Chapter Text
For Kageyama Tobio, it took a considerable amount of courage to step on a volleyball court again. After what had happened in middle school, he had nightmares of him tossing and being rejected, the memory repeating itself over and over. It also took him a while to realize he did something wrong. In his mind, it was the setter’s job to push their teammates to the max, and Kageyama took his job very seriously. Maybe too seriously. He didn’t see the impact of his words, “move faster, jump higher, spike harder”, mainly because he thought that if he was in their position, he would want someone to push him, call him out for his mistakes.
After he didn’t get into Shiratorizawa, it was like the world was making it so that he never played volleyball again. First, his team left him, and then he was denied the opportunity to play with what was probably the most powerful team in the prefect.
But he was stubborn, he wasn’t about to give up volleyball just yet.
When he found out that he had gotten into Karasuno, he has… mostly relieved. He was sure he would succeed, the school had strong players and maybe, just maybe, they would accept him for who he was: a harsh and bossy setter, but that ultimately meant well.
Something else had not left his thoughts all summer: that orange-haired kid. Sometimes Kageyama could not get those amber eyes out of his mind: how they burned with determination that was unparalleled. He had been playing for a while now, of course he didn’t remember every single match and every single player he had gone against, but this time he wondered why the hell he could replay every second of that specific match in his head. It was uneventful, another easy win against a secondary team, he was sure that his former teammates didn’t recall it. But he did. And it was because of that freaking kid. It was insanely obvious that none of the players knew exactly how to play volleyball, they were sloppy and unexperienced. Why they had even gone to the tournament was beyond him. But that kid, the one with wild orange hair and so freaking short, had managed to get Kageyama’s attention.
He knew exactly why: that freak quick. It was something else, something extraordinary and unlike anything Kageyama had seen before, not even in those high resolution videos of professional matches. He could see everything in slow motion: the toss was off, and for a second he had told himself it would be another point for him: there was absolutely no way someone could get that. Then the short guy had run all the way to the other side of the court, with such speed that he was a blur, and with such reflexes that Kageyama knew that as soon as the ball had hit the setter’s fingertips, he was already moving. To top it all, he actually jumped a full 2 meters, even more, he has over the net, and for a moment Kageyama felt… small. This little guy towered over him and spiked a ball with such force that it hit the court and bounced off into the edge of the room. Everything was over in a matter of seconds.
He had simply stared.
How did you do that? What have you been doing for the last three years????
The kid didn’t speak, just smiled softly when his team came cheering at him. Despite that, it wasn’t enough to top Kageyama’s team immense lead, and the game ended as everyone expected it to. There was a moment where everyone on his side of the net was celebrating, and Kageyama was captured by the kid’s eyes. The whole time, their eyes were locked, a look that made Kageyama’s stomach twist, as if he had been threatened.
Remember me, those eyes said, I’m going to beat you.
Now those same eyes stared at him one more time, wide and surprised. It made Kageyama stop on his tracks, staring as well. The baby-faced kid with a green uniform had disappeared, now in his place stood a teen dressed in all black, orange hair wild and untamed, sticking out in all directions. His face was sharp, his figure slim and his stance straight. He blinked, with his big bright eyes, making his long light lashes flutter. Kageyama watched his face contort into an expression of frustration.
“Y-You?” he stuttered, his anger audible through his teeth. “Here?”
Kageyama didn’t answer, his mind was spinning wildly. The kid that had occupied his thoughts was now standing in front of him, in the same school and possibly…
“You trying out for volleyball?” he asked, his voice low.
“You bet I am!” he exclaimed. Kageyama winced. He was very loud.
So it was true: he was going to be on the same team as the god-like spiker. It was certainly not how he planned their meeting to happen. It was embarrassing how much he had thought about it: him in a fully formed team, with spikers that would obey his every order and respond to his every move fast, hard and accurate. The kid on the opposite team, with a setter that could use him as a shotgun and a team that could carry him all the way to Kageyama’s. That’s how they should’ve met, on a court and on different sides of the net. Kageyama really hoped the kid would find his place; he would get better and polish his technique or something because that ability could not be wasted on a second-hand team. It was the only thing he considered a challenge.
And now it had all come out in ways that didn’t please him at all and by the look on the spiker’s face, he wasn’t too happy about it either. The guy tried to hide his annoyance with a frown, and just started to walk past Kageyama.
“I remember you, setter.” He said, stopping but not looking at him. “My name’s Hinata. Hinata Shouyou.”
“Kageyama Tobio.” He answered, and it felt like enemies exchanging names for the sake of knowing who to destroy. “And I remember you too, spiker.”
“I’m a middle blocker.” He replied as we walked away.
.
It only took a couple of hours together to realize that he hated Hinata. He absolutely despised him and there was absolutely no way they could work together. He was loud and obnoxious, incredibly sloppy in all techniques possible and a complete dumbass. Whatever he thought of Hinata over the summer, the whole amazing fantasy of him being a worthy opponent was thrown out the window, his so called “talent” be damned, he didn’t have any of it.
Kageyama didn’t expect much from the people in his team: he wasn’t interested in getting to know them, or being friends with them. They were just pieces that he could use to win. That, if he managed to become a regular, which wasn’t guaranteed given there was already a setter and he was a third year. When they had entered the gym they had been met with some rather odd characters. The captain was everything Kageyama wanted to be: serious, broody and strong. He then realized that was all a play and that he was soft on the inside. The setter was the vice-captain, his messy silver hair, kind eyes and wide smile make him seem charismatic, but there was a glint of deviousness in his glare. There was a second year that was maybe even louder than Hinata, with a bald head and big judgmental eyes.
By his side there was a tall, blond haired guy with glasses that seemed extremely bored, and a smaller guy with freckles that looked like he was about to jump out of his skin. And of course, loud dumbass Hinata.
Kageyama sighed. There was no way this was going to be his team.
Like honestly, what had he done to deserve this? What kind of karma was he paying to end up with these people? Was a decent team too much to ask?
He sat through the greetings and other formalities, he just wanted to play. More specifically, he wanted to serve a ball into the back of Hinata’s head with enough force to knock him unconscious.
Apparently, his hate wasn’t one-sided. Hinata would bite right back every time, even if the response wasn’t that intelligent. Kageyama could tell that it was really bothering the captain – Daichi – and he had snapped at the two of them at least three times. Kageyama couldn’t care less. He was so unbelievable angry at his luck that he ditched the plan of being nice and compelling so he could get to play regular and just let out his frustrations with constant yelling and scoffing.
“I guess they were right.” The blond guy – Tsukkishima – said when they were waiting in line for their turn at spiking the balls the setter was tossing. “I can see it now.”
“Huh?” was all he said, but then Tsukkishima turned to him fully and smirked evilly.
“King of the Court.”
The words were like a hot knife in his chest, making him huff with pure rage. His vision blurred at the mention and his discomfort seemed to please the other guy. He simply turned away and didn’t speak again.
It had been a while since Kageyama had been called those four words. With time he came to hate them, hate what they meant. Hate how people would throw them around mockingly and just keep stabbing at the wound of his team’s rejection. Because even if he hated to admit it, it did hurt. And he did feel alone. Rejected. And now he had come here hoping to escape it and it had appeared to bite at him again. He decided he didn’t like Tsukkishima either, even if he was a natural at blocking.
He was fuming by the time Hinata managed to miss yet another serve, which flew uselessly a couple meters and then hit the net on the center. Without thinking too much about it, he shouted:
“My God, you really are bad!”
“Shut up!” Hinata answered, blushing in shame and spiting the words at him.
“It’s okay Hinata; you’ll get the next one.” Suga – the setter – told him with a patient smile, but Kageyama wasn’t having any of it.
“You keep serving like that and you’ll be stuck on the bench all season.” Kageyama told him bitterly, rubbing at the bridge of his nose like an exasperated mom.
“Well last time I checked you’re not the one who decides who gets to play!” he replied, even though Kageyama could tell he had hit a soft spot.
“Anyone can see how stupid, how useless you are.” Kageyama wasn’t thinking, he just wanted this guy off his court, off his team and off his life. “You should’ve never made it out of your little middle school team, you should’ve stopped there.”
“Hey man, not cool.” Tanaka, the bald one, said crossing his arms across his chest. “Cut it out.”
“Geez, Kageyama!” Hinata breathed out, a sarcastic laugh escaping his lips. “And you wonder why spikers refuse to hit your tosses, King.”
Those words sent fire down his spine. He felt it in his hands, behind his eyes and travelling through his veins. He stepped towards Hinata who at the same time stepped towards him, both like rabid animals ready to tear each other apart and they would’ve, if Suga hadn’t stepped in between them. They were both sure he had seen the murderous intent in their eyes.
He grabbed them by the back of their shirts and starting dragging them towards the door. They put little to no resistance, taken aback by how firm and strong their senpai’s grip was. The scariest thing about the whole situation was how calm Suga seemed, his face expressionless as if he wasn’t pulling two grown boys out of the court. Kageyama saw Tsukkishima staring at him with pity, which made his anger burn stronger than before.
“Suga, isn’t that a bit harsh?” Tanaka said, actually a little concerned and starting to walk towards him.
“Let him.” Daichi murmured, placing a firm hand of Tanaka’s chest.
Suga let them go when they were outside, and stood there with his hands on his hips.
“You either learn how to behave.” He said. His voice was soft but incredibly menacing. “Or you don’t go back in there, understood?”
They didn’t actually nod, too stunned to do anything more than stare as their vice-captain walked back in the gym and closed the door behind him. They were both running back to it, hands on the closed silver door, not really processing what had just happened. They stared at each other in disbelief, and then Kageyama sighed in defeat and sat by the stairs.
“This is all your fault!” Hinata cried, devastated he was thrown out of the gym. Kageyama was just tired.
“You shouldn’t have said that.” He simply said, looking at his shoes.
“What? The truth about the King of the Court?” he snared, and in a couple of seconds Kageyama was up and holding him by the front of his shirt, actually lifting him off the ground.
“You call me that one more time and I’ll never toss to you. Not once.” He threatened, hands curled into fists around Hinata’s shirt and face burning hot.
“Tch, alright.” He whispered, dusting himself off when Kageyama finally let go of him. “I’ll tell Suga-san to toss to me. I didn’t even need you anyway.”
Kageyama scoffed. He was absolutely done with this guy. He had to admit he was mad he was kicked out, but now he had to cooperate if he wanted to play. For once he had to bow his head and apologize, admit that hey, he was not in control, he wasn’t the captain, and he didn’t call the shots. Again, neither did Hinata.
“You gotta understand you’re not crucial to winning.” He told him, plain and cold. “You’re clumsy, small, and have no sense of awareness of y- Are you listening to me?!”
Hinata was currently trying to look through the high windows, probably pondering how he could sneak in.
“D-Don’t ignore me, dumbass!” he stuttered, cheeks red with anger.
“Yeah yeah I’m bad at receiving, serving and all things volleyball” He said, sounding bored. “It’s not like I’ve heard you say that all practice, get creative will you Kageyama?”
“I hate you.” he said, and he meant it.
“Well same here.” He answered, glaring at him.
“But right now I need your sorry ass to pretend you like me so I can go back in there.” He admitted through gritted teeth. “Don’t be an idiot.”
Hinata smiled. A pleased smile that made Kageyama’s head spin with confusion.
“You have to pretend to like me too.” He sang, and then repeated: “Don’t be an idiot.”
“Fine.” He murmured, ready to just be done with it.
They both took a deep breath and knocked on the door, waiting for someone to get it. Kageyama was shifting his feet and Hinata was bouncing on his heels, the amount of energy and effort they were using to not bicker at each other was palpable in the air. The door was opened by Suga, who stared at them with eyebrows raised. Hinata bowed first and Kageyama followed, forcing the words to come out.
“We’re really sorry!” they said. “We promise to be better! Please let us play!”
There was a moment of tense silence, none of the two daring to stand back up. They heard Suga chuckle, and when they raised their heads they saw he was smirking, pleased.
“That’s more like it. I’ll let you play.” He said, opening the door and stepping aside. “Tomorrow, because practice is over. Now get in there and help clean up.”
Kageyama’s jaw dropped but he was quick to shut it, forcing his indignation down and deep into his stomach. Hinata let out a pained sound but they both vowed again and thanked their senpai profusely. Kageyama fought hard to ignore Tsukkishima’s mocking stare.
When they finished cleaning up and everybody started to leave, there was a moment where Hinata and Kageyama were alone in the empty gym, about to go out all defeated for having missed half the practice.
“Stupid idiot.” Kageyama murmured hatefully.
“Stuck-up jerk” Hinata murmured in response, hateful as well
They started walking in opposite directions and Kageyama was getting off the high of it all and actually calming down, that until Hinata shouted:
“You know what Kageyama! You may be bigger and stronger than me, but guess what! I’m faster!”
Kageyama turned around and sprinted full speed towards the smaller guy, who had started running away as well, giggling. Kageyama hadn’t used up all his strength in the short time he had trained, he was sure of it, and the anger that burned in his chest boosted him forward and yet…
I should’ve caught up with him by now.
Hinata, still a couple meters ahead, turned the corner with ease and most likely without losing too much speed and Kageyama was impressed. Then he was mad at being impressed. When he reached the corner a few seconds later, he came to a harsh stop when he noticed Hinata wasn’t ahead. He looked around, utterly confused, until he heard that stupid laugh of his above his head and there he was, perched on a tree like a small annoying bird.
Kageyama frowned at him and turned to leave, each step harsh while Hinata kept giggling triumphantly. Reality sunk in his chest.
He is faster than me.