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“Bateyama-kun, do you think there are alternate versions of us out there?”
Hinata turns his head when he speaks to Kageyama, looking at his upside-down features. They had taken a nap, but he doesn’t know how that ended up with their heads together and feet facing opposite ends of the bed.
In lieu of an actual response, Kageyama just says, “Hinata-boke”, sluggish, living up to his nickname. It’s crazy how dysfunctional he is when he hasn’t gotten enough sleep or isn’t fully awake.
But that’s okay! Hinata doesn’t need Kageyama to be responsive anyways. He just wants to say his thoughts out loud, and it sounds a lot better when he’s talking to someone else rather than to himself.
“I mean, think about it though. Space is massive, and with so many galaxies out there, surely there can be multiple universes too.”
Hinata isn't super into astronomy, but he's stayed up watching theory videos before, as one does. He had to stop after getting freaked out by the sheer minuscule size of what he occupies compared to space and time, but he likes to entertain the idea of there being other hims out there sometimes.
“Maybe there’s a taller me somewhere,” he speculates. Despite having accepted his height and learning how to utilise it, he doesn’t think there’d be any harm if he were a few centimetres taller. Or twenty. He’d take up more space that way too; maybe tall-Hinata doesn’t get as upset about his position in the universe. “Maybe,” he adds, wanting to tease Kageyama, “that me is even taller than you! There could be a short version of you too, one who doesn’t even reach one-sixty!”
Kageyama grunts, then swings out blindly to hit him, but he easily dodges. That only riles the boy up more, and he continues trying to swat Hinata, albeit to no avail. It makes Hinata laugh, loud and open. Messing with Kageyama is always fun.
“Don’t be an idiot, idiot,” Kageyama’s speech is still slurred, however Hinata understands him just fine. It’s one of his skills—being able to decipher what his setter thinks and says no matter the circumstance. “Don’t you think I’d know if there’s another me? The world is only so big.”
It takes Hinata a moment to comprehend what Kageyama just said. When he’s sure that he heard right, his expression twists into one of disbelief, and he props up onto his elbows to get a better look at the dumbass in front of him.
When he’s relaxed, Kageyama actually looks peaceful; there’s not a single trace of the grumpy scowl so many people know him for. And he’s so endearingly oblivious to the nonsense he spouted, Hinata debates whether he should even try to explain the vastness of existence, or just let him be.
“It’s okay, Kageyama-kun,” he replies in the end, patting the top of Kageyama’s head, “not all of us have big enough brains to understand.”
This time, Kageyama lands a solid hit, square in Hinata’s chest. He goes flying back onto the bed with an ‘oof!’, arms and legs plopping down a moment later. He sits up once he’s rubbed the sore spot and glares at Kageyama, even though the dark-haired boy won’t see it. Hinata hopes he feels it though, the daggers and evil curses he’s sending his way.
“That hurt!”
“I didn’t know you were so close! What were you doing?!”
“Hmph.” Hinata takes back all the nice observations he made about Kageyama earlier. He’s not pretty to look at, and he’s definitely not cute in any way. He’s stupid, is what he is. “I’m thinking about the universe where I don’t have to deal with you.”
“Hmph,” Kageyama mimics. He then brings up his arms and folds them over his chest. “Not if I beat you to it.” And then he starts frowning really hard, as if he’s putting a lot of effort into it.
“Wh—! That’s cheating!” Hinata yells. Kageyama can’t just steal his idea and get a head start! So, he immediately lies back down and screws his eyes shut too, determined to somehow erase Kageyama from existence.
It’s difficult. No matter what scenario Hinata thinks up, as soon as he believes he’s succeeded, Kageyama appears in the next scene.
He pictures his third year of junior high. Yukigaoka never plays Kitagawa Daiichi. Kageyama Tobio never goes to Karasuno. Hinata hones his volleyball skills without someone yelling at him, and he gets better and better. He reaches his dream stage—playing on the world level—and when he enters the national team’s gym, boasting his new ‘Japan’ jacket, he walks into someone.
He pulls back quickly and goes to apologise, but is stifled by a cold glare. Blue eyes stare down at him, and he sees hair as dark as the aura exuding from the man. What’s more, he’s wearing the same red jersey Hinata has on under his outer layer, and when the guy harshly turns around, Hinata sees ‘KAGEYAMA’ blazoned in white across the top.
Hinata shakes the image out of his mind, deciding to switch gears. It’s probably better if he doesn’t involve the sport he loves, otherwise Kageyama is bound to show up sooner or later.
So, he pictures himself as a knight who gets to carry a sword around with him, patrolling a huge castle. He’s still short compared to the other knights, but he’s faster than them—the heavy armour does nothing to weigh him down. This makes him efficient at catching thieves and completing his tasks, so he gets a bonus and is given permission to go down to the market.
Going outside the main perimeters and into the common areas is fun. Hinata gets to talk to a lot of people and see a lot of cool things. He even joins in on a children’s game kicking a small stuffed sack around and between two sticks acting as posts.
Once he obtains some fresh eggs, he starts heading back, but gets distracted by the throngs of people gathering at the edge of the main road. He halts swinging his bag, and weasels his way to the front to get a better look at what’s going on.
It seems like those around him aren’t sure what’s happening either, but there are a lot of whispers about someone important coming. Hinata’s lost—he hadn’t heard anything about a special guest, so he has no idea who it could be.
His questions are answered though, when a trumpet blares loudly, and he hears the telltale sound of marching.
Everyone around him immediately extends their necks to try and get a first glimpse of the incoming royal, however Hinata stays back. When he sees the foreign soldiers pass, he can’t help but grimace. Their protective coverings look a lot shinier than the ones Hinata normally has to wear, and they look a lot more lightweight too. The family crest protrudes from the chestplate in brilliant blue, glinting in the sunlight.
He can’t imagine what a presumably distinguished family is doing here, but he knows it means he’s probably screwed if he doesn’t get back to the castle before they arrive. He’s just about to leave though, when he sees him.
Without even knowing anything else, it’s obvious that the person riding the white horse is a king. There’s just something different about the way he carries himself; Hinata has no doubt that if he got close the air around him would not be the same. Suddenly, Hinata finds it hard to look away.
Which is when eyes settle on him.
There are so many others staring at the king, with much more intensity as well, yet for some reason he chooses to return Hinata’s gaze. Hinata feels frozen now, suffocated almost, and it’s like nothing else matters.
He could stay like this forever, except “King Tobio!” cuts the moment short, and the royal breaks eye contact, continuing forward.
Hinata’s eyes fly open, and he grasps at himself to make sure he’s not in medieval times, and glances at Kageyama to make sure he’s not ruling any nations. Satisfied, he looks up at the ceiling again to contemplate his failures.
Frustrated, Hinata shakes against the bed, then prods Kageyama.
“Kageyama-kun, help me.”
“No.”
“Come on! Does that mean you’ve done it?”
“Done what?”
“… Imagined a universe without me?”
“Why would I do that? Who would I toss to?”
Hinata wants to chastise him, call him an idiot for not even remembering what he was meant to be doing, but he can’t bring himself to say anything after Kageyama’s honest comments make his face heat up.
“Now quit bothering me, I’ve been trying to sleep.”
“You—!” Kageyama is an idiot. That whole thing was probably just a ruse to get Hinata to stop talking! Well, too bad for him, Hinata sticks his tongue out at the boy, that’s not going to happen.
“I wonder in how many realities we still play volleyball.” As great as it is, and as much as Hinata’s current life revolves around the sport, thinking about doing other things and not living as an athlete is entertaining. Maybe he’s a pirate in another universe.
These words get Kageyama’s attention. His eyes blink open, and he stares down at Hinata looking almost offended.
“Dumbass. Every single version of me plays volleyball. There is no doubt about that.”
“You’re the dumbass! How are you going to play volleyball if you live in Feudal Japan, where the sport doesn’t even exist? Or maybe you’re living in Antarctica, where it’s too cold to even do anything!”
When Hinata is met with silence, he grins to himself. That means he’s won.
“Well, I know that in every reality I would find you.”
“Oh? That’s romantic, Yamayama-kun,” Hinata teases.
“It’s—” Kageyama’s face has gone bright red, he’s blushing like crazy, and Hinata giggles. He really is inept, isn’t he? The single mention of anything like that and the boy gets flustered. “I only meant that as in I would come and defeat you in any universe! No matter if we’re playing volleyball or not! Hinata-boke!”
“Aw, come on!” Hinata whines. And just when he thought they were having a moment!
A silence falls over them after, Hinata is too busy pouting to try and say anything else. He guesses he should be glad Kageyama is taking their rivalry as seriously as he is, but would that really be the only thing bringing them together? He lets out a huff.
“Hey…” Kageyama starts, with a voice that’s quiet and maybe a bit careful. “You wanna go play ball?”
There’s some hesitance in his tone too, like he’s nervous about Hinata’s answer, and Hinata realises this is probably him trying to say sorry. It’s a twisted way to go about it, but hey, when have they ever been normal?
“Baka,” Hinata says with a smile on his face, “of course I do.”
Then, he abruptly sits up and runs out of the room, towards the backyard where the volleyball net has already been set up. Hinata knows he's cheating by getting a head start, but he's considering it compensation. Kageyama didn't have to apologise at all, however Hinata's losing their tally right now, so he'll take any excuse to get ahead.
When he hears Kageyama’s thundering footsteps behind him, and hears him bellow, “Boke, Hinata-boke!”, he lets out a bright laugh, and throws his arms out like he’s extending his wings for flight.
There may be other realities out there, and they might contain all kinds of Hinata Shouyous, but this Hinata wholeheartedly believes that he lives in the best universe of them all.