Chapter Text
“Pssst, senpai! Hinata-senpai, wake up!”
Rolling to another side, Hinata mumbled something incomprehensible. His right leg twitched uncontrollably, kicking someone very unlucky off the couch.
“Senpai, please wake up!”
“Did he just say ‘’meow’’?”
“You were able to define that?”
“It was definitely mi- or miaou- or meow. Does it make sense?”
“No, it does not. Now quit fooling around and help me wake senpai up, or Ennoshita-san will be mad!”
“It’s not my fault it makes zero sense, you know. Senpai was the one who muttered it.”
“Don’t blame it on him! You just didn’t get it right!”
“Senpai, wake up or you’ll miss something very important!”
Eyes flying open, Hinata startled awake, greeted with the shining faces of their first years. Did he really fall asleep here? What was the time? And he had had so many plans for today!
“What will I miss?” He asked, torn between multiple questions he wanted to ask. Tokita beamed at him.
“Thank god you’re awake! Ennoshita-san recommended to go shower now, otherwise in half an hour it’ll be occupied by the players whose games finished in the afternoon! Almost all of our neighbors are already done with their second round matches.”
“Right!” Hinata swirled around looking for his jacket and then sprinted through the threshold. “Thank you guys!!”
“No problem!”
“...He couldn’t have really said ‘meow’, could he?”
“It was mia-something.”
“Mia... miasm?”
“...Now this makes no sense at all!!”
Having grabbed his towel and washcloth and hopping excitedly through the corridor, Hinata was once again thinking about the Nation’s Number One Ace. What a terrible luck that he couldn’t stay and watch his game! But then again - he fell asleep immediately after getting his tired body on the first horizontal surface. He likely would have missed the whole match sleeping in a sideline seat. And Takeda-sensei promised to get the tape for him! So he can watch the game and analyze the Champions’ play however many times he wants!
What does the guy look like anyway? Hinata must have seen him on tv or somewhere else - no way they wouldn’t show him! He probably was huge. Otherwise how does all that coolness fit into his mortal body? He stopped in the middle of the hall that lead to the bathrooms, squeezing the towel in his fists and trying to imagine someone who would be called the Number One Ace. An image soon popped into his head. It was a six-foot-and-seven giant. He had a very cool beard and was clad in the cool traditional armor, in yellow and green colors. His cool headband read ‘Nation’s Number One Ace!’, with a cool exclamation mark at the end.
“Wow!” He said out loud, sparkles in his eyes, and nearly tripped over something.
He hopped away cautiously, looking at the unexpected object: it was a foot, peeking from under a table with hairdryers. Though after the short but rather painful contact with Hinata’s small shoe it immediately disappeared in the shadow of the table.
Mouth hanging open and heart pounding from shock and fear, Hinata slipped around a corner, lowering to his knees slowly and trying to see who was hiding there. Could it be a yokai? Is this yard ghosted??
It was completely dark underneath the tabletop and the only thing he could see clearly was a pair of huge black eyes, pinning him to the spot. It hissed, probably rubbing the hurt leg, like a very big and very angry cat.
“What do you think you are doing?” It demanded with obvious irritation. Hinata stuttered, shivering helplessly in place.
“I-I-I’m so sorry!!” He cried out and bowed, forehead hitting the floor with a painful ‘thud’. Did he just displease a Zashiki Warashi?
Was he going to be cursed forever now??
Was he going to die?
The creature let out an irked huff. It moved forward, causing Hinata to fall back, and light finally caught its - his - face, tracing his features that screamed inescapably, patently human. He straightened up and furrowed black eyebrows, glaring at Hinata from above.
Oh.
It was Him!
It was the guy who stared from across the Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium hall, the one that refused to avert His eyes and pacified him when Hinata was leaving the court! It was really Him - He looked exactly the same except for the lack of uniform that Hinata didn’t remember at all because at that moment uniform was the last thing on his mind. Later he thought that he dreamed the guy, his exhausted brain creating hallucinations to ease the pain.
Now that his counterpart - in the flesh! - stood right here, before his eyes, a familiar grumpy crease between his brows strangely comforting, Hinata had - damn - no idea what to do! Should he say something? But what?
Are they acquaintances now after that little telepathy session? That was probably the most intimate connection he’d had with another individual in his seventeen years of living, but for the guy? Likely that was just a few seconds of eye contact with a loser!
“Eeeerm”, he traced, voice pitching high nervously and childishly. He bit his tongue immediately when the frown on the guy’s face deepened.
“Ara”, sounded from behind, causing Hinata to jump solid two feet in the air and to land clumsily on his heels. “Seeing two of ya in the same space gives palpitations to this setter right here. Give me a break, wouldja?”
There he was! Standing tall right in the middle of the narrow corridor, Miya Atsumu leveled them with his signature look. Though there was tangible tension in his seemingly laid-back posture, like he was searching for signs of menace and was preparing to immediately bite back, and that feeling of imminent danger made a freezing, almost painful shiver run through Hinata’s spine. Damn, he was nothing like Kageyama! Even if on court their setter had a very intimidating presence, in everyday life he was just a gauche dumbass who didn’t know how to talk to people not to drive them away - and likely didn’t want to learn. But Miya Atsumu was a literal lion in the path.
Those elites sure are terrifying, Ennoshita-san would say.
“Whatever”, He mumbled, voice deep and still sounding irritated. Hinata hovered between Him and Miya Atsumu, hotel’s tiny hall offering him no escape route, and tried not to turn his defenseless back on any of those two.
“How was yer game?” Miya Atsumu asked. Hinata flinched, tongue stuck uselessly to the roof of his mouth, when He suddenly spoke:
“Fine”. And after a pause: “We won.”
“Congrats”, Miya Atsumu lowered his head, his tone anything but friendly, and looked Him straight in the eye from under his heavy eyelids. It was the gaze Hinata recognized: Miya Atsumu stared at him like that last year, when he promised to crash him in the next Interhigh. “Never expected ta see ya here, though.”
“I wanted to shower properly before the bathrooms get crowded, but...” He scrunched his nose, clearly displeased, and it occurred suddenly to Hinata that it wasn’t his presence that made Him upset. There was something to His tone - reminding him of Koganegawa or Yamaguchi averting their eyes and whining “Nooo, it’s alright...”, hiding their discomfort, and that made Hinata ask:
“But?”
“But...” He paused, looking to the side. Not shy - only irritated. Hinata cautiously stepped closer to Him, fighting down the urge to hide from Miya Atsumu’s piercing glare behind His back.
“Is there a problem with the showers?” He asked instead.
“No, not actually with the showers.”
“Whassup then?” Miya Atsumu questioned. He sounded uncertain. He must be wanting to go back to his team or do whatever he planned to do here, but - for some reason he still hadn’t left. “A check-in fault?”
“No.”
“Can we help?” Hinata blurted out. He hadn’t really thought before asking; he even didn’t know who “we” referred to! Just - there was no one in sight, and he really really didn’t want to leave Him in that distressed state. He wouldn’t leave anyone in this situation, alright? He was a kind person! It’s not like the guy was super special or anything.
“No, it’s stupid. Forget it.” He breathed out. Hinata felt Miya Atsumu move behind his back, so that they both faced Him.
“Oh c’mon, spill it. Now ‘m really interested.”
“We won’t tell anyone!”
“Speak for yerself, Shouyo-kun.” Miya Atsumu said almost teasingly. Though the next second he was back to his scary self, glancing at him with the same nonchalant expression and causing Hinata to blink incredulously. Did he just... tell a joke?
“Disgusting,” the guy frowned at them. “I absolutely don’t need your help here.”
“I would like to know if there’s something off with the bathrooms, though.” Hinata said politely, playing his last card. “I was going there anyway”.
Both He and Miya Atsumu eyed him, the latter nodding slightly to himself, and Hinata thought he heard a very quiet “Nice one!” Must’ve been his imagination!
“Alright,” He said, leaning on the table with His right hip that was covered only with fluffy towel. It was evident that He wanted to share with someone but was very hesitant about it. “You two just won’t give up, will you... Alright, listen...”
Ears perking up with anticipation, Hinata couldn’t help but feel a little victorious for being trusted. Even if it was no big deal! Kageyama or Tsukishima would never talk to him about their problems.
“I think someone stole my body wash.”
Hinata and Miya Atsumu shared a quick glance.
“What?” They asked together. The guy huffed, rubbing the bridge of his nose.
“You heard it perfectly clear.”
“Why would any of the students steal your body wash?” Hinata repeated, genuinely confused.
“Students?.. I mean, sure...”
“This hotel’s packed with volleyball teams! There’s no one else besides the staff.” Miya Atsumu said lifting strong eyebrows, his hands in pockets. Hinata nodded, then looked up at him cautiously. Standing beside him felt even crazier than with Ushiwaka! Although Shiratorizawa’s Ace sure was big and scary and famed, Miya Atsumu was still more of a menace; he was one of them volleyball gods, Hinata realised with a sparkle of envy and angry admiration. Oh how tall he was! Ugh, unfair!!
“Yer sure ya didn’t just forget it in yer room?”
“I am not you, Miya,” He rolled His eyes. “Yes, I made sure to check everything before going to the showers.”
“Now now, that was unnecessary!”
“But who could’ve done it? If not a student, I mean?” Hinata asked, tearing his gaze from Miya Atsumu’s stupidly broad shoulders with some effort. Damn, he couldn’t be just as big as Ushiwaka?.. Although that would explain his crazy, terrifying killer serves!
“I left it here,” He said, leading them to the stalls and pointing to the top of a cabin. It was a rather high spot. Hinata and Miya Atsumu inspected a small stand, like in some second-rate detective manga, and came to the evident conclusion: no body wash present. “I left it and went to check the water. Was gone for a minute at most. Then looked for it everywhere.”
“Hmmmm,” Hinata traced pensively, moving around the room to examine the stalls. One of them smelled of fresh hot water, of steam, of cleanliness, pearlescent drops on its walls and a simple washcloth on the door knob; it was likely the one He showered in before realising His soap was missing. He looked it over from floor to ceiling, a stray waterdrop from the shower head landing on his nose.
“Ya were alone?” Miya Atsumu asked.
“I haven’t seen any hotel workers. And I haven’t seen pretty much anyone.”
“It couldn’t have just disappeared.”
“Of course it couldn’t”, He said and then added so quietly Hinata barely caught the word: “Unless...”
“Oh no. No, no, don’t be ridiculous”, Miya Atsumu fuffed dismissively. Hinata peeked from the next stall.
“What? Unless what?”
The guy pretended not to hear anything; maybe He was just tired of their company, or has used up His social energy. Anyway, He walked to a ceiling window, and Hinata with some untimely fascination watched Him reach up easily and open the casement.
“Mr. Grand Volleyball Star over here ‘s trying to say that it was a ghost.”
The guy hissed.
“I am only saying that it’s weird.”
Hinata wanted to laugh, really, but then another drop hit the back of his neck. Unlike the previous one, which made small hairs on his arms stand up from how warm and soft it felt, this drop was icy cold, cold enough to sting. He jumped from surprise, shaking himself like a dog.
It was getting dark outside, he noticed suddenly. The room fell silent.
To think about it, their yard was pretty old. Some of the rooms even had traditional lighting. They were framed with old fat lanterns that would crunch gently at the tiniest draught, rice paper stained with oil that has long ago effloresced. There even was a basket full of holes at the main entrance that was meant to lead away evil spirits; but he used to think it was for the image!
“What’s with this atmosphere?” Miya Atsumu snapped. “Ya gotta be kidding, ya can’t seriously think there’s a... ghost!”
But it was too late, Hinata’s ears had already caught the sound of the old floorboards softly groaning in the halls that were meant to be empty and the whisper of leaves scratching at the windows, their rustle on the verge of hearing. He sneaked back into the warm stall, kneading the washcloth in his hands absentmindedly and trying to drive away the terrifying coldness in his feet at the mere thought of - real - ghosts.
“We’re at the very centre of Tokyo, ya know,” Miya Atsumu mused, unbothered, looking out to the courtyard. How was he so calm? Couldn’t he hear the mild lisping of who-knows-whose footsteps from the old attic? Didn’t he see how long and dark shadows had become? Wasn’t he afraid of the Betobeto spirit, wandering on the upper floors, of the Tsukumogami eyeing the three of them from every crevice, of the hungry nine-tailed predators rolling in the fallen leaves of that courtyard? Wasn’t he afraid of those ancient gods? W-
Oh.
Oh. Of course-
he wasn’t.
Hinata wanted to smack himself on the head. Why would he be afraid of spirits - when he obviously, definitely, undoubtedly was...
Wincing and trembling from anticipation, he peeped from the stall. Miya was standing beside the window, his enormous height enough to let him see what was happening outside. Was his skin always that pale?.. And naturally, those teeth were definitely no common human teeth, they were scary sharp fangs - hidden now in his mouth. Hinata couldn’t see them from where he was hiding in the stall, but could easily imagine their pointed edges. What the hell was he?!
Hinata lurked back inside the moment Miya Atsumu’s narrow, wolfish pupils swung in his direction. He tried to swallow, throat feeling dry. How come he didn’t notice from the start? It was super obvious!!
“Oi,” sounded from behind, and He stepped inside the stall, tugging the washcloth from Hinata’s hands. “Are you planning to steal this as well?”
“!!! No, sorry!” Though his cold fingers wouldn’t let go for some reason, clinging to the poor piece of fabric for dear life. It took some effort and angry ‘tsk’-ing from His side to shake Hinata off the washcloth. He moved closer to the wall and turned on the water, scrubbing the thing delicately - obviously from Hinata’s dirty hands.
“Find yourself another stall, would you.” He huffed when Hinata wormed his way to His side, fitting his small body so that he could see Miya Atsumu and hide effectively behind Him and the shower’s wall. “Don’t touch me.”
“Why would a ghost want yer body wash, anyway?” Miya Atsumu continued. He moved along the other stalls and - bingo! The exit wasn’t blocked anymore! Hinata tensed, preparing for a short sprint that would take him to the dear, cozy, safe Karasuno dorms but stopped at the last second.
If he leaves now, He will be left alone with Miya Atsumu? One on one?
“Well... It was a quality product. No smell. Expensive... What?” He asked when Hinata nudged him on the side.
“Are you done?” Hinata murmured.
“No?”
Miya Atsumu, laughing quietly (probably at His dedication to expensive cosmetics brands or whatever them spirits laugh at), had inspected all the opposite stalls and was coming back, and - they didn’t have much time to leave safely!
“We need to get going!” He whispered urgently, trying to pull Him by the elbow only to have his hands immediately shoved away. The guy turned off the shower, placing the washcloth, now squeaky clean, in a little plastic bag along with a towel and some neatly folded clothes, and pulled on a T-shirt. He paced elegantly through the bathrooms, and Hinata rushed to his side, trying to put himself bravely between Him and Miya Atsumu, glancing suspiciously at the latter.
“See you, Miya,” He said, tilting His head to the side and sending one last look over the shoulder. “Thanks for the help.”
“S-sure,” Miya Atsumu almost stuttered, though his voice immediately turned honey-teasing. “Ya too, Shouyo-kun. See ya tomorrow.”
“G-goodbye!”
“I’m not going anywhere with you either,” He said as soon as they were back in the halls. “Who knows where a little monster like you will lead me. I’m returning to the dorms now.”
“I’m not... little!” Hinata growled, protesting against each and every word. He wasn’t planning to lead Him anywhere! Maybe except for safety. Frankly, for a second he was very proud of himself for nailing that rescue operation; they were both safe and sound, and even though the body wash was still missing, they managed to sneak away from the terrifying Miya Atsumu spirit! He might be expecting a little ‘thank-you’... why did Miya Atsumu get one and he didn’t?
Hinata puffed and tried to grab Him by the shirt, like he did with Kageyama when the setter annoyed him. Although instead of hitting or wrestling him, the guy dodged easily.
“Well, from up here you surely don’t look like a big monster.”
Ah! That did sting! Where did this Saltyshima smirk come from??
“Ugh! Just you wait!” He chased the guy across the corridor. “You’ll see how big of a monster I am when I smash the ball right over your head!”
Finally, he wrapped his arms around Him, locking hands behind His back. His cheek squashed into hard chest, and for a second he felt strong heartbeat against the shell of his ear before something yanked him up.
The guy held him effortlessly by the collar with one hand, lifting to His eye level. Ah, He looked completely pissed off!
“Oh my god, how on earth did I even get involved with you?” He muttered. “You’re so... wild.”
“Is it a bad thing?”
“Absolutely the worst.”
“Now that was rude!”
“Whatever.” He placed Hinata back on the floor like he weighed nothing. “I don’t accept challenges from little boys who can’t take care of themselves.”
“Mmf, I’m better about it now! I learn how to eat and sleep properly!..”
“We’ll see.”
Hinata frowned.
“Say, am I not scary at all? There’re those super tough guys with intense aura, like Ushiwaka or Hyakuzawa or Hoshiumi-san, and I know I’m not actually like that, but... I still have to be... fearsome! To be a good decoy and stuff and... never mind...” He found himself mumbling. Why would he compare himself to the volleyball gods in front of this guy?.. Was he showing off?
“Well...” The boy traced. “Last year when you were passing by our court, for a moment I wanted to hold my breath; you could say I was scared.”
Hinata couldn’t believe his ears; he straightened, feeling goosebumps run from his toes to the crown of his head and back, and his insides felt so squishy and hot - like a sponge! - heart growing suddenly three times bigger and threatening to jump out of his body.
“A-a-are you serious? Like... really serious?”
“Yeah, I was so afraid of catching your fever; definitely could not afford getting sick at that moment.”
“W-why, you!!” Hinata roared, blushing awkwardly down to his neck. Of course that had to be a trap, a joke! “And here I thought you were a nice guy, but you’re actually kind of mean!”
“Why, thank you.”
“Don’t thank me! I called you mean!” This guy was quite a character! He was even worse than Tsukishima, who didn’t butter him up before destroying his ego and at least had Yamaguchi to keep him in check.
Hinata felt like a child. He was barely keeping his hands from waving frustratedly or reaching out to tug Him again by the sleeves. He was almost an adult, for god’s sake! He had to act like one if he wanted to fight on his own and get ready for two long years in Brazil. So he pressed his lips into a thin line and crossed his arms, remembering how Yamaguchi acted when his friend entered the Mean-shima mode.
“Fine,” he said, looking to the side. He will be the responsible one. “We’ll see who’s better. But now I have to hurry to our awesome secret post-game discussion!”
His counterpart paused for a second, and there was a tiny flash of surprise in His seemingly expressionless face. Though it was gone before Hinata could properly see it.
“Survive tomorrow first.” He nodded, turning around and walking casually towards the elevators. “Good night, Hinata.”
Ah- what?
He... really left!
Tsukishima would definitely come up with another salty joke, so this outcome was completely unexpected!!
Hinata slapped himself on the cheeks - damn, they felt unhealthily hot... Did he get a fever again? He touched his forehead carefully, trying to recognize symptoms if there were any. There was unfamiliar tickling in his chest that he failed to identify. Hinata shook his head and rushed around the corner. He forgot to ask something very very important!
“Hey, wait! What’s your na-“
“Watch where you’re going!” A voice rumbled from above, followed by a hand that pushed him back roughly. Hinata bounced on one leg; he easily kept his balance, but the whole movement caused him to slow down. “First years these days are all nuts.”
“I’m not a first year,” Hinata said, rubbing his shoulder. Curse those corners! “Sorry for the trouble.”
It was a company in blue uniforms. Of course - Hinata wouldn’t recognize them if not for a capitalized “Ichibayashi” across their jackets.
“It’s ok, it’s ok,” A guy with a ponytail muttered. There was a sound of elevator’s doors closing on the background which made Hinata swear internally. The moment was gone - He was unreachable. “Just watch out, will you?”
“Ano,” he said. “Did you have a match with Itachiyama today?”
He bit his tongue immediately though. Shouldn’t have been so blunt!
“Well, yes,” another boy answered darkly. “Why?”
“If I dare to ask,” Hinata tried more politely, “who won? Was the Na- eeerm, Sakusa there?”
“Hah, you bet. If he wasn’t there, it might have ended another way.”
They shared a glance, constrained but sincere, averting eyes immediately in a manner that would seem awkward. They must be third years, Hinata thought on a sudden.
“Can’t say I regret it though!”
“Actually... it was kind of a... not-terrible match.”
“That’s rich coming from you.”
“Shut up now, it’s not every day that you get to play against Sakusa.”
“H-hey, did you just smile?”
“I don’t think you can prepare properly,” the boy continued, utterly ignoring the question. “Unless you invent some sort of a machine that throws the ball at you like this regularly at practice, you cannot learn to dig that.”
“Dig what?” Hinata bounced in.
“His spike, obviously.”
“No wonder his cousin is the country’s best libero, he gets to train with that, like, every day. Can you imagine?”
“My arms hurt at the mere thought,” the guy admitted through gritted teeth.
“What, is he so strong?” Hinata demanded, lost completely in their exchange. A cousin? A machine that throws volleyballs?
“It’s not just about the strength,” the third boy said with a sigh. “It’s many things actually. He hits in any direction from any position.”
“Yep, and it’s fast.”
“A decent toss and your triple block is as good as if it wasn’t there.”
Fast hits in any direction from any position? This sounds almost inhuman! Hinata blinked, mouth hanging open, a billion of questions on his tongue.
“But what about the read block?” He asked with fervor. “I know it’s possible to predict the trajectory from a toss and a run up! If the toss is too short-“
“Damn, kid, you have no idea what you’re talking about.” The Ponytail guy cut him off with a humorless laugh. “I used to think so. Jumped right before him, Naga on my left, we had the line shot totally shut off. He ran up from the right to the the left, from the centre to the antenna. The toss was long and too close to the net. And his body wasn’t even facing us but the tribunes. He looked like he was going for a cross shot but in opposing direction, a cross shot into out.”
“Did he feint then?” Hinata said, puzzled.
“Oh no.” The guy mused. “He did hit a cross.”
“Almost backwards.”
“I don’t understand!” Hinata screeched. “He ran up from the center to the left side of the court? And then hit a cross shot to the right?”
“Yes, just like that.”
“That’s impossible.” Hinata tried to mimic the movement, swinging his arm slowly like he was going to spike and then twisting his wrist that protested with a pitiful ‘crunch’. “Ouch! That would displace your elbow in no time, human body is not made for this!!”
Ichibayashi third years laughed at that, their soar expressions gone, replaced by cheeky gremlin smiles.
“Oi oi, careful out there!”
“I’ll tell you more: not only didn’t he lose a stitch of speed, putting a spin on the ball, he also smashed it right in between our defenders, precise, rigid. He was aware of our positions when he jumped.”
That was a lot to think about. Hinata contemplated running to the coaches’ room to beg Takeda-sensei for the tape right now, because- damn, it was crazy. How come he’s never ever seen the guy play? It was like another dimension of volleyball suddenly appeared from thin air! Maybe if he can’t have the Ichibayashi game tape today, he can still find matches from last year, or-
“Hey boy, you alright there? Your eyes are literally sparkling.”
“Thank you guys so much!” He bowed, snapping from his trance for a second, and started towards the dorms. “Good luck with your adult life, please don’t forget to do the things you like!”
“Hahaha, what?”
“Does he have any idea what the ‘adult life’ is?”
“I like that! Good luck to you too!”
“Oi, is it me or was it really Karasuno’s small number seven?..”