
Posted originally on the Archive_of_Our_Own at https://archiveofourown.org/
works/7162259.
  Rating:
      Explicit
  Archive Warning:
      Underage
  Category:
      Gen, M/M
  Fandom:
      Haikyuu!!
  Relationship:
      Hinata_Shouyou/Oikawa_Tooru, Hinata_Shouyou/Kageyama_Tobio, Kageyama
      Tobio/Oikawa_Tooru
  Character:
      everyone
  Additional Tags:
      Angst, Angst_with_a_Happy_Ending, Manipulation, Emotional_Manipulation,
      Hurt/Comfort, Abusive_Relationships, Canon_Compliant, Emotional/
      Psychological_Abuse
  Stats:
      Published: 2016-06-10 Updated: 2016-07-11 Chapters: 2/? Words: 12481
****** Manipulating Sunshine ******
by zackstrider
Summary
     Oikawa only laughs at Hinata’s enthusiasm. “Come by Seijoh after
     school sometime this week, I’ll introduce you to the team and get
     started.”
     Hinata nods quickly before pausing as something dawns on him. “Aren’t
     you busy with classes and your own team?” he asks curiously, tilting
     his head.
     The high schooler hums softly, thinking for a moment. “I suppose I
     am, but one more thing on my to-do list won’t kill me. You’d be an
     asset if you decided to go to Seijoh.”
     =====================================================================
     When Yukigaoka Junior High loses to Kitagawa Daiichi Junior High in
     Hinata Shouyou’s first and last official match of junior high, he’s
     given the opportunity to develop his skills with the renowned Aoba
     Johsai Volleyball Team by none other than Oikawa Tooru. Hinata
     improves drastically with Seijoh’s training in the nine months
     between the junior high match and his first day at Karasuno. He
     develops relationships and skill he wouldn’t have had otherwise.
     Hinata doesn’t realize the influence Seijoh has on him until it's too
     late.
***** Prologue *****
Chapter Summary
     Sometimes I think about what it would be like if Hinata got actual
     training in the nine months he spent training alone and that led to
     this and then I had to twist it even more because I’m horrible.
     This chapter covers the nine months between Hinata's first and last
     junior high match and his first day of high school.
Chapter Notes
     '~' is a split between perspectives
See the end of the chapter for more notes
The first time Hinata Shouyou meets Oikawa Tooru is after Kitagawa Daiichi
Junior High absolutely creams Yukigaoka Junior High, Hinata’s first and last
official match of Junior High.
Initially Hinata doesn’t even notice Oikawa come up and sit next to him.
Admittedly he’s not paying attention, sitting on the same steps that he
confronted Kageyama Tobio on, waiting for the school’s bus to pick them up. He
sits down, listens to the muted cheering coming from inside the building, and
suddenly his cheeks are wet with tears he hadn’t realized he’d started
shedding. Hinata hides his face in his knees, trying to keep as quiet as he can
while his teammates talk idly on bench next to a grassy area.
“Ah, it really is heartbreaking when you lose a match, isn’t it?” Hinata
doesn’t recognize the voice as one of his classmate’s and looks up, meeting the
eyes of someone who was obviously older and taller than him. Maybe he’s a high
schooler? (Why would a high schooler be watching the junior high tournaments?)
He has wavy brown hair and soft brown eyes as he smiles at Hinata. He looks
like he’s wearing a team jacket, but Hinata can’t see from where or what club
he’s in.
Hinata sniffles, rubbing his eyes. “Are you here to just rub it in?”
The high schooler looks taken-aback. “Of course not! I know what it’s like to
lose matches.” A dark look comes over his eyes for a second before he recovers,
his expression softening even more. “I wanted to make sure you’re okay. Your
reflexes are pretty good, and you’re crazy fast.”
Hinata sniffles again, his eyes starting to dry. “Th-Thank you. I can jump,
too!” he says, making the older boy laugh before he holds out his hand.
“My name is Oikawa Tooru.” Oikawa says, shaking Hinata’s hand firmly. “I go to
Aoba Jousai High School, I’m a setter on the volleyball team.”
Hinata gasps. “That’s really cool!” he grins. “I have to get better at
volleyball before I think about joining a high school team.” he rubs the back
of his head, laughing nervously. “My name is Hinata Shouyou.”
Oikawa nods. “I could help you, if you’d like.” he smiles. Hinata notices a
glint of something in his eyes, but can’t place it. He assumes it’s something
good, though!
Hinata blinks before he stands up, his hands curling into fists at his in front
of his chest. “You will?” he asks excitedly.
Oikawa smiles, his eyes closing. “Of course, with proper training you could
really be a great player.”
This of course, only makes Hinata ecstatic. He could become a great player like
Little Giant with the help of a high schooler! “Yes please! Thank you so much,
Oikawa-senpai!”
Oikawa only laughs at Hinata’s enthusiasm. “Come by Seijoh after school
sometime this week, I’ll introduce you to the team and get started.”
Hinata nods quickly before pausing as something dawns on him. “Aren’t you busy
with classes and your own team?” he asks curiously, tilting his head.
The high schooler hums softly, thinking for a moment. “I suppose I am, but one
more thing on my to-do list won’t kill me. You’d be an asset if you decided to
go to Seijoh.” he digs into his pocket, taking out his cell phone. “Let’s
exchange numbers to make it easier.”
 
===============================================================================
 
The first time that Hinata actually makes it to Seijoh, it's a Friday evening
and the volleyball club is already practicing. He peeks inside the gym through
the door, already starting to get nervous about practicing with high schoolers.
This is nerve-wracking. Hinata thought. Oikawa-senpai wasn’t scary, but the
rest of them are. He can already feel his stomach starting to react and get
upset. At the same time, Hinata is so excited. So excited he's practically
vibrating against the door. Training with Seijoh will be the single coolest
thing he would ever do in his life, it was official.
Only then did Oikawa notice that Hinata was hiding. Everything stops when he
does, making Hinata freeze under the many gazes he attracts. The coach walks up
to Hinata and introduces himself as Coach Irihata, the Head Coach.
Oikawa jogs up behind the coach with a smile of his own. “I’m glad you made it,
Shouyou-kun.” Oikawa offers his hand - to shake it again? - but instead of
letting Hinata’s hand go after he’d taken it; he leads him inside the gym to
the rest of the team. Hinata can’t stop staring at their joined hands, his face
turning red from the contact. Did high schoolers hold hands with their friends?
Were all upperclassmen this affectionate?
“Everyone, this is the boy I was telling you about, Hinata Shouyou.” Oikawa
looks at Hinata. “We’re going to have a three-on-three match; I’d like you to
join us. I want to see what you can do.”
Hinata blinks before his eyes practically sparkle. “Really?” he asks excitedly.
Oikawa nods and reaches up to ruffle Hinata’s hair gently. “You can jump, can’t
you?”
I can jump. Hinata grins as newfound determination makes his stomach-ache
vanish. “Yeah!”
Oikawa smiles widely. “Good!”
There is something about Oikawa’s smile that makes Hinata feel a lot more at
ease than he had just moments before. He drops his bag to the side and changes
into his gym shoes, looking around the court and the net. I may be small, but I
can jump.
One of the other members of the team speaks up then, drawing Hinata’s attention
to him. “Oikawa, this is taking time out of practice. We don’t have time to
entertain a kid.” Hinata sort of understands, high school tournaments are a lot
tougher than junior high ones. But at the same time, Hinata had been invited,
and invited for a reason.
Despite the outspoken team member, Oikawa only smiles. “You don’t have to be so
mean, Iwa-chan.” he opens his eyes and continuea to look at his team. “I want
to show you Shouyou-kun’s abilities.” Hinata can only stare as a darker air
shrouds Oikawa. Hinata definitely doesn’t want to get on his bad side.
“Tch, fine. What are the teams?”
Oikawa hums, pressing the pad of his index finger to his chin and looking at
his teammates. “Iwa-chan will be with Hinata and myself, and I’ll have Yahaba,
Watari and Hanamaki on the other team.”
The members step forward as they're called on, letting Hinata learn the names
of who he’d be facing, ‘Iwa-chan’ excluded. Yahaba has brown hair and brown
eyes, and is taller than Hinata. Watari has a shaved head and gray eyes, and is
taller than Hinata. Hanamaki has reddish-brown short hair and what looks like
gray eyes, and of course, is taller than Hinata.
I’m going to play against high schoolers! Hinata looks between Oikawa and ‘Iwa-
chan’, his gaze staying on the latter male. Hinata swallows, holding his hand
out to ‘Iwa-chan’. “H-Hinata Shouyou!” he stutters, cringing at how nervous he
sounds. He's excited!
‘Iwa-chan’ looks Hinata up and down for a second, making his anxiety spike as
he waits for the older male to react. Hinata nearly jumps out of his skin when
a strong hand takes hold of his, shaking it firmly. “Iwaizumi Hajime.”
At least I know your proper name now. Hinata nods. “Nice to meet you. Thank you
for letting me join your practice.”
Iwaizumi nods, dropping his hand. “Oikawa seems to think that you’re something
interesting. You’re the one who has to prove yourself.”
And just like that, Hinata’s anxiety is through the roof as they move onto the
court. A gentle hand on Hinata’s shoulder draws him from his thoughts, and he
looks up at Oikawa once more.
“Shouyou-kun, all you have to do is spike, okay?” Oikawa smiles. “Just follow
the ball.”
Follow the ball. Hinata smiles and nods, his anxiety still isn’t helping his
current situation, but at least Oikawa-senpai believes in him. “Okay!”
~
Oikawa is no stranger to tossing. He is no stranger to volleyball, either. But
he is a stranger to Hinata. Nothing would be synced, they’d never played
together before. But that isn’t going to stop him from delivering him the
perfect toss. Oikawa spent a few solid hours watching the match between
Kitagawa Daiichi Junior High and Yukigaoka Junior High, examining how Hinata
worked. It was clear that the Yukigaoka team had never actually played together
before and the majority of the team was vastly inexperienced compared to
Kitagawa Daiichi, yet they still decided to enter the tournament.
In the beginning it had just confused Oikawa. Why would such a weak team enter
when they wouldn’t have a shred of a chance? But then he watched the match. (He
watched the match over and over). The team hadn’t entered for themselves,
they’d entered for Hinata. That alone raised some interest. If Oikawa can help
Hinata develop his skill, he can use it in the long run. Use him.
He watches as Iwaizumi gets into position, watches as the other team slip on
their coloured jerseys to separate the teams, watches as Coach Mizoguchi gets
ready to referee, watches as the other team gets ready to serve, watches as
teammates on the sidelines whisper snide comments about Hinata to each other,
and watches how Hinata never takes his eyes off the ball.
Yes, this is going to work out fine.
~
Hinata is so ready. As ready as he’s ever been. As ready as he was ever going
to be. Sure, it bothers him that he hears the upperclassmen making comments
about his height and his age, but the way Oikawa is smiling at him makes him
instantly feel better. Hinata closes his eyes and takes a deep breath, blocking
out everything before he opens his eyes again.
~
Ah, there it is.
The fire in Hinata’s eyes. The determination.
You’ll do just fine here.
Oikawa takes a deep breath, speaking softly. “Shouyou-kun, I’d like you to
receive Watari’s serve.” He almost, almost, laugha as Hinata’s face drains of
colour. It's endearing. “Don’t worry about making mistakes.” He continues. “I
believe in you.”
And then there is a little more colour in Hinata’s face, mostly his cheeks.
Also endearing. Before Hinata can protest, Oikawa turns around to the sound of
the whistle.
~
Hinata had never been good at receiving. He never had the chance to practice!
It wasn’t his fault (entirely). But now he is facing high schoolers who do know
how to receive. He can already hear the students on the sidelines laughing at
his lack of skill. Maybe it had been a bad idea to go to Seijoh.
Watari makes a jump-serve, something Hinata hadn’t encountered before. Everyone
he knew used underhand or overhand serves. Jump serves were significantly
stronger and harder to receive. Despite that, Hinata finds himself rushing from
the right corner of the court to the left, joining his hands in front of him,
lining up with the ball to bump it into the air-
Only to have it ricochet off his arms and right into his face.
Hinata hears two things next. The ball hit the ground and bounce a couple
times, and then multiple teenagers trying to hold back their laughter behind
their hands. His eyes burn with unshed tears as he went to pick up the ball,
thoroughly embarrassed of his screw up.
What he doesn’t expect is for Oikawa to take the ball from his hands and tip
his chin up with a finger. He has a frown on his face as he looks Hinata over.
Their eyes meet for a second before Oikawa looks over at the rest of the team
on the sidelines, a dark smile forming on his face. “I would appreciate it if
you would stop laughing." The team went silent immediately.
“Are you okay?” Oikawa asks, turning back to Hinata. He raises his hand,
prodding at Hinata’s face in a few spots.
Hinata nods, his cheeks turning red. “I’m not very good at receiving.” He says.
Oikawa nods. “We’ll work on that together. I told you I wanted to see what you
can do. If I take people’s words on what they can and can’t do, they may not
ever improve on anything that needs work.”
Hinata nods. “Let’s go again, one more time.” He says, reaching up to rub the
back of his head. “This time I’ll get it.”
Oikawa starts walking back to his position before Hinata even completely
finishes his sentence, nodding the entire way. “Once again, Watari.” He calls,
tossing the ball under the net to get it back to him. Watari nods, bouncing the
ball a few times before meeting Hinata’s eyes. He gives him a soft smile,
nodding once before setting up for his serve.
~
Iwaizumi is the one to receive Watari’s serve the second time, which doesn’t
cause a problem for Oikawa at all. Hinata is on the right side of the court
again, in front of the net. The opposing team’s blocker’s are already in
position to block him, and the block will be successful.
Or it would be, if Hinata was slow.
But Hinata isn’t slow. Oikawa’s teammates don’t know that, of course, but
Oikawa does. He knows that by the time he is ready to give Hinata the perfect
toss, Hinata would be in the perfect place to spike it.
And that’s how it turns out.
What Hinata lacks in strength and technique, he more than makes up for with his
stamina, jumping, speed, and enthusiasm. Hinata does what Oikawa had instructed
him to. He follows the ball. He follows where it will go to score a point.
So when Oikawa tosses Iwaizumi’s bump, there is no shocking moment when the
sound of Hinata’s hand hitting the ball is heard, there is no shock when it hit
the floor on the other side of the court, and there is no shock when the rest
of the gym goes quiet.
Oikawa turns to the students on the bench. “A lesson for the future; it’s
unwise to underestimate people.”
~
Hinata is on cloud nine. His previous embarrassment had vanished as soon as
he’d run from the block. He’d only focused on the ball. Where he needed to be
to get the point. Where the ball needed to be. He stares down at his stinging
hand, doing his best to fight back cheering over one small victory. He can only
keep from grinning until Iwaizumi gives him a pat on the back and a single nod.
“Nice kill.”
Hinata looks at Oikawa with his grin, feeling it get even wider when Oikawa
smiles back at him. “Nice kill, Shouyou-kun.”
A long whistle brings both teams’ eyes to the Head Coach, who has his own smile
on his face. “I think I’ve seen enough.”
 
===============================================================================
 
Much to Hinata’s shock, Coach Irihata actually agrees to letting him join the
Seijoh practices for the rest of the school year. They get right down to it,
going on with practicing receives, serves, anything and everything they could
until late that same night. Hinata thanks the coaches and team profusely,
stating they wouldn’t regret training him, before leaving with the brightest
smile he’s ever had on his face.
“Coach, why are you allowing a kid to practice with us?” One of the third years
grumble, his arms crossed over his chest.
Before Coach Irihata can say anything, Oikawa steps up. “It was all my doing.”
He smiles. “I convinced Coach that training Shouyou-kun will help Seijoh in the
long run. I’m going to convince him to come to Seijoh next year, and when he
does, we won’t have to worry about training him then.” Oikawa closes his eyes
as he spun a volleyball in his hands. “Even if he doesn’t get into Seijoh, we
can still use him.
“So please bear with it for a little while longer.” Oikawa opens his eyes as he
turns around, tossing the volleyball into the basket that held them. “It’ll all
be worth it in the end.”
 
===============================================================================
 
In the months from the first time Hinata visited Seijoh to his first day of
high school, he spends as much of his free time as he can with Oikawa and
various other members of the Seijoh volleyball club, training and practicing
and learning how to properly play the game. He gets substantially better at
receiving and reading his opponents thanks to the countless hours he spends
with Oikawa, countless three-on-three matches and even more countless bruises.
Hinata learns that Oikawa spends his free time teaching his nephew and other
kids volleyball. Hinata has to practically beg Oikawa to let him tag along, and
he certainly isn’t disappointed when he gets to watch the Seijoh player
interact with kids.
Hinata learns that Oikawa had previously sustained a knee injury from over-
practicing himself, only to have Oikawa spend several minutes warning him about
the dangers of over-practicing. Oikawa had shared that rest shouldn’t be taken
for granted, and had made Hinata promise to never over-practice.
Oikawa had gripped Hinata’s shoulders, making the younger promise him as he
stared into his intense brown eyes. Hinata promised, and he meant it. He
started taking Mondays off with Oikawa.
 
===============================================================================
 
Hinata’s relationship with Oikawa also evolves. At first Hinata had joined the
Seijoh volleyball team for practice, but the pair slowly starts meeting outside
of regular practice for more one-on-one practice. The one-on-one practices
become more inconsistent as Hinata starts showing that he has a grasp on what
he's doing. Oikawa turns it into helping him study as well.
He'd always say, “If you want to get into a good school, good grades are
important too.” And it made sense. It made total and complete utter sense that
grades were also important – it was school after all!
Hinata starts to notice that Oikawa is very… affectionate when they're alone
together. He was always as close as he could be to Hinata when showing him how
to do something they were studying, or how to hold his body when bumping,
Oikawa will sometimes hold his hand if he's in a particularly affectionate
mood, or he's just had a bad day (Oikawa teaching Hinata how to read his
opponents had helped him read Oikawa himself. It is helpful in some instances).
Hinata isn’t even that surprised when Oikawa asks him to call him by his first
name. At first it feels strange, but he quickly becomes used to it when he sees
how happy it makes Oikawa.
The first time Hinata actually uses Oikawa’s first name, the older male hugs
him, crooning about how cute Hinata is and how nice it is to hear him use his
first name. Hinata’s face goes beet-red at the closeness and his hair tickles
his neck, making him giggle.
“Ahhh, Shouyou-kun~, you’re so cute.” Oikawa murmurs against his shoulder. “I
want to keep you forever.”
“Wh-What do you mean, Tooru-san?” Hinata hears Oikawa hum softly as he moves,
shifting until his lips are next to Hinata’s ear.
“I like you.” Oikawa murmurs softly. “I think we should date.”
Hinata nearly combusts. He never thought he’d be interested in guys, at all. He
doesn’t have a problem with it, and Oikawa had taught and helped him so much in
the last couple months. Hinata loves spending time with him, it only makes him
want to spend more time with the older male. The pair text all the time,
effectively earning some teasing from both sides’ friends, and some days Hinata
can’t get Oikawa out of his head – his laugh, his smile, his eyes, everything
about him.
Is that what liking someone does to you?
~
As it turns out, that’s exactly what liking someone does to you.
~
Some nights, if it gets too late after practice or if it's too dark outside,
Oikawa will insist that Hinata let him walk the orange haired boy home. Who is
Hinata to argue with his boyfriend? (Not that he even wants to, anyway, he
loves spending time with Oikawa. His Oikawa).
They have their first kiss two months into knowing each other, and one month
into their relationship. It's outside of Hinata’s house, underneath a
flickering streetlamp. The warm August wind had brushed past them as Oikawa had
walked him home, listening to Hinata excitedly talk about a good test store
he’d gotten that day. Hinata starts to pull away when they reach his front
gate, only for Oikawa to pull him back into his arms.
Hinata enjoys the feeling of Oikawa’s arms around his neck, and the feeling of
Oikawa’s toned muscles under his arms as he wraps them around his mid-section.
Hinata rests his chin on Oikawa’s chest, looking up at the older male with a
small smile as a light blush reddened his cheeks.
“You’re so cute, Shou-chan.” Oikawa murmurs softly. He’d started using the
nickname soon after they’d made it official, and it makes Hinata simply glow.
“You’re cute too, Tooru-san.” Hinata mumbles, his voice muffled as he hides his
face in the taller boy’s chest. Hinata listens to the hum of Oikawa chuckling
before he feels a finger under his chin, lifting his head back up.
It takes Hinata a moment to register the feeling on his lips. He isn’t fazed by
Oikawa leaning in, the brown haired boy often rubbed their noses together or
simply pressed their foreheads together when he wanted a moment of contact, but
never before had Oikawa kissed Hinata.
Hinata doesn’t pull away though. Instead he curls his fingers in Oikawa’s
Seijoh jacket and follows his lead, kissing back just as softly as the older
boy is kissing him. The kiss leaves his lips tingling after Oikawa pulls away,
and he wants more of that feeling.
“One more.” Hinata whispers against Oikawa’s lips, his eyes still closed. He
feels Oikawa smile before the pressure of another kiss, and Hinata happily
kisses back. Hinata feels Oikawa’s arms move from his shoulders and his hands
curl in the smaller boy’s hair. Hinata makes a soft noise in the back of his
throat when Oikawa tugs slightly, and that only seems to spur him on more.
They both pull out of the kiss panting, foreheads pressed together and smiles
on their faces. Hinata is the first to laugh, squeezing Oikawa softly. “That
surprised me.” He says.
Oikawa brushes their noses together. “I hope it was a good surprise.” He
murmurs, his breath ghosting over Hinata’s lips.
“Yeah.”
 
===============================================================================
 
In late September the pair go hiking. Oikawa finds a hiking trail a short
forty-five minutes away from Miyagi and surprises Hinata with his plan. Hinata,
of course, is so on board with the idea. They are both nearly vibrating with
excitement on the train, hands linked and smiles wide.
They sign in at the bottom of the trail ten minutes after the train arrives,
and are on the trail minutes later, hands swaying together as they walk in the
perfect fall air. Hinata giggles as he jumps from one large rock to another.
Oikawa has to hide a smirk at one point as the smaller boy runs out of rocks to
jump on, a pout forming on his face. His lips curve into a shy smile when
Oikawa gifts him with a flower, blushing as the taller male tucks it in his
hair behind his ear. The rest of the trail is short, but filled with laughs and
only one near-death experience. (Hinata nearly slipped off a rock, Oikawa
nearly had a heart attack). After only about a half hour walk, the pair are
greeted with a small crowd, signifying the end of the trail.
“Where’s the water fall?” Hinata asks, looking around.
Oikawa frowns. “It should be here, the website said it was at the end of the
trail.”
“Mommy, mommy, I wanna get closer!”
“Sasaki, I told you before, we can only look at the waterfall from here.”
Hinata deflates next to Oikawa, his shoulders slumping. “We can only view it?”
he pouts.
“Oh hell no.” Oikawa murmurs, looking at Hinata for a moment before grinning.
“Let’s get closer.”
Hinata blinks. “How? There’s no way to get around there.”
Oikawa tugs Hinata closer to whisper in his ear. “We’ll go off the trail.” He
pulls away with a grin, pointing to a divide in the trees next to the viewing
area.
Hinata pauses before smiling brightly, nodding. “Let’s do it.”
Oikawa grins, leading Hinata around the small crowd of people by his hand and
glancing around to make sure no one is looking at them before sliding between
the branches and trees around them.
The trek to the waterfall is not nearly as easy as the trek to the viewing
area. It isn’t cleared for the purpose of walking easily; it isn’t even really
a path. It's mostly just Oikawa shoving branches out of their way as he heads
in the general direction of the small waterfall.
But when they make it, to the little river that is the source of the waterfall,
it’s worth it. The area is mostly just grass, dirt, and rocks, but steadily
falling orange leaves and soft breeze made the area inviting.
Hinata can see why they’d prevent people from getting to this area, and he
almost feels guilty for following Oikawa and sneaking around everyone else and
getting closer, but it is worth it. He deduces it’s worth it when he looks to
his right and sees his boyfriend, eyes closed and chin tipped up to the sky.
Oikawa looks like he is at peace, simply listening to the area around them, and
Hinata decides that is much better than just sitting alone in either of their
rooms.
Not that there’s anything wrong with that – but getting out was nice too!
Hinata must have gotten distracted looking around – enjoying himself – because
he doesn’t notice Oikawa move, doesn’t notice him collect some water in his
hands, and doesn’t notice those same hands over his head until he feels the
cool river water on his head, dripping down his back.
The shorter boy lets out a shriek, jumping away from the laughing Oikawa.
Hinata turns back, pout on his face. Oikawa continues laughing, unsuspecting as
Hinata collects river water in his empty water bottle and creeps up next to
him.
Tipping the water bottle over Oikawa’s head, Hinata watches as Oikawa’s hair is
drenched with water. Oikawa lets out his own scream, trying to bat away the
water and only getting it on his clothing.
They're both laughing in the end, Oikawa laying on his back in a puddle of
water, Hinata standing at his feet with his arms wrapped around his stomach.
It's loud cackling, and Hinata wonders if the people at the viewing area can
hear them. Even if they can, he doesn't care.
Oikawa shifts, grabbing a towel from his bag and rubbing his hair to dry it
before wiping his face. When he pulls the towel away, he lets out a whine. “I
was really hoping my concealer was waterproof today!” He pouts, letting the
towel fall to his knees. Hinata can see a light brown smudge on the wet towel,
and he tilts his head.
“Concealer?” He asks, kneeling down in front of his boyfriend. “Why do you need
concealer?”
Oikawa makes a face. “Acne scars.” He mumbles, scratching one of his cheeks.
Hinata nods slowly in understanding. Acne sucks! And for someone like Oikawa,
who’s in the news and fawned over by so many people all the time, Hinata can
see why he'd want to put a perfect face in front of the people who have a
warped perception of what he's actually like. Media only really ever has
expectations – and anything can make or break someone in the spotlight.
“Well,” Hinata says, reaching out and just barely touching his fingers to
Oikawa’s cheek gently. “You don't have to wear makeup around me,” he gives
Oikawa a wide smile, “Because I already think you're perfect.”
 
===============================================================================
 
Oikawa convinced Hinata to apply to Aoba Jousai, even though Hinata had his
heart set on Karasuno. Oikawa had said it was the least he could do after they
helped him get better at volleyball, and Hinata couldn’t argue, because he
wouldn’t be where he is skill wise without the Seijoh team.
Oikawa is unhappy when he hears that Hinata hadn’t made it into Seijoh, and
apparently everyone else on the team had been disappointed. Iwaizumi even
expresses his disappointment when the three of them hang out, stating that
Hinata’s speed would surprise any opponent they’d face.
“It’s bullshit, frankly.” Iwaizumi says, munching on a snack Hinata’s mother
had made for the three of them. They’d gone to Hinata’s house after practice
for dinner, and Hinata’s mother was delighted to meet Hinata’s boyfriend and
new friend. Natsu had also been excited to have more people to play with that
evening.
“Iwa-chan, language.” Oikawa teases, earning himself a shove via Iwaizumi’s
hand to his face.
Hinata giggles at the two of them, finishing up his own snack. “It’s okay
though.” He says. “I’ll still come see you guys, and we might even get some
practice matches together.”
“Still, it’s not fair~” Oikawa whines, wrapping an arm around his boyfriend’s
shoulder and nuzzling his cheek. “I was looking forward to having lunch
together and walking home.”
Hinata presses a chaste kiss to Oikawa’s lips, ignoring his boyfriend’s comment
of ‘gay~’ as he pulls away. “We’ll still spend time together.” Hinata murmurs.
“We have the weekends, and Skype to talk.”
Oikawa nods, nuzzling Hinata’s cheek again. “I know.” He murmurs. “I’ll still
miss you though.”
“I’ll miss you too.”
Hinata is just glad he didn’t have to choose between the school of his dreams
and the school he was indebted to.
 
===============================================================================
 
To celebrate Christmas and both parties finishing their winter break homework,
Oikawa and Hinata decide to go skating together. It's a spur of the moment
decision while they're relaxing at Hinata’s house, and overhear his mother
talking about the rink closing soon with Natsu.
“Do you know how to ice skate, Tooru-san?” Hinata asks, pressing close to
Oikawa from where he's sitting next to him. The smaller boy rests his chin on
Oikawa’s shoulder, his nose brushing against his cheek.
Oikawa nods, turning towards Hinata and rubbing their noses together. “I
learned when I was little.” He says. “I haven’t gone in a while though.”
Hinata sits up quickly. “We should go!” He grins. “It’s walking distance from
here, and it’d be a really fun end of our vacation.”
A wide grin spreads across Oikawa’s face as he nods. “Absolutely, let’s do it.”
He watches as Hinata jumps up with a cheer and runs off to tell his mother.
It doesn’t take them long to put on their boots and jackets and head out,
bundled up for the cool weather of winter. They walk hand-in-hand into town,
quickly locating the rink and renting their skates. Finding a spot to put on
their skates is a different issue, considering the area is absolutely packed.
Hinata is standing on his toes, searching for a bench with a hand above his
eyes when he is suddenly pulled to the side quickly. He nearly trips over his
feet as he follows Oikawa, letting him lead him to a bench that the other had
located.
Oikawa sits down, pulling Hinata down next to him and effectively squishing him
between Oikawa and the strangers next to him. Oikawa quickly slips on and ties
up his skates, practically vibrating with excitement. Hinata would be too, if
he hadn’t been having the hardest time trying to tie his skates.
“Shou-chan, do you need help?” Oikawa asks, kneeling down in front of him. He
smiles when Hinata nods with a light blush dusting his cheeks, quickly tying
the skate’s laces with a soft hum.
The pair stands up together, wobbling slightly on their feet before finding
their footing and heading towards the rink. They carefully enter the rink,
gripping the side fences that had been set up to find their balance.
“It’s just like riding a bike!” Hinata grins as if he doesn’t have a vice grip
of death on the metal fencing.
Oikawa laughs, already having found his balance. “I’ll be right back, I wanna
do a couple laps to get the hang of it again.” He waits for Hinata to nod
before skating off gracefully.
Hinata wobbles, looking down at his shaking feet and pulling himself forward
via the fence. He feels a hand ruffle his hair as Oikawa passes him and he
looks up to see his boyfriend skating backwards, waving at him happily.
On Oikawa’s third lap, Hinata lets go of the fencing and starts sliding his
feet back and forth awkwardly. He barely makes any distance before Oikawa is
back by his side. The high schooler stands in front of him, holding out both
his hands with a smile. “I’ll skate backwards and you can get the hang of it
again.”
Hinata smiles, taking Oikawa’s hands and doing exactly that. It doesn’t take
long until he gets the hang of moving his feet properly to push himself forward
on the ice, and they can skate hand-in-hand.
Hinata could have skated with Oikawa forever. The weather is amazing, the
atmosphere around them is full of excitement and happiness, and the fingers
laced between Hinata’s are warm.
The atmosphere is ruined when rowdy college students come racing past them,
obviously in some kind of race against each other.
“Let’s move over a bit, Shou-chan.” Oikawa murmurs, beginning to guide Hinata
to the edge of the rink.
Hinata isn’t entirely sure what happens next, but suddenly he is shoved from
one side, he feels Oikawa jerk on his other side and assumes he’s been shoved,
and suddenly the ice is a lot closer to Hinata’s face then it had been before.
They both land on the ice, hands out in front of them to catch themselves.
“Nck.” Oikawa grunts next to Hinata, his face contorted in pain when Hinata
looks at him.
“Tooru-san?” Hinata whispers, shifting to his knees on the ice as Oikawa moves
to sitting on his hip.
“I landed on my knee.” Oikawa says, looking down at his right leg and gripping
his knee before beginning to massage it softly.
Hinata’s eyes widen. “We should go home and ice it.”
Oikawa shakes his head. “Shouyou, it’s okay, I’m fine.” He insists. “I’ll just
rest for a few minutes, it’s no big deal, I’ll be back on the ice in no time.”
Even as he says it, any shift makes his face contort in pain as he moves his
knee.
Hinata shakes his head quickly, helping Oikawa stand and letting the brunette
lean against him. “We’re going home right now and getting ice on your knee.” He
says, interrupting Oikawa’s protests. “No buts!”
Oikawa lets Hinata slide them both off the ice, lets him help him take off his
skates and slip back into his shoes, and lets Hinata take the brunt of Oikawa’s
weight as they walk back to his house. Hinata immediately orders Oikawa into
his room, insisting that he’d get them snacks and whatever Oikawa needed for
the rest of the night – he has to rest his knee and Hinata isn’t going to let
him do anything at all!
And that’s how the pair ended up sitting on Oikawa’s floor, facing his TV and
leaning against his bed, watching a movie on the last night of winter break.
Hinata dutifully gets Oikawa anything he wants or needs, switching from ice
packs to heated pads every twenty minutes.
“Shou-chan, I think that’s enough.” Oikawa murmurs, stroking the other boy’s
cheek. “My knee feels a lot better, thank you. Please just relax now.”
Hinata looks up at his boyfriend, worry clear on his face. Oikawa presses a
soft kiss to his lips, pulling away with a smile. “I’ll tell you if it starts
bothering me again.” He promises. That seems to satisfy Hinata and he rests his
head on Oikawa’s left thigh, continuing to watch the movie.
Hinata falls asleep to the feeling of Oikawa’s fingers running through his
hair, and the sound of a movie playing softly in the background.
~
Oikawa smiles down at his sleeping sunshine, fingers tangled in his hair. “Ah,
you were so worried about me you tired yourself out.” He murmurs softly,
tugging slightly on a strand of unruly hair, pressing it down and continuing to
pet Hinata’s head when he stirs.
“I wonder what you’ll be like when I break you.”
 
===============================================================================
 
Their first time together is quiet, breath melding into one as their lips meet
time and time again, pulling back only to breathe in each other’s air. It’s
slow; hips moving against each other through clothing, hands gripping at
sheets, shirts, clawing at bare skin for more, more, more.
Oikawa will remember it; Hinata’s naked form below him, perfect, smooth skin
just waiting to be kissed, and bitten, and bruised. He learns quickly that
Hinata enjoys being touched, sliding his lips along the smaller boy’s collar
bone while his hands roam, rubbing his sides, one hand travelling further down
to his thigh while the other slips under Hinata’s arching back to slide against
the ridges of his spine. Oikawa loves touching Hinata; loves seeing the marks
he can make on his skin, loves seeing the flush of embarrassment and arousal,
loves how his nipples perk up as Oikawa swirls his tongue around them. Hinata’s
so responsive, and Oikawa loves it. He’s vocal, letting out little gasps and
moans, even needy whining when he finally has enough and needs to come.
Hinata will remember it as well; remember how hot he was, how much he wanted
release only to have Oikawa move his hand further away from where he was
aching. Oikawa seems to love any sound he makes, returning the sounds with
statements - ranging from how good Hinata is being, to how good he feels under
him, to how good he looks, needy and wanting – to just sucking on his skin,
marking him, claiming Hinata as his own.
Hinata drinks it all in, the praise, he feeling of Oikawa’s hands on him, the
feeling of their cocks sliding together. It’s not enough, just rubbing against
each other, and he takes matters into his own hands – quite literally. Oikawa’s
hips stutter when he reaches down and wraps his hand around both of their
cocks, his grip loose and nervous. It isn’t until Oikawa’s hand covers his that
he gets more confident, following his lover’s lead as they stroke each other to
completion.
Hinata’s the first one to come, arching up against Oikawa’s chest with a moan
of his first name, dropping the honorific. It’s the hottest thing Oikawa’s ever
heard, and he’s coming soon after, burying his face in the crook of Hinata’s
neck and sucking another mark onto his shoulder with a low moan. They ride out
their orgasms together, hips continuing to rock together until Hinata lets out
a soft whine, overstimulated and spent. Oikawa’s awake enough to grab an old
towel and wipe them off before flopping down next to Hinata. The older male
pulls his boyfriend into his arms, nuzzling his nose against the wild orange
hair he loves. Hinata is riddled with love marks he’d made, from his collarbone
down to the inside of his thighs, and he can’t wait to see how they bruise on
Hinata’s fragile skin. They’re both sated and spent, happily falling asleep in
each other’s arms under one blanket.
 
===============================================================================
 
When it comes up, it’s an awkward conversation, to say the least. It’s been the
elephant in the room since they spent a night together, and they’ve both been
avoiding the topic.
They’re going to different schools in April.
It’s not like it’s unusual, Hinata’s been in middle school and Oikawa in high
school since they met. But now they’re both going to be in high school, and
they’d both been so certain that with Hinata’s training with Seijoh he’d be a
shoe-in for a spot among the students. But they have to talk about it.
So when they’re walking home, hand in hand, almost getting to the point where
they split off and go their separate ways, Hinata’s working up the courage to
say something, opening his mouth and—
“We’re going to different high schools.”
It’s Oikawa who says it first, his grip on Hinata’s hand tightening just a
fraction. Hinata squeezes his hand back with a shaky nod. “Yeah.”
“We can make it work, we’ve done it for eight months.” Hinata continues,
looking up at his boyfriend. He’s not willing to give him up, never, not
happening, no chance.
“We’ll probably face each other in matches.” Oikawa continues, as if he’s
trying to deter Hinata. Not going to happen!
“And that’s okay! We can both improve, and when we face each other, it’ll be
even more interesting – and more fun!” Hinata gives Oikawa a wide smile. “And
we’ll probably be able to see each other during practice matches, maybe even
training camps, who knows!” He stops them both, wrapping his arms around Oikawa
tightly, nearly knocking the other over with the force behind it.
“I’m not giving up on us.” Hinata mumbles into Oikawa’s chest, nuzzling against
it as he feels a hand card through his hair.
“I’m not going to give up on us either, Shou-chan.” Everything about Oikawa is
soft in that moment; his voice, his smile, his eyes, the feeling of his fingers
carding through Hinata’s hair, everything. Hinata can’t get enough of it.
He can’t wait to see what Karasuno High School has in store for him, either.
Chapter End Notes
     This isn't going to be updated quickly but! I'm hoping it'll be
     updated monthly.
     I hope
***** Chapter 1 *****
Chapter Summary
     This chapter takes place during the majority of episode 2 of the
     anime
Chapter Notes
     unedited and unbeta'd because i'm late!!! but i managed to update
     once a month!!! so tell me if i made any errors anywhere my
     friends!!! and obviously enjoy!!!
See the end of the chapter for more notes
Hinata starts school on April 1st of that year at Karasuno High School. Oikawa
offered to drop him off, but what was the point of making him late even if they
got to hold hands a little more? While he thoroughly enjoys spending time with
his boyfriend, Hinata did not want to sacrifice his education for a little more
time together. Hinata had promised to text him whenever he could. He intended
to keep that promise.
And keep that promise he did! In the ten minutes between classes, he’d quickly
pull out his phone and send Oikawa a quick message about how his day was going,
and of course ask him about his. They were lucky enough that their school
schedules were similar and had a few minutes to talk before between the time
that the previous teacher left and the next teacher came in for classes.
After school, when they both have practice, they say a quick goodbye to each
other before Hinata scrambles down to gymnasium two, right where the Karasuno
Volleyball Club would surely be waiting.
Instead, something else happens entirely.
                                       ~
Kageyama Tobio has never been one to get close to people. It took time out of
his day when his friends wanted to do something other than practice. Kageyama
only wants to get better. He only wants to be the best.
He wants to prove that he doesn’t need him.
So when the gym is empty before practice, he decides to get warmed up with some
simple overhand serves. It's a good way to get his blood flowing, and isn’t too
taxing on his energy – he’d still have ample amount for practice.
Kageyama is in the middle of a toss for a serve when he hears feet hitting the
gym floor, assuming it’s the rest of the team. It wasn’t until he hears a yell
of, “Why are you here?!” that he takes a moment to glance at the entrance of
the gym, the volleyball forgotten.
Standing in the doorway is the orange-headed shrimp from junior high.
Kageyama can only wonder what the hell his name is as the volleyball comes down
on his head. “Ow.”
                                       ~
There’s no mistake, standing in front of Hinata is his one and only rival,
Kageyama Tobio. What is he doing at Karasuno? Shouldn’t he be at some elite
school? Shouldn’t he be literally anywhere else but Karasuno?
Kageyama blinks. “I met you last year.” His expression turns flat. “But I don’t
know your name.”
Of course.“My name is Hinata Shouyou!” Hinata yells, and the yelling doesn’t
stop there. It doesn’t stop when Kageyama calls him lousy – he’s not lousy! –
it doesn’t stop when Hinata declares that he would beat Kageyama, he’ll beat
the King of the Court, and it certainly doesn’t stop when Kageyama tells Hinata
not to call him King.
When the upperclassmen come in, they completely disregard Hinata in favour of
Kageyama. Hinata figures out that the guy with the shaved head is Tanaka, and
the one with the soft voice is ‘Suga-san’. They keep talking to Kageyama,
asking his height, and even as Hinata tries to greet them, they continue their
conversation, and Hinata will absolutely not have that, so of course; more
yelling. It has to keep going to get the upperclassmen’s attention while they
talk to Kageyama – how can they ignore Hinata? He has the brightest hair there!
Finally making them notice him, Tanaka lets out a yell.
It’s surprising, at first, but apparently they’d been there, at the match!
Hinata’s heart sinks a little, because they definitely must think he’s not
much, but it doesn’t seem like they think less of him when Tanaka says he’s got
guts, and Suga-san says that his jumps are awesome.
“But you haven’t grown much since.” Tanaka waves his hand above Hinata’s head
teasingly.
“I may be little, but I can jump!” Hinata stands up as tall as he can, as if it
would make a difference between his and Tanaka’s height. “I’ll be Karasuno’s
Ace!”
Tanaka’s face doesn’t quite scream ‘I believe in you’ as he leans in with a
mocking, “The newbie says he’s gonna be the ace? You’ve got some nerve.”
Thank God for Suga-san, who steps up to defend Hinata, stating that it’s good
to be ambitious. And it is! If you have dreams, ambition was one of the things
you needed to reach them.
“I’ll do my best!” Hinata stands proudly, as he always does (or tries to).
“Hey.” Kageyama’s voice from behind Hinata doesn’t make him feel any better
about the position he’s in. “If you want to be the ace, I hope you’ve
improved.”I have improved. I’ve spent nine months improving. “If you goof
around, you’ll waste another three years.”
I’ll show you.
“What did you say?” Hinata turns his head, a frown plastered on his face. “What
did you say?” he snaps, turning to completely face Kageyama. “I played with all
my might.” But…“But don’t tell me everything I’ve done is a waste!”
The captain starts saying something, probably about them working together, but
it might as well go in one ear and out the other. They’re not listening, but
Hinata does pick up a name – Daichi? – that must be the captain’s. Hinata’s so
infuriated by Kageyama that Daichi’s voice doesn’t even register to him as he
challenges Kageyama. They fight over what exactly the challenge is going to be
on, because they can’t very well have a one-on-one match, or have a passing
contest. He pays no mind to anything else, not the Vice Principal walking in
the gym, not Tanaka warning him to behave, as he continues, raising his arm to
point at his rival.
“Serve! I’ll return them all.” Hinata was yelling once again, ignoring
everything else but Kageyama. “I was only able to get one of your serves last
year.” Right in the face… But I’ve been training with the Seijoh team. I’ve
been training with one of the top four schools in the Prefecture.“I’m not the
same person as last year.”
Kageyama only looks taken-aback for a split second before he recovers, walking
over to a volleyball. “Not the same as last year, huh?” he picks up a
volleyball with one hand, holding it out with a smirk on his face. “I’m not the
same as last year, either.”
There was more talking behind Hinata as Kageyama walked over to the net, but
Hinata’s only thoughts were to relax. Relax and watch the ball. He’d trained
for hours with Oikawa, Iwaizumi, and the entirety of the Seijoh volleyball team
on receiving, on everything he needed to know about volleyball to become an
amazing player. An ace.
Kageyama bounced the ball a couple times before he gripped it in his hands.
“Here it comes.” He said, the only warning that Hinata got before he threw the
ball up in the air for a jump serve.
Hinata isn’t too surprised to see a jump serve, he’d spent the last nine months
around them after all, but it is surprising to see Kageyama making a jump
serve. He hadn’t used them in junior high at all. Kageyama’s form reminds
Hinata a lot of Oikawa’s when he served. Considering they went to the same
junior high, it’s not all that shocking that Kageyama had picked up a few
things from the current Seijoh captain.
So it’ll be like Tooru-san’s… Hinata braces himself for a powerful serve,
reminded of the ones that left his arms tingly and red for hours afterwards.
Kageyama’s serve is strikingly similar to Hinata’s boyfriend’s (who had a serve
that Hinata never mastered receiving) but it lacks the same power as Oikawa’s
serve. While it still has power behind it, it isn’t the bone-shaking power that
Hinata has become familiar with. The sound of skin hitting the volleyball makes
Hinata come back to reality as Kageyama’s serve comes right for him. Hinata has
no problem receiving a serve that comes straight at him, though it did bounce
up into the air rather than into the direction he wants it to go. Without
teammates, it’d be a point for Kageyama. But with teammates, it’d be a nice
receive for the Setter.
For someone like Kageyama.
Hinata gets into his position again, revelling in the familiar sting on his
arms, fighting to hide the triumphant smirk that threatens to forms on his
lips. “One more.” He says. Movement in the corner of his eye catches his
attention; the Vice Principal leading Daichi out of the gym doors. Hinata
wonders why for only a second before his focus is back on Kageyama.
Kageyama serves again, allowing Hinata to continue receiving. Hinata isn’t sure
how long their exchange goes on – it could be minutes, it could be hours – his
only focus is on Kageyama and his serves. Serve, receive. Serve, receive.
Serve, receive. Hinata receives every one of Kageyama’s serves, completely in
the zone and unaware of everything else around him.
                                       ~
Sugawara Koushi remembers watching the match between Kitagawa Daiichi Junior
High and Yukigaoka Junior High. He remembers the speed that the tiny Captain of
Yukigaoka had under his belt, and how he dived for the ball and brought his
team together. He remembers the passionate third year junior high student, who
smiled and lifted up his teammates. Suga also remembers that Hinata had not
been the best player in the world. So when Hinata is flawlessly receiving
Kageyama’s serves, he’s genuinely surprised.
“Suga-san…” He hears Tanaka say to his right.
“Yeah.” Suga crosses his arms, glancing outside to were the Vice Principal is
talking to Daichi, before looking back at the two first years. “Hinata’s a lot
better than he was last June.”
“How much practice did this kid do?”
“Looks like a lot.”
                                       ~
Hinata is sweating, but having the time of his life returning Kageyama’s
serves. Some of the balls go awry, which is normal if you didn’t receive the
ball correctly, but Hinata reveled in the look on Kageyama’s face as the pair
keep at it.
“Hey!” Daichi yells between serves, drawing both of the first year’s attention
to him. He looks different than before; did he get in trouble with the Vice
Principal? He waits until Kageyama walks over from the other side of the net to
stand next to Hinata before continuing, “I want you to listen to me.” Kageyama
and Hinata, both panting and thoroughly exhausted, nod and face Daichi.
“I don’t know what your motive was for attending Karasuno. But I’m sure you
came here with victory on your mind.”
Hinata steps up. “Yes!”
“Of course.” Kageyama says from his left.
Daichi tells them about how Karasuno was one of the top teams in the prefecture
until a few years prior, bringing up the single time the team had even gone to
nationals. They’re neither weak, nor strong. Other schools call them the
‘Fallen Rivals’, and ‘The Crows That Can’t Fly’. He tells them about what he
remembers from when Karasuno competed in the spring nationals, that students
from his neighborhood had competed against the country’s best teams, in the
biggest gymnasium in Tokyo. How it gave him goosebumps.
Immediately, Hinata’s reminded of sitting on his bike in middle school, stopped
in front of a store and watching the TV as it plays that famous match. Just
like when I saw Little Giant.
“We’re going to go there again.” Daichi says, crossing his arms in front of his
chest.
Hinata can almost hear cheering, as if he’s standing in the middle of the
Karasuno side of the court in the grand gymnasium in Tokyo. As if he’s looking
around at all the people who came to see them play at nationals. As if he’s
looking at all the people who are there routing for him. He’s going to make it
there. He’s going to make it to the same court as the Little Giant.
“There are many schools dreaming of going to nationals.” Thanks, Kageyama.
Really appreciate your input. One hundred percent necessary, way to ruin the
mood.
Tanaka won’t take that, “Y-You bastard-“
“Don’t worry.” Daichi interrupts with a straight face. “I mean what I say.”
That shuts Kageyama up quickly. Hinata believes Daichi. He believes in Daichi.
“For us to make that happen, our team has to be unified. And we can’t have the
vice principal keeping an eye on us.” Daichi begins walking closer to the two
first-years, and Hinata notes that Tanaka and Suga-san seem to move away from
him. “I’m not telling you guys to become buddies.” Daichi stops in front of
them, the sun’s light from behind him casting a shadow over his face. “Even if
you were enemies on the opposite sides of the net in junior high,” Daichi’s
calm words don’t change the fact that his expression is nerve-racking, “I need
you to understand that now, you’re on the same side.”
Daichi finally looks at the two boys, his face sending tremors through their
bodies as he continues. “Do you get it?” He rests his right hand on Kageyama’s
right shoulder, “No matter how outstanding you are,” He reaches up to place his
left hand on Hinata’s left shoulder, “No matter how willing you are to give it
your all,”
What happens next happens quickly. Hinata and Kageyama are being moved by
Daichi, obediently following the captain where he wants them to go, “If you
fail to get along and hinder your teammates,” They end up outside with a piece
of paper pushed against both of their foreheads as Daichi finishes, “You’re not
wanted!”
Daichi stands in front of the gym doors with his arms spread as the two
dumbfounded first years can only stare at him. “Until you realize that you’re
both teammates, you won’t be participating in this club!” And with that, Hinata
and Kageyama watch at the sliding gym doors close in front of them.
It takes both Hinata and Kageyama a moment to process what had happened, both
of them staring at the metal doors as birds chirped around them in the evening
air. Hinata looks up at the piece of paper literally sitting on his unruly hair
before it finally processes.
Both boys scream.
“What does it mean to realize we’re teammates? How do you do it?” Hinata looks
at Kageyama, expecting him to have the answer.
“Who knows?!” Kageyama, you are officially no help.
Hinata gives up trying to work with Kageyama, looking at the doors again.
“Please let me in! Please let me play volleyball! I’ll get along with Kageyama
too! Please!” Hinata keeps pleading, keeps yelling, keeps doing everything and
anything he can to get back inside that gym. He didn’t spend nine months
training only to be turned away! It isn’t going to happen! No sir!
And then there is a hand on his shoulder, a pull, and he's on his back. “Out of
my way!” Damn you Kageyama!Hinata lays there, staring up at the sky. Maybe it
isn’t too late to transfer to Seijoh… If he isn’t allowed to play volleyball at
Karasuno… Maybe…
(It's wishful thinking. Extremely wishful thinking.)
“I apologize!” Kageyama yells at the door. Hinata just stays on his back,
staring up at the birds. I bet the birds would be allowed to play. “I swear
I’ll get along with this guy!” You’re a dirty liar, Kageyama.“Please let me
participate in the club!”
Hinata hears the doors open next, but still doesn’t sit up. His name isn’t
being called, he doesn’t hear any indication that they are going to be let
inside the gym.
Daichi’s voice, “Are you sure you mean that?”
Sounds of Kageyama struggling, before his voice as well. “If I had to cooperate
with that guy in a match, I’d rather receive, spike, and toss all by myself.”
Hinata springs up from where he’d been laying. “How could you say that?!”
Daichi laughs, leaning against the door. “I can’t believe you just told me your
true feelings. But I think that’s a good thing.” He looks at the pair, a smile
still on his face as Hinata walks up behind Kageyama. “Still, in volleyball,
you can’t drop the ball, you can’t hold the ball, and one player can’t touch
the ball two times in a row. How do you plan to play by yourself?”
“I don’t!” Hinata yells, his fists curling in front of his chest, surprising
both Kageyama and Daichi. “I want to play with a real team! I spent the last
nine months working with a team that wasn’t my own. I want to be a part of this
team!”
Daichi pauses before smiling. “I’m glad you know that, Hinata. It’ll help you
learn to work with Kageyama.” And the doors shut once more.
Hinata grits his teeth before looking at Kageyama. “Let me ask you something.
Are you actually stupid?”
Kageyama doesn’t answer, but he does click his tongue.
It isn’t long until Hinata is hanging off the gym window, watching the practice
unfold. Three other people that he hasn’t met had joined the practice, and he's
dying to get in there as soon as he can. He just needs to figure out a way.
“The court and the ball are right in front of me, and it sucks that I’m not
allowed in.” Hinata rests his head against the window. “Help from Tooru-san
would be great right now…” he mumbles softly, biting his lip. If only.
He hears Kageyama stand up and looks at him. “Damn it! I have no time to waste
like this. I’m going to make them let me in.”
“You realize we’re teammates now?” Hinata asks, jumping off the wall and onto
his feet. That’s all we have to do.
“I’m a force to be reckoned with. That’s reason enough for me to be on the
team.” There goes that plan.
“Geh – As expected from the Kin--“ Hinata covers his mouth quickly, the name
dying in his throat. “What are you planning to do, anyway?”
“I’ll challenge them to a two-on-two match. If we win, they have to let us in.”
Kageyama puts his hands on his hips. “If we team up, we’ll appear friendly no
matter how we feel. That will speed things up.”
“We’re going to challenge our senpais? On the first day? What if we lose?”
“We won’t lose. You have me on your side.”
“Eh?” Is this guy for real? That’s now how teams work! Does he really mean what
he says?
More talking, because it doesn’t seem like Kageyama ever shuts up. “You just
need to do the best you can to not get in my way.”
Oh no, not happening. “Huh?” Hinata frowns, standing on his toes to be level
with Kageyama. “Do you think anyone would agree to that and be all, ‘Yes, I’ll
do the best I can’? You saw me return all your serves and you still want me out
of your way?! You have got to be kidding me!”
“So what do you suggest then? Keep gazing through that window?”
Hinata pauses, before looking down. “In junior high, I was only in one real
match, the one against your school. We didn’t have enough team member to apply
for a tournament ‘til then. I couldn’t have real practice, so I trained
wherever I could. The gym, hallways, random corners…” Hinata reaches up,
resting his hand on the back of his neck and letting his arm hang. “So that
first tournament… When I stood at the center of the court in that huge
gymnasium... I felt the spotlight on me, and I got worked up! Like, ‘Gwaaa!’”
Hinata lets go of his neck, his hands falling to his sides again. “I wanted to
stay there, but…”
He hears Kageyama shift, then his voice. “Staying on the court…” he pauses.
“Only the strong can stay.
“Well, what are we going to do? If we don’t go in together, they’ll slam the
door.”
“If I can play volleyball…” Hinata clenches his fists and looks up at Kageyama
before swinging his right arm out and raising his left fist. “I can endure
anything, for a little while! No matter how obnoxious you are, I’ll do my best
to keep from seeing you!”
“That’s my line, you idiot!” Kageyama yells, and Hinata instinctively raises
his arms in surrender.
“Um…” A voice to Hinata’s left says, and he turns to see a beautiful girl with
black hair and dark blue eyes behind pink framed glasses. It's as if everything
behind her disappears and she is in front of a backdrop of light pastels and
sparkles. “Can you let me through?” she asks, bringing Hinata back to reality.
Kageyama and Hinata both move to the side, watching as she enters the gym.
Tanaka runs up, greeting her with “Kiyoko-san, good to see you. I’ll get that
for you.”
“That’s fine, I’ll hold it myself.”
“Kiyoko-san, you’re beautiful as ever today!” Tanaka continues, only to be
ignored as ‘Kiyoko-san’ walks away. Tanaka only pauses for a second before he
grips his upper arms. “It turns me on when she ignores me!”
Suga walks up next to him and quickly closes the door.
This team is nothing like Seijoh.
 
===============================================================================
 
“We could just say that we’ll work together, you know.” Hinata says, sitting on
the steps of the gym later that evening. Kageyama and himself had hung around,
trying to figure out what to do.
“And who says that will work? My plan is better.”
“We’ll go with your plan if mine doesn’t work!” Hinata stands up, glaring at
Kageyama. “Daichi-san said he wanted us to work together. Going up against the
team isn’t working as a team!”
Kageyama grits his teeth as he hears practice finish up inside the gym. “We’re
doing it my way!” he snaps, before tugging Hinata closer and explaining exactly
what they were going to do.
 
===============================================================================
 
“Captain!” Both boys yell from outside the door, standing next to each other.
They wait until the doors are open and Daichi is standing in front of them with
Suga and Tanaka before continuing, “Let us challenge you to a match!”
Hinata ignores Tanaka laughing as he continues. “The two of us against you
senpais.”
“Are these guys for real?” Tanaka laughs.
Hinata and Kageyama look at each other for a moment, “Two, one,” They say
softly before looking back at the upperclassmen again. “We’ll prove that we can
cooperate as a team!”
“I heard them say ‘one, two’…” Suga murmurs as he stares at them.
Tanaka stops laughing to look at Daichi. “But I can’t say I dislike these
guys.”
Daichi looks down at the boys, his arms crossed in front of his chest.
“And what if you lose?”
                                       ~
Kageyama wasn’t going to lose, but he humors Daichi. “We’ll endure any
penalty.” He says confidently.
“Hmm…” Daichi hums. “Then now’s the time. There are two other first-year
applicants besides you guys. It’ll be a three-on-three match against them. We
always play this game every year, just to see what the new members are made
of.”
To Kageyama’s right, Hinata holds his hand up and visibly counts the players on
his fingers before asking, “But how does it become three-on-three? Who’s our
other team member?” Hinata has a point, Kageyama could use a third member to
completely avoid using Hinata entirely.
Daichi looks to his right slightly, at Tanaka. “Tanaka, I want you to be on
Hinata’s side.”
“Eh? Me?”
“You don’t dislike them, right?” Daichi smirks slightly.
“That doesn’t mean I want to play with them.” You’ll have to play with me
anyway, when I make it onto the team.
Daichi sighs. “I see. I thought you’d be the only one here two could discipline
these troublemakers.” It's an obvious trick, and to Kageyama’s surprise Tanaka
falls right into it.
“Oh, well! I guess it can’t be helped.” Tanaka puts his hands on his hips with
a grin. “I’ll do it.” He jumps down in front of Hinata, patting his shoulder.
“Aren’t you glad?”
Daichi continues. “And if you lose the match, as long as we third-years are
here,” Daichi looks right at Kageyama, “Kageyama will never play setter.”
Kageyama can practically feel his heart shrivel up and die, and Hinata has the
gall to ask if that was all. If Kageyama can’t play setter, he can’t become the
best setter out there. He wouldn’t be able to surpass the one person he needed
to surpass.
“That’s because our team can’t win with a self-centered setter.” Daichi says,
staring down at Kageyama’s frowning face. “A guy who banks on his skills, but
loses.”
Kageyama grits his teeth, his frown deepening.
“What’s the matter? I’m not ejecting you from the club. You’d be good in other
positions, too, wouldn’t you?”
“I’m a setter!” Kageyama yells, his hands curling into fists. There's no
changing that. He would always be a setter.
“Then win.” Daichi says back. “You’re here because you think you can win by
yourself, right?” Kageyama ignores Hinata’s protest of ‘I’m here too!’ and
continues staring down Daichi. “The game will be Saturday morning.”
Hinata, again, doesn’t stop trying to get Daichi to acknowledge him, this time
sticking his hand up and pointing at himself.
“Listen up!” Tanaka says. “Tanaka-senpai’s gonna teach you a lesson.”
Before he can continue, Suga’s hand on the back of the neck of his jacket pulls
him back into the gym, and the doors are once again closed on them with a final
word from Daichi. “Understood?”
Kageyama stares at the door for a moment before turning around and taking his
frustration out on the ground, kicking the dirt roughly. “Damn it!”
“What? Are you mad because you’re gonna eat the penalty?” Hinata asks from
behind him, sitting on the step. “But even if you’re not a setter, I’m sure
you’ll be a regular soon enough.” Kageyama curls his hands into fists, getting
angrier and angrier the more Hinata keeps talking. “Besides, spikers are cooler
than setters anyway. Wham, like that!”
Kageyama spins around, gripping the front of Hinata’s shirt and pulling him
closer. “Bastard!” he yells. “The setter is the team’s control tower! It’s the
setter that handles the ball the most in a match. It’s the most dominant role!
It’s the coolest!”
“Huh?”
“And your favourite, the spike,” Kageyama continues, “You can’t shoot without
the setter.”
“But setter looks difficult, and it’s not very flashy…”
Kageyama clicks his tongue, letting go of Hinata and pushing him back slightly
before resting his hands on his hips, his anger subsiding only slightly. “You…
Have you ever seen a huge tournament live?”
“I haven’t.”
“It’s hard to tell from the angles they show on TV, but if you watch from one
end of the court, you can see the setter’s super-fast toss really well.”
Kageyama moves his hand before quickly waving it in front of himself to the
other side of his body. “Zoom! From one end of the court to the other. The ball
goes past the enemy’s block.” Kageyama holds his hands out to Hinata. “You
think to yourself, ‘Hey! Can they really return that?’. But before the toss,
the spiker jumps, and hits it.” He waves his hand like he was spiking a ball.
“Wham! Like that.”
“O-Oh.”
Kageyama stands up straight again, “Sure, spikers are cool. But… But the setter
tricks the enemy blockers. The setter tears down the walls for the spiker. It’s
difficult, it’s cool, it’s fun, and that’s the setter!”
“I understand now why you want to be setter…” Hinata murmurs, watching
Kageyama.
“Kageyama will never play setter.”
Kageyama curses, his hands curling into fists at his sides. In volleyball, he
knows what he is. He’s a setter. He always will be a setter. The thought of
that being taken away by a team he hasn’t even played with yet – from a team
he’s already screwing up with – he doesn’t like it. It’s not a good thought,
not being a setter. The setter.
“All you have to do is win.” Hinata continues. “You were full of confidence
taking on the senpais, weren’t you?”
Kageyama will admit, Hinata has a point. He can’t get anxious; he has to remain
focused. He won’t rely on Hinata, not with what he saw last year, it’s not
happening, but he can send tosses to Tanaka, the second year. It’s decided,
then.
“Hey,” Kageyama says, pointing at Hinata. (He doesn’t find it amusing that
having his arm straight out is level with the red-head’s face. Definitely
doesn’t.) “We need to get as much practice in as we can before Saturday.”
Hinata perks up, nodding quickly, before his face falls. “We can’t use the gym,
though…”
There’s loud, gross, throat clearing to Kageyama’s right, and Tanaka’s head
poking up next to the window. “Oh, yes.” He says loudly, loud enough for both
first years to hear. “Morning practice is at seven AM tomorrow, right?”
 “Of course, but why did you ask that all of a sudden?”
“Oh, uh, well… You know me. Don’t want to be late.”
“That doesn’t stop you.”
Kageyama glances at Hinata, who’s already looking at him. “Tomorrow.”
                                       ~
Hinata starts walking, heading towards his bike, Kageyama keeping pace with
him.
“Five AM.” Kageyama says, speeding up slightly, and Hinata keeps the pace.
“Don’t be late.” He snaps back.
“You don’t be late.”
They keep walking, speeding up, until they’re both running, sprinting, trying
to beat each other. Hinata lengthens his stride to match Kageyama’s and they
make it to the front gates before Hinata realizes he’s forgotten his bag.
“Crap!”
He makes it back to the gym in record time, slinging his bag over his shoulder
after digging his phone out of the pocket. He flips it open to check his
messages, immediately reading Oikawa Tooru – 3 Missed Calls,followed by a text
from his boyfriend requesting that he call him after practice. Hinata has to
make it home first, which will take even more time if he’s walking and talking
on his phone. He opens Skype on his phone, sending Oikawa a quick message.
 
     [3:45:38 PM] meat buns = ●‿●:finished practice! if you could even
     CALL it that
     [3:45:51 PM] meat buns = ●‿●:I ahve a lot to tlake abt when I get
     home!!!
     [3:46:01 PM] meat buns = ●‿●:have talk phone please
     [3:46:07 PM] meat buns = ●‿●:SKYPE PLEASE WITH THE HTML
     [3:47:55 PM] Aliens Are Real™:Shouyou omg
     [3:48:03 PM] Aliens Are Real™:i'll be waiting, take your time <3
     [3:48:06 PM] meat buns = ●‿●:<3!!!
The smell of food greets Hinata when he walks through the front door of his
home, calling out to his mother that he’s home. There’s already a tray of food
ready for him to take to his room, bless his mom. He lifts it and takes it to
his room, setting it down in front of his laptop on his desk and turning on the
device. While it and Skype loads he takes the opportunity to change, stripping
his uniform and changing into a t-shirt and pyjama pants.
He sits down on his chair as Oikawa calls him on Skype, answering with a wave
and a grin. “Hi, Tooru!” he says, before starting to shovel food into his
mouth.
Oikawa snorts, waving back at Hinata. “Hi, Shou-chan. How was practice?”
Hinata makes an urgent sound, quickly chewing the food in his mouth and
swallowing, gasping when he finally gets it all down. “It didn’t happen.” He
hisses.
Oikawa raises an eyebrow. “It didn’t happen?”
“No! Kageyama Tobio happened!” Hinata says, and Oikawa opens his mouth to say
something, but Hinata doesn’t hear it. “He’s such! A jerk! And because he’s
such a jerk and obviously doesn’t actually understand what teamwork is, and he
got us both kicked out of the gym by the captain!” he huffs, poking at his
food. “Sure, maybe I got competitive when it came to returning all his serves –
which look a lot like yours by the way – but all we had to do to get back into
the gym would say we would work together, not challenge the third years!
Honestly…”
Oikawa’s laugh brings Hinata back to attention. “That does sound like him.” He
hums softly, leaning back in his chair. “So he goes to Karasuno now, huh? I
wonder why…”
Hinata shrugs. “I don’t care about his reasons.” He mutters, shoveling more
food into his mouth. “I just want to play volleyball.”
“I know you do.” Oikawa smiles softly.
“And he won’t rely on me! Him and his thick skull are going to make us lose!”
“What happens if you lose the match against your seniors?”
“Kageyama can’t be a setter at Karasuno.”
Oikawa blinks. “Really?”
Hinata nods, swallowing the food in his mouth. “Captain said as long as the
third years were at Karasuno, Kageyama wouldn’t be a setter.” He sets his bowl
down, staring at his rice. “I… I think he took it really hard. He really likes
being a setter. I don’t want to lose, but losing doesn’t really have any
consequences for me. It does for Kageyama.”
Oikawa smiles, leaning forward on his desk and resting his head on his hand.
“Then I guess you’ll have to win.”
Chapter End Notes
     i hope u all enjoyed please comment telling me how much u like this
     because it fuels me!!! ilu all and i will see u all next month!!!
     ( ♥3♥ )
     july 27th edit: might not have chapter 3 up for another month, I am
     sorry my sweets. life has been Busy but i will try to get it to you
     soon!!!
     march 27th edit: sooo, I know it's been eight months since I updated
     this, and not to worry! i haven't abandoned this fic, it's just been
     very slow going. since I'm relying so heavily on the anime, I
     basically have to watch and write at the same time so I know where
     I'm going. this makes writing it take a long time and it's super
     tiring. but do know that I *am* thinking about this fic, and I think
     about it a lot. Please be patient with me. Though it's not like you
     have a choice.
Please drop_by_the_archive_and_comment to let the author know if you enjoyed
their work!
