightly to his shirt.

Shin's tears were only a few, but he couldn't stop them as he cried.

"You guys are going to be great this tournament. Beat Oikawa and Aoba Josai. Beat Ushijima and Shiratorizawa. Beat everyone who stands in your way. I'll be waiting for you to see us in Nationals."

"Us?" she asked, pulling away from him.

Shin grinned widely. "I'll be supporting Nekoma, of course. But I'll definitely cheer for you to beat Tetsuro when the time comes," he replied.

She nodded easily. "Okay. I promise, then." She held out her pinky, linking it with her older brother's.

Shin loosened his finger after a brief moment that felt like forever. He sniffed, wiping away his tears. "Okay. It's time to get you to the bus." He looked around, and called, "Tsukishima! Will you bring Ai down to the bus?"

Tsukishima took one look at her and scoffed. "Ask the King," he said bluntly.

From where he stood with his bag, Kageyama whirled around. "Eh?!" he shouted, pointing at himself in shock.

Knowingly smiling, Shin patted the back of Aika's wheelchair. "Will you take Aika down to the bus?"

"Uh…" Kageyama swallowed nervously. "O-of course." He grabbed his bag, robotically walking forwards. He grasped the handles of Aika's wheelchair, pushing her forwards.

She leaned over and waved to Shin, who waved back easily. The siblings continued to wave at each other until one could no longer see the other. Only then did she allow her hand to fall back into her lap, and allow herself to lean back into her chair.

Kageyama looked down at her. "You okay?" he asked.

"Yeah." She nodded. "Just really ready to get back out there with all of you."

He smiled a little.

"Me, too."

Author's Note:

So. It's been over a year. I don't have an excuse, just depression. I'm sorry for not updating at all. I suppose I've just been on and off in general.

I hope you're all staying safe. I hope to begin updating regularly again, now that the manga is close to completion, and the second half of the fourth season is being made.

I've had this in my drafts for close to nine months now, so I suppose this chapter specifically is long overdue.

Thanks for sticking around. I appreciate the reviews I've been getting in my absence. Thank you a ton.