An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works
CHAPTER TWO IS OUT!!
Chapters: 2/?
Fandom: Fairy Tail
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Natsu Dragneel/Lucy Heartfilia, Gray Fullbuster/Juvia Lockser, Levy McGarden/Gajeel Redfox, Laxus Dreyar/Mirajane Strauss, Jellal Fernandes/Erza Scarlet
Characters: Lucy Heartfilia, Gray Fullbuster, Erza Scarlet, Juvia Lockser, Levy McGarden, Jellal Fernandes, Laxus Dreyar, Mirajane Strauss, Natsu Dragneel, Wendy Marvell, Gajeel Redfox
Additional Tags: Next Generation, Next-Gen, Fairy Tail Dragon Slayers, Angst, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Magic, Wizards, everyone had babies, ill add more tags as i continue
Summary:
Faye Heartfilia wants nothing more than to leave the guild hall and go on a quest. When a fight breaks out in Fairy Tail, and questions go unanswered, she and her friends have even more of a reason to go. And everyone keeps saying Faye looks like Natsu Dragneel. Who the hell is Natsu Dragneel?!
An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works
Chapters: 1/? Fandom: Fairy Tail Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Natsu Dragneel/Lucy Heartfilia, Gray Fullbuster/Juvia Lockser, Levy McGarden/Gajeel Redfox, Laxus Dreyar/Mirajane Strauss, Jellal Fernandes/Erza Scarlet Characters: Lucy Heartfilia, Gray Fullbuster, Erza Scarlet, Juvia Lockser, Levy McGarden, Jellal Fernandes, Laxus Dreyar, Mirajane Strauss, Natsu Dragneel, Wendy Marvell, Gajeel Redfox Additional Tags: Next Generation, Next-Gen, Fairy Tail Dragon Slayers, Angst, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Magic, Wizards, everyone had babies, ill add more tags as i continue Summary:
Faye Heartfilia wants nothing more than to leave the guild hall and go on a quest. When a fight breaks out in Fairy Tail, and questions go unanswered, she and her friends have even more of a reason to go. And everyone keeps saying Faye looks like Natsu Dragneel. Who the hell is Natsu Dragneel?!
An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works
Chapters: 1/? Fandom: Fairy Tail Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Natsu Dragneel/Lucy Heartfilia, Gray Fullbuster/Juvia Lockser, Levy McGarden/Gajeel Redfox, Laxus Dreyar/Mirajane Strauss, Jellal Fernandes/Erza Scarlet Characters: Lucy Heartfilia, Gray Fullbuster, Erza Scarlet, Juvia Lockser, Levy McGarden, Jellal Fernandes, Laxus Dreyar, Mirajane Strauss, Natsu Dragneel, Wendy Marvell, Gajeel Redfox Additional Tags: Next Generation, Next-Gen, Fairy Tail Dragon Slayers, Angst, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Magic, Wizards, everyone had babies, ill add more tags as i continue Summary: Faye Heartfilia wants nothing more than to leave the guild hall and go on a quest. When a fight breaks out in Fairy Tail, and questions go unanswered, she and her friends have even more of a reason to go. And everyone keeps saying Faye looks like Natsu Dragneel. Who the hell is Natsu Dragneel?!
tags: fluff, angst, sfw, takes place between tokyo and brazil arc, kageyama is embarrassed, hinata’s mom is my favorite, seriously she’s my favorite character i’ve ever written, more platonic than romantic
summary: following the defeat of karosuno in the spring tournament, some of the team members are worried about hinata, who hasn’t shown up in a few days, and is ignoring everyone. kageyama decides to find hinata himself.
ao3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24409771
an: i really like this and might continue it? though maybe it should just stay as a one-shot, who knows. this is my first haikyuu fic, so be gentle plz <3
***
It had been a week since the Spring Tournament.
A week since Karosuno had lost to Kamomedai in the quarter finals.
A week since the team boarded the bus for a final time, and drove home in complete silence.
anyone down to edit the first chapter of a new long term fairy tail fic i’m writing? just want to make sure it looks good and makes sense before i post haha. its a next gen fic! please hmu
does anyone know if there’s any active fairy tail oc advice accounts that are still active? writing a new fic and wanted some feedback! also if anyone just wants to review it but doesn’t have an account or anything then just hmu :)
tags: fluff, angst, sfw, takes place between tokyo and brazil arc, kageyama is embarrassed, hinata’s mom is my favorite, seriously she’s my favorite character i’ve ever written, more platonic than romantic
summary: following the defeat of karosuno in the spring tournament, some of the team members are worried about hinata, who hasn’t shown up in a few days, and is ignoring everyone. kageyama decides to find hinata himself.
ao3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24409771
an: i really like this and might continue it? though maybe it should just stay as a one-shot, who knows. this is my first haikyuu fic, so be gentle plz <3
***
It had been a week since the Spring Tournament.
A week since Karosuno had lost to Kamomedai in the quarter finals.
A week since the team boarded the bus for a final time, and drove home in complete silence.
Kageyama remembered the trip in vivid detail. The quiet sniffles in the back from the third years, trying to remain strong, and the constant fidgeting from both Nishanoya and Tanaka. Hinata was seated in the far left corner of the bus, separated from everyone else. His fever still hadn’t broken, and was ordered to sit as far away from the rest of his team as possible. Kageyama expected some sort of resistance from the ginger-haired ball of energy, but surprisingly, Hinata surrendered voluntarily. He had been far too quiet since the moment he left the court, and hadn’t said more than two words to anyone. When Yachi had quietly suggested to him that someone talk to Hinata, Kageyama had merely scoffed and walked away. There was nothing anyone could say to Hinata. His emotions were more valid than those any of his other teammates were enduring. If Hinata had stayed on the court for ten more minutes…
Kageyama shook his head free of the thought and stared at the vending machine in front of him. He stared intensely at his options. Milk or yogurt…His fingers hovered over the two options.
“Hey Kageyama…” a soft-spoken voice came from behind him.
Kageyama whirled around to face whoever had just denied him the opportunity to make his decision, only to find a concerned Yamaguchi standing behind him. Kageyama’s face softened, “Oh, hey Yamaguchi. Sorry I didn’t know it was you.” He turned back around to face the vending machine, and jabbed the two different buttons, deciding fate would make his decision today, “What’s up?”
“Well uh… I was just wondering if you’d spoken to Hinata at all.”
Kageyama knelt down and grabbed the dispensed milk carton. It was always milk. “No, why would I have.” He peeled the straw off the back and disposed of the plastic wrap, stabbing the carton with the pointy end. He brought the straw to his lips.
“Well it’s just that…” Yamaguchi shifted his weight awkwardly from one foot to the other, “He’s your friend right? Aren’t you worried about him?”
Kageyama paused, and lowered the carton, “Why would I be worried about him. We had a break this week. No practice until Monday, remember?” In reality, Kageyama had been aware of his noticeable absence the past few days. He hadn’t spotted him in the gym or in the club room. In fact, Kageyama couldn’t remember seeing Hinata anytime after getting off of the bus last week. While this seemed somewhat out of the ordinary, it wasn’t cause for any concern. None of the club members had been spending much time together after a Tokyo, and Hinata — who had taken up the brunt of he blame and placed it on himself — seemed like no exception.
“I guess he hasn’t come back to school yet. We think he’s home, either still sick or…”
“Doesn’t feel like he can face any of us.” Kageyama finished Yamaguchi’s sentence. He glanced over at the gym, which was devoid of any life. The sound of balls being hit and sneakers squeaking on the floor were absent. He sighed and turned back to face Yamaguchi, “Well I don’t know what you want me to do about it. Why don’t you just go and visit him. Or I don’t know, text him? You have his number you know.”
“Well I thought about it, but some of us were thinking that it might be a good idea if you’re the one who talk to him, being his parter on the court and all.”
Kageyama choked on his milk at the mention of being Hinata’s partner. He coughed and cleared his voice, “Just because I pass to him doesn’t make us partners. I just set it to whoever has the best chance of getting us a point.” He shrugged, “Hinata just happens to be that person some of the time.”
Yamaguchi’s eyebrows furrowed, “So you aren’t worried for him in the slightest?”
“Nope, not really. He’s probably just moping because he thinks he’s the reason we lost.” Kageyama turned and tossed his empty milk carton into the nearby trashcan.
Yamaguchi’s ears turned red, “How can you say that? You know it wasn’t Hinata’s fault!”
“I never said it was,” Kageyama replied flatly, “I just said that’s probably what he thinks.”
“So you really don’t care?”
“Nope, not it the slightest.” Kageyama waved him off as his strode back into the main building, leaving Yamaguchi at a loss for words.
But he did find himself concerned. He just couldn’t let Yamaguchi know that. Hinata would never miss a chance to practice, let alone a whole week. Sick or not, they’d usually had to drag him out of the gym kicking and screaming. A mirage of scenarios found themselves doing laps inside Kageyama’s head: Hinata was killed by the fever; Hinata was kidnapped by someone while biking to school; Hinata’s family decided to take a sporadic vacation without notifying anyone; or worse, Hinata had decided to quit volleyball.
Kageyama realized he had stopped walking, and was standing in the middle of the hallway, contemplating the different scenarios. “Fucking Yamaguchi…” He murmured to himself as he reached for the phone in his pocket, and found himself absentmindedly searching for Hinata’s number. He stepped to the side and leaned on the wall, finding Hinata’s contact information. He held the phone up to his ear, listening to the dial tone, while other students glanced at him and walked by without saying a word.
Not even a week ago, the volleyball club were the kings of the school. Everyone either wanted to be them or be with them. Now, it seemed that the members of the club were sick with the plague.
Kageyama listened to the dial tone, and when no one picked up, he listened to the voicemail, “Hey, it’s Hinata! I’m probably at practice or biking or sleeping, so sorry if I missed you! If you wanna, you can leave a message, but honestly I don’t know how to work the voicemail on this thing and-“ His voice was cut off by the beep. Kageyama considered leaving him a message, but changed his mind at the last second, quickly snapping his phone shut. He twirled it in his hands for a moment, and glanced at the clock at the end off the hall.
For a moment, he weighed his options. He could continue on with his day and forget about Hinata. This seemed like the wiser option, considering the other would be far more embarrassing; making it seem like he had legitimate emotions for someone other than himself. Not that he didn’t, he’d just rather have others believe otherwise.
But before he had made a concrete decision, he found himself walking back out of the building and into the chilly January air. Kageyama cursed under his breath and shoved his hands into his pockets, beginning his descent to the main road. He’d never been this spontaneous before, except maybe on the court. Although even then, he was still thinking ten steps ahead of everyone else.
When Coach’s store came into view, Kageyama paused. God what the fuck am I thinking. He turned to head back to the school when he thought about Hinata, either lying dead in the trunk of someone’s car, or pathetically wallowing in his own self pity. He rolled his eyes and continued heading down the path.
He wandered into Coach’s store, where Coach sat with his feet propped up on the counter, a cigarette hanging limply out of his mouth. He glanced up from the magazine he was flipping through, a look of concern flashing across his face, “Hey kid, didn’t expect to see you in here today. Something up?”
Kageyama shook his head nonchalantly, “Just came to grab a couple pork buns.”
Coach glanced at his watch and his eyes narrowed, “School get out early or something?”
“Optional early release.” Kageyama shrugged and fished for his wallet in his back pocket.
Coach chuckled, “Of course it is.” He noticed Kageyama’s wallet in his hand, “It’s on me kid, put that cash away.” He turned to grab a bag for the pork buns, “Did’ja say a couple of ‘em? You meeting up with anyone?”
“I’m a growing boy,” Kageyama replied shortly, “guess I’m just extra hungry today.”
Coach slid the bag of pork buns across the counter towards Kageyama, “Alright…” He sounded unsure, “Hey, just don’t make this a habit, okay? We don’t need you being suspended, or worse, banned from club activities.”
Kageyama gave a halfhearted nod and grabbed the bag, “Yeah, Coach. I won’t. Thanks for these.” He nodded, and headed for the door, waving at Coach before being blasted by the frigid air once he stepped outside.
Probably wasn’t the best idea to stop at Coach’s store, he thought to himself as he shivered into his jacket. Continuing the down the path, Kageyama reached for his phone with his free hand, checking for any messages, specifically a reply from Hinata. Nothing. Not that he was surprised.
“Now that I’m going soft, might as well…” he muttered under his breath as his contemplated giving Hinata a second call. The phone rang three times before sending Kageyama to voicemail, “Hey, it’s Hinata! I’m probably at - ” Kageyama flipped his phone shut and stood at the bottom of the large hill Hinata biked up and down daily. What a fucking tryhard, he scoffed as he began he trek up the hill.
Once he reached the top, he was completely out of breath. Panting, he suddenly wished he had bought a water while stopped at Coach’s. He slowly began his descent, thoroughly winded, and somewhat impressed that Hinata managed this journey not once, but twice a day.
Despite being the best workout Kageyama had received all week, and his newly increased lung capacity, he swore to never climb up that hill again, and vowed to take the bus home. He stood at the bottom of the hill with his hands held behind his head, trying to catch a breath, and hoping the pounding muscles in his legs would sooth soon. He paused, and realized that he only had a vague idea of where Hinata lived. He remembered something about Hinata living near a park, and his block number being relatively low, but he lacked the information necessary to find his place from his current position.
Kageyama swore under his breath and took a seat on a bench to his right. He looked at the sky momentarily, taking notice of the slow, but prominent movements of the clouds, as they seemed to swirl around each other. He sighed, and pulled his phone from his pocket.
Now who can I call without being thoroughly judged… He wondered. He scrolled through his contact list, pausing every once in a while to consider the consequences of contacting one person over another, before finally spotting a name that he’d been looking for. He called up the number, hoping they would pick up.
One dial tone, two dial tone, three dial tone. Kageyama was losing hope quickly, and coming to the realization that this was the dumbest thing he had ever done, when the phone clicked and Yachi’s voice came through the speaker, “Hello?” She whispered softly.
Fuck. She must be in the middle of class, “Uh, hey Yachi. I didn’t mean to disturb you or anything, it’s just - ”
“What’s wrong?” Yachi interrupted abruptly, “You’ve never called me before. I didn’t even know you had my number saved. I saw you calling and immediately excused myself to the restroom. Now what’s wrong?”
“Why does anything have to be wrong in order for me to call you?” Kageyama countered bitterly, “What if I just wanted to say hi?”
“Haha, very funny. Tell me what’s going on.”
He took a deep breath, “You can’t tell anyone okay?” He took the silence on the other end of the phone as an acknowledgement, and he continued, “Yamaguchi came up to me at lunch today
and - ”
“You talked to Yamaguchi?” She interrupted again.
“Well yeah and - ”
“I can’t believe he actually went through with it… We talked about it, but no one ever actually agreed to approach you…”
“Who is this ‘we’ everyone keeps talking about?” Kageyama questioned angrily, “Why is everyone talking about me behind my back?”
“No no,” Her voice dropped, possibly trying to avoid being heard by anyone else, “we were just worried about Hinata and well, you seemed like the only person that he respects enough to - ”
“Well congrats, Yamaguchi guilt tripped me into it.” He cut her off. “Now do you know where he lives or not?”
Yachi’s end of the line went silent for a moment, and Kageyama could almost hear the smirk on the other end of the line, “Yeah.” She relayed the information to Kageyama, and he mentally took note of her instructions.
“Hey can you just, not tell anyone about this?” Kageyama unceremoniously pleaded.
“Yeah sure, but will you tell me what he says? He hasn’t talked to me either and… well I’m just really worried about him.”
Kageyama nodded, “Yeah, sure. That is if he even wants to see me.” He paused, “Thanks for the uh, help, I guess…” He sheepishly and bitterly acknowledge, and said a quick goodbye before snapping his phone shut.
He stood, the searing pain in his legs already dying down after his odyssey over the hill. Yachi’s instructions were at the forefront of his mind and he walked the path that Hinata biked everyday.
“Walk along the main road for a while, and then take a right at the intersection where you see the big cherry blossom tree with a wooden swing. Then, take a left at the yellow house with lots of flowers. If you keep walking down that road, there’s a dead end sign, so just follow that, and Hinata’s house is the last one on the street.”
Kageyama paused, and stared up at the aforementioned house in front of him. What the fuck am I doing, this is so stupid. He took a step forward, then another, until he reached the front door of the medium sized light blue house. He raised his closed fist, and knocked softly, praying that no one would hear, or that no one was home.
His delusion however, was thwarted when a short, stout blonde woman opened the door almost immediately. She was a good foot shorter than Kageyama, who seemed to tower over her menacingly. He slouched his shoulders, in an attempt to make himself seem smaller. The woman’s facial features were soft, and round, and her hair was cut short. Upon first glance, she didn’t appear to resemble Hinata in the slightest, but upon closer inspection, Kageyama realized that they seemed to shared the same light brown eyes.
“Hi,” she smiled sweetly, “can I help you?”
“Um…” Kageyama sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck, “is Hina - I mean, is Shouyou here?”
The women’s light eyes darkened, and she gave Kageyama a once over, “Shouyou hasn’t been feeling too well the last couple of days.” Her eyebrows furrowed, but her eyes softened a bit, “Wait a minute, you must be Kageyama.”
“Uh, yes ma’am - ” He felt his arm pulled as Hinata’s mother dragged him into the house. She gave him a light shove into the kitchen as she closed the door behind them.
“I have heard so much about you Kageyama!” She began rummaging through the cabinets, pulling out plates and cups, “Shouyou will just go on and on about how wonderful you are.” She paused and looked thoughtfully into space, “Although I do remember a time where he wasn’t quite as fond of you… Something about, a middle school game?” She waved her hand and filled one of the glasses up with orange juice, “Would you like orange juice sweetie? We also have water or milk, I could make you some tea as well - ”
“Um,” Kageyama cleared his throat, the throng of information he had received from Hinata’s mother overwhelming him. “juice is fine I suppose.”
Hinata’s mother smiled, and poured the juice into a second glass as well. “Now Shouyou tells me that you’re one of the best setters he’s ever seen. Said you were even invited to a fancy training camp in Tokyo for the best of the best, is that right?” She pulled fruits and veggies from the fridge, and began to create a platter.
“Uh, yes ma’am.” Kageyama shifted his weight awkwardly, his cheeks and ears reddening.
“Oh no need to call me ma’am sweetie, just call me Machi, or Obāsan.” She grinned and continued preparing the platter in front of her. “You can take your shoes off as well if you’d like! Just set them down over there by the others! Set your bag down too! There’s slippers as well if that’s something you like!”
“Oh, uh, thanks ma’am - I mean Machi.” Kageyama slipped his shoes off and grabbed them by the heels, setting them next to the plethora of other shoes stacked near the door. He set his bag down next to them, but kept the pork buns clutched in his hand.
“I wish I could’ve seen you boys play in one of the tournaments, but Shouyou made me promise not to come, said something about me embarrassing him.” She waved her hand, “Ah but that’s silly, I would never embarrass him. Now Natsu on the other hand, well she could do some damage.” She pulled a large tray out from under the counter, and placed the glasses and the platter of fruits and vegetables on top. She carefully held the tray out to Kageyama, “Shouyou’s room is up the stairs and to the right, and the rest in right across from him. Make sure he doesn’t only eat the fruit, he needs some vegetables as well.”
Kageyama gingerly took the tray from Machi, careful as to not spill the glasses full to the brim with juice. He set the bag of pork buns on top, and hesitated momentarily, “Thank you, Machi.” He thanked her uncomfortably.
“Of course sweetie!” Machi stared up at him, a sudden look of concern in her eyes, “Shouyou hasn’t been in a mood to talk, but maybe you can try to convince him to go back to school soon? I worry about all of the lessons he’s missing, not to mention the ramifications from the vice principal. I would hate if Shouyou somehow ended up on his bad side.” Her look of concern transformed into one of hope, “I bet if anyone can get through to Shouyou, it’s you! He really looks up to you, you know.” She smiled warmly at Kageyama, her face closely resembling Hinata’s, before turning around and beginning to clean up the food she had taken out, “Just holler if you boy’s need anything. I’ll be here!”
Kageyama was frozen in place, trying to comprehend the overload of information that had just been shoved down his throat. He did his best to smile, although he was sure he looked more menacing than thankful, and turned around to climb the set of stairs leading from the kitchen. He carefully held the tray steadily, thankful for the years of hand training he had, and slowly ascended the wooden staircase.
Once he reached the second level, he turned to his right. The door was shut, and decorated with small dinosaur stickers that were beginning to peel off. Kageyama smirked, hoping these stickers were a recent addition and not some left over child memorabilia. He balanced the try with one hand, while prepping himself to knock on the door. His hand was curled into a fist, but he couldn’t bring himself to actually knock. God this was such a stupid fucking idea. But before he could stop himself, his fist beat three times against the door.
He heard a groan coming from the other side, authorizing Kageyama to enter. He turned the handle and enter Hinata’s room.
Hinata’s room looked exactly like Kageyama had imagined it, not that he had actually imagined it before. The walls were plastered with professional volleyball team’s posters, with the two posters Yachi had designed hanging above his bed. His desk was empty, except for the bottles of empty sports drinks littered atop of it. The closet was wide open, showcasing what looked like an explosion of clothing, with every drawer open, and seemingly every piece of clothing pulled out, including his underwear. Kageyama found himself blushing and looked away. Hinata’s duffle was sat next to his bed. It was half open, and Kageyama could see that it clearly hadn’t been cleaned out since Tokyo, spotting Hinata’s uniform, and shoes hastily shoved inside.
Hinata was curled up in his bed, facing the wall. It wasn’t too cold in the house, but he was bundled up completely in blankets. The only movements he seemed to be making was the rise and fall of this body, and indication that he was still breathing.
Phew, well now I know he’s not dead.
“What is it ma. I already told you, I’m not hungry.” The lump on the bed mumbled.
Kageyama awkwardly cleared his throat, and tried to find an object to look at that wouldn’t seem weird if Hinata caught him.
After an odd moment of silence, Hinata turned around slowly. His signature ginger hair was sticking up in odd directions, and seemed to be in need of a thorough washing. He had deep bags under his eyes, and his cheek bones seemed more pronounced than usual. In fact, his whole face had a skeletal sort of look. His eyes — which Kageyama had entirely determined to be the same as his mother’s — were sunken in to his face, and seemed to be more dull and lifeless than usual.
Kageyama cocked his head and stared at Hinata, who had just come to the realization that Kageyama was actually in his bedroom. Upon said realization, Hinata threw his covers off and quickly threw the piles of clothing spilling out on to the floor back into the dresser’s drawers, and shut the closet door. He kicked his duffle under the bed and grabbed the sweatpants hanging on the back of his desk’s chair. He quickly pulled them on, to Kageyama’s relief, as he had only been wearing boxers, and the shirt that he had purchased at the Spring Tournament.
Hinata, red in the face, quickly blurted, “What are you doing here?”
Kageyama shrugged cooly, “Dunno. Heard you were being quite a baby, holing yourself up in your room and refusing to go to school.”
Hinata furrowed his brows, “Who told you that? My mom?”
Kageyama moved the empty bottles of sports drink to one side of the desk, and set the tray down on the other, “Nope. You just did.”
Hinata found himself at a loss for words, flustered and confused, “Okay, but what are you doing here.”
Pulling the desk chair out, Kageyama took a seat and grabbed a carrot from the tray, taking a bite out of it. He chewed and swallowed, paused, and gave Hinata a pointed look, “Everyone’s saying that you’re ignoring them. Thought you could be dead.” Another shrug, “Forced me here, saying that I’m the only one to motivate you to get your lazy ass out of the house and back on the court.” He popped the rest of the carrot into his mouth, and chewed thoughtfully, “But honestly, now that I’m here,” he gave Hinata a once over, “I can see you are perfectly happy isolating yourself from the rest of the world.”
Kageyama grabbed the bag of pork buns from the tray and tossed them to Hinata, “From Coach,” he muttered, “he thought they might cheer you up I guess. They probably aren’t warm anymore though, so I’m not sure how appetizing they’d be.”
Hinata opened the bag and inhaled the intoxicating smell, greedily stuffing his hand inside and pulling out a room temperature pork bun, and taking a large bite out of it. He smiled while chewing, before remembering who else was in the room with him, and put a scowl on his face.
After an uncomfortable amount of silence, Kageyama finally broke, “So are you coming to school Monday or not.”
Hinata looked down at his feet as he continued to chew on his pork bun.
“I mean,” Kageyama continued, “I’m sure if you decided not to come to practice, we could replace you with someone else. Yamaguchi is tall enough to be a decent middle blocker, or maybe we’ll get a talented group of first years that could take your place…”
“No!” Hinata exclaimed, standing up abruptly, “You can’t replace me!”
“Sure we can,” Kageyama grabbed a second carrot, “anyone can be a decoy.”
“But -” Hinata started.
“Anyone who thinks that their problems are bigger than the team doesn’t belong on a team anyways.” Kageyama cruelly taunted, “I mean, do you really think we lost in Tokyo because you’re the best player on the team? Do you think that without you, our team is terrible? Because honestly,” Kageyama shrugged, “you’re one of the worst players on the team. Just because you can get from one place to another quickly, doesn’t mean you’re any good.” He sighed and toyed with the carrot in his hand, “We lost because the other team was better than us. Plain and simple.” Kageyama stood and stretched his arms upwards, “If you’re really gonna act like this any time another team is better than us, then maybe you shouldn’t stay in the club. We don’t need whiners bringing the rest of the team down.” He walked back to the doorway, and stood for a moment, hoping that being harsh with Hinata was the right move.
As usual, he was right. Hinata grabbed Kageyama’s arm and turned him around, “I’ll be there on Monday,” he said, determined, “and I’ll kick your ass in practice.”
Kageyama snorted, and challenged Hinata with his eyes, “Oh yeah? I’d like to see you try.” He yanked his arm out of Hinata’s grip and grabbed the door handle, pulling it shut as he walked away, “Oh,” he paused before the door was completely shut, “don’t tell anyone I was here today. I don’t need my reputation hurt.”
“But I thought you said that - ” The door was pulled shut in Hinata’s face before he could finish his thought. He sat down softly on his bed and smiled to himself, before pulling a second pork bun from the back and taking a massive bite out of it.
Kageyama made his way back downstairs and into the kitchen, where Machi was impatiently waiting, pretending to wipe down the already impeccably clean counters. She pretended to be surprised when she saw Kageyama approach.
“Oh! Done so soon? I hope Shouyou was playing nice, he can get a bit rowdy…”
Kageyama gave her his most realistic looking smile, and thanked her for the hospitality, “I really do have to go though, but mother wouldn’t be too happy if I wasn’t home in time for dinner.”
Machi smiled back, before her look turned to that of concern again, “Do you think that…Shouyou will go back to school on Monday?”
Kageyama slipped his shoes back on and grabbed his bag from beside the door, “I don’t think there’s any doubt.” He thanked Machi again, and exited through the front door.
He breathed a sigh of relief when he was finally exposed to the fresh air again. Hoping he’d never have to do something that embarrassing ever again. He stepped off of the sidewalk, but paused when he remembered he had no clue where the nearest bus stop was. He smacked his forehead and recoiled into himself, realizing what the quickest solution was.
He awkwardly walked back up the steps to the front door, and knocked for a second time that day. Machi appeared almost instantaneously, looking puzzled.
“Sorry to uh, bother you again, but could you tell me how to get to the nearest bus stop?”
