Chapter Text
Ever since he saw the Little Giant play, Hinata knew that he wanted to fly. However he had to settle with staying on the ground a little while longer since his junior high didn't have a team for his first two years there. But he had a team now! And they were going to a tournament, and they were going to win.
The whole winning thing didn't really work out, Hinata and his team got unlucky and went up against the tournament favourites in the first round. The were quickly beaten and left the court just as quickly as they had gotten on it. Hinata made a new goal, defeat Kageyama Tobio.
Soon April rolled around again and Hinata started his first year at Aoba Johsai, determined to join their volleyball team, beat Kageyama and stay on the court the longest. The moment he first played on their team, he realised how far behind he was in comparison to everyone else there, "Did you hear the two got in a fight?" one of the third years said to another.
"Who got into a fight?" Hinata asked.
"No-one, you must have misheard me," the third year quickly backtracked, "I said, did you hear the two have got a lot of might," Hinata's face fell, clearly the third year was talking about the other two first years, both used to play on Kitagawa Daiichi, although the three had united to defeat Kageyama. Hinata walked away, the two third years waiting until he was supposedly out of earshot.
"Yeah, I mean both weren't in the right, but to go as far as to break his arm," the second third year said, so I did hear him right. Two people did get into a fight, I wonder who they are.
"Dude, Kyoutani's the only one in the wrong though. Sure Takumi was a dick about the whole weight thing, but I mean we were pretty harsh about it, to go as far as to fight the dude multiple time, what's wrong with Kyoutani! And if I remember correctly, Takumi was the one that always had his back," the first third year replied.
"It's so annoying too, because that means we don't have Takumi for inter high, meaning that we're most likely going to only have one chance of making it to nationals this year,"
"If we'd have just kicked Kyoutani off the team we wouldn't have this problem,"
"What're you two talking about?" the vice captain asked as he joined the two, quickly followed by the captain. Hinata decided that he probably wasn't meant to hear the conversation, no-one on the team had mentioned either player in front of the first years and they were pretty quick to backtrack when Hinata asked about it, if the third years won't talk about it, then maybe it would be better to ask the second years.
"Shortie pie!" the captain called out to Hinata, "Just the first year I was looking for,"
"M-me?" Hinata asked.
"Yes you, you want to be our ace one day, don't you?"
"Yes! Spiking's the best! I want to be an ace just like the Little Giant!"
"I figured as much, come on, back into the gym we go,"
"Okay?" the two reentered the gym.
"I want you to run as fast as you can and jump as high as you can, I'll do the rest," Hinata did as told and felt the ball make contact with his hand.
"I hit the ball! I hit it and it went over the net!"
"Just as I thought it would go. A little birdy told me that you want to beat Tobio-chan,"
"Yeah! It's not fair that he gets such a cool title: King of the Court! Plus he asked me what I had been doing for these past three years, I was trying my best, I just didn't have a team!"
"King of the Court, it isn't meant like you think it is,"
"Huh?"
"Tobio-chan's a little dictator on the court, if you can't spike at his standards then he won't toss for you,"
"Oh,"
"I should know best, I was his upperclassman,"
"So you're the Grand King? Wow!"
"Aw! Well it is befitting for me, since I am the best setter in the prefecture,"
"Really?"
"Yes,"
"Wow you're so cool Jerkawa-senpai!"
"That's not my name Shortie Pie!"
"It's not? But that vice captain kept calling you that,"
"Don't listen to everything Iwa-chan says Shortie Pie! Anyway, my name is Oikawa Tooru,"
"Okie dokie. Oikawa-senpai! Got it!"
"So, do you want to do that again?"
"Yeah!" the two spent a while practising their super quick.
"Oi Jerkawa! Lay off the first year!" the vice captain shouted.
"But we were making so much progress Iwazumi!" Hinata pouted.
"I've been watching," Iwaizumi sighed, "But it's time to call it a night,"
"Iwa-chan, are you my mum?" Oikawa asked.
"Shut it jerkawa!" Iwaizumi grunted, the three packed up and left the gym.
For the next two weeks Oikawa and Iwaizumi tried their best to teach Hinata everything they could, "We won't need our little decoy on," Oikawa declared to the team as they made preparations for their practise match against Karasuno that was coming up, "For harder matches, we may, but for this one we won't. Plus we need the other two to get used to playing too,"
"I'm needed? But not for this match?" Hinata asked in awe, he had never been needed on the court before.
"Yup! And remember Shortie Pie, you can learn a lot from watching," Oikawa ruffled Hinata's hair before the team began to practise again. Hinata still could see the massive gap in abilities, but he could also see how bit by bit, he was closing in, maybe he wouldn't be stuck behind everyone else forever.
The next day came and Hinata was in class early, for once, and decided to talk to his desk buddy, Fujiwara Kenzo, "Hi hi Hinata!" Fujiwara greeted him, "You're early for once, what happened? Did you set an alarm for once?"
"I always set an alarm! I just get carried away practising!" Hinata pouted.
"Can't fault you there, I do the same but with the piano and violin,"
"See! Anyway, Iwaizumi sent me out the gym because I had already stayed late practising the previous day and he wanted me to get some rest,"
"Well over-practising does cause just as many problems as under-practising,"
"But I'm so far behind everyone else on the team!"
"Morning Fujiwara," one of the girls in the class greeted him, "And Hinata, you're not normally in this early,"
"Morning Kobayashi," Fujiwara replied with a smile.
"Morning," Hinata greeted, "I got kicked out of practise,"
"What 'cause you're so short? Makes sense that they kicked you off the volleyball team," someone sneered, Fujiwara clenched his fists.
"Fujiwara, don't bother getting involved," Hinata said, "I can just ignore them,"
"He doesn't even belong in this school, country boy, go back to your farm," another jeered.
"Hey! He got into this school, so leave him alone," Kobayashi said, "Some people could do with loosing the ability to talk," she then walked to her seat.
"Hey, I just remembered that we were meant to get something Hinata," Fujiwara said as he dragged Hinata out the classroom, "Sorry about those jerks, like Kobayashi said, they could do with their tongues being ripped out,"
"Thanks Fujiwara," Hinata smiled apologetically, "So who was that?"
"Classmate from junior high, Kobayashi Rio, she's pretty headstrong - and fierce, she was our class rep last year, and let me tell you there was a reason our class was the most productive,"
"Wow, does she do music too?"
"No, I think she's in the debating club, I'm not sure. The two of us were never close in junior high, and we more just talk between classes at the moment since we just started and we know each other,"
"Makes sense. No-one from my junior high goes here because I live really far away,"
"And you cycle in?"
"Over a mountain - yep!"
"You're crazy!"
"Nope. Just full of energy,"
"So you came here not knowing anyone,"
"Yeah,"
"Have you tried making friends with the other first years on the team?"
"Well they both went to the same junior high, so they're already close, and I'm kind of just there. But I'm friends with the captain and vice captain!"
"Well at least you have some friends,"
"Anyway, class is about to start,"
"Since when did you care about class?"
"Never,"
"Wanna cut it?"
"We'd totally get caught! I'm not getting suspended for a stupid reason!"
"Fair point," the two returned to the classroom and took their seats. During lunch Hinata decided to go interrogate talk to the second years on the team about what he had heard the other day.
"Watari!" Hinata saw Watari first and called out to him, he then saw Watari busy in a conversation with someone else. Something about joining, trust and a rivalry, "Oh," Hinata let out a sigh as he was ignored, "Well there's still Yahaba and Sugiyama," the only problem Hinata had, was not knowing where the two typically ate lunch or what classes they were in. Instead, Hinata wandered aimlessly down the corridor.
"Oh hey there Hinata," Yahaba greeted him, "What're you doing here? This is where the second year classrooms are, are you lost?"
"I was looking for you actually," Hinata answered.
"Me? I'm kind of busy, have you seen Watari?"
"He was talking to this other guy. Blonde hair I think,"
"With a dark streak at the front?"
"I only saw the back of their head,"
"Oh, did you catch anything they said?"
"I heard stuff about joining and trust. A bit about a rivalry,"
"So it was Inaba,"
"Inaba?"
"It doesn't matter. Where were they?"
"Other side of the corridor,"
"Okay, thanks Hinata," Yahaba turned to leave.
"Wait Yahaba!"
"Hm?"
"Who're Kyoutani and Takumi?"
"Where'd you hear about them?"
"I overheard Hanamaki and Matsukawa,"
"Oh, of course they were talking about it. Probably as if it were their business as well,"
"Are they part of the team?"
"Were, well Takumi still is, but not at the moment, Kyoutani really blew it,"
"What year are they in?"
"They're both second years,"
"So there are actually five second years on the team?"
"There used to be six of us last year, but one of us left,"
"The school?"
"No, they just left the team,"
"Oh, will they come back?"
"I don't know, which is why I need to find Watari," Hinata decided to trail behind Yahaba.
"I'm not rejoining," the person said as they tried to leave for the umpteenth time.
"But you were your junior high's ace!" Watari grabbed their shoulder again.
"Yeah? And I play libero now," the person shrugged out of Watari's grip and walked away, "And I have no intentions of rejoining,"
"No use trying to convince him to rejoin," Yahaba said as he made his way over, "You'd have better luck getting Takumi to eat,"
"I just thought, start of our second year he might want to start playing again," Watari sighed, "Shouldn't have even bothered,"
"With Takumi out, we're not making it to nationals for inter high, are we," Yahaba sighed, "Even with him there we never beat Shiratorizawa, so without him we don't even stand a chance,"
"If Inaba hadn't insisted on playing as our libero, we would have gone there already!"
"I mean, it is still early days though, we've yet to see what the first years are capable of,"
"I guess, nationals is still in reach,"
"Okay, maybe I am lost now," Hinata mumbled, "Where's the first year classrooms?"
"Down the stairs then turn right," Yahab said.
"Thanks!" Hinata ran down the stairs, he needed to follow the person who walked off, "Hey!" Hinata shouted at them.
"What?" the person turned around, "You lost or something?"
"Is it true? Did you really use to play on the volleyball team? Were you an ace before?" Hinata asked.
"Yeah, but now I don't, end of,"
"Why?"
"Because I can,"
"But why not rejoin, don't you want to go to nationals?"
"What's the point if I don't get to play on the court?"
"Then go back to spiking,"
"It's not that easy," Hinata watched as the person walked away, sighing in defeat.
"Shortie pie, it's no use arguing with a brick wall," Oikawa said to him after he saw the argument, "He left and he won't come back,"
"But-" Hinata tried to protest.
"-It was partially the team and I's fault for not realising the potential trust issues he may have had. But we can't change the past, besides I think we have enough super weapons at the moment,"
Soon the practise match came around and Hinata watched the match intensely, hoping to learn something. All he really learnt was that Kageyama chose to go to Karasuno. Near the end of the third set Oikawa entered, "So Karasuno have managed to do pretty well huh," Oikawa commented as he joined the team.
"Just go and warm up," Iwaizumi grumbled at him, "Jerkawa,"
"Iwa-chan!" Oikawa pouted before warming up. When Oikawa was back on the court, then Hinata thought that there could be a chance for him to go on too, just one spike. One spike, one hit, one point. That's all I need. Hinata began to think that his time may have run out until he got subbed on.
A serve, a receive, Karasuno's attack, Watari's receive, Oikawa's toss, and then, Hinata flew. As Hinata flew Iwaizumi spiked the ball, however all of Karasuno's blockers had gone to block Hinata although they didn't make it in time. Another serve, the cycle repeated, this time Hinata slammed the ball down, winning the match for Aoba Johsai.
A couple of months passed and the arrival of the first tournament of the year came about. Hinata watched the first round of matches, since Aoba Johsai were exempt from the first round, in anticipation of his own, if only his stomach would calm down first. Hinata went to the bathroom to calm down, unfortunately the bathroom meant that there was confrontation coming in the form of Kageyama, "Even if you are on a good team, that doesn't mean that you're just going to get instantly better," Kageyama belittled him.
"I know that," Hinata pouted before running off.
Soon Aoba Johsai's match against Oomisaki began and Hinata watched the match, irritated that he wasn't on, but also thankful too. Aoba Johsai won the match, and Hinata learnt of the next match up: Aoba Johsai versus Karasuno, "I think we're going to need to play Shortie Pie this time," Oikawa said, Hinata grinned, he was going to defeat Kageyama this time.