Chapter Text
“Argh! I don’t get this!” Tobio yelled, throwing the pencil at his desk and watching it ricochet on the desk to the open window, seeing it disappear. Tobio stared blankly and groaned, hitting his head onto the table.
“Tobio, calm down. You’ll get it soon enough. That’s why we’re taking it step by step, okay?” Tobio’s older brother, Ritsu, assured him.
The younger Kageyama looked up and glared at the webcam. “Calculus is ass! I can’t find the maximum distance of the parallelogram PQRS! Why do I need to learn the quadratic curve?! I know what I’m doing with my life, I’m playing volleyball!” Tobio exclaimed.
Ritsu snorted. “I know you don’t want to learn this, but you told me that if you fail another test, you won’t be able to go to your volleyball camp. I mean, if you want to fail, you can do that too. But then I’ll get scolded by mom because I haven’t been helping you. So, maybe you really don’t have a choice in the matter. I don’t want to get scolded and you don’t want to fail. So, get back to studying!” Ritsu pointed at him.
“Let me get a pencil, pencil flew out the window again.” Tobio muttered, getting up and taking out a mechanical pencil from his bag.
After an hour of studying, Ritsu and Tobio said their farewells and Tobio went to the kitchen. Opening the fridge, he got a box of milk and poked the straw. Sipping furiously from the headache that formed when he was learning calculus, he sat on the couch. Ritsu made sure to drill those formulas and equations in Tobio’s thick skull as passive aggressively as possible. He’s pretty sure the notes that Ritsu sent to his phone were also a reminder to Tobio not to forget, cause God knows Tobio can be forgetful. Finishing the milk box and crushing it between his fingers, he got up to throw it away.
The apartment that Tobio lived in was always a quiet place, along with the neighborhood, not a single cicada would chirp too loud. Tobio hadn’t planned to live in an apartment, but what can he do? His parents allowed it and helped him by sending money to his credit card, there, he can withdraw as much money as he wants. When Saitama heard of this, he threw a mini fit, complaining how he always pestered their parents about wanting to get a credit card. Ritsu and Shigeo didn’t really care about it, since in Japan credit and debit cards weren’t frequently used a lot, as they were content with the allowance they received. What most of his brothers weren’t content with, excluding Shigeo, was that he got the latest phone and Saitama threw an even bigger fit, complaining he didn’t have a phone until he was in his second year of senior high.
Tobio glanced at the digital clock on the table besides the television and decided to go to bed. By nine-forty-five, he brushes his teeth and goes to bed. He ate during his study session with Ritsu. After he used the bathroom, he took out the clip that held back his bangs and laid it on the night table. Pulling the blankets up to his chin, he snuggled deeper into the sheet and the pillow.
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“Kageyama! You got it right!” Yachi clapped her hands while Hinata stared incredulously at the red check next to the problem Tobio solved. “Did the notes I gave you help?” Yachi asked, giving back the paper to the taller boy.
Tobio nodded. “I was confused with a few of it, so I got more help.”
Hinata looked defeated, getting out of his chair and raising his foot on the ledge of the window.
“What are you doing, dumbass?”
Hinata smiled but his eyes screamed shame. “To think, Bakayama is smarter than me. Goodbye-”
Yachi squealed and wrapped his arms around Hinata’s chest to pull him back. “It’s not worth it, Hinata! I can still help you!”
Tobio felt a vein throb at what the redhead said. “Yeah! I’m smarter and taller than you!”
Hinata stopped fidgeting under Yachi grasp and he glared up at Tobio. Yachi quickly let go, worried that her friends will start brawling right here, right now.
“Wanna fight, you ogre?!”
“Who you calling an ogre, you leprechaun?!”
“Leprechaun?!”
The boys were growling at each other.
Yachi held up shaky hands to get their attention, “G-Guys! Remember?! We’re studying, study, study, stu-”
“Looks like the circus beasts are at it again.”
Tobio and Hinata stopped glaring at each other and snapped their heads to the voice who spoke.
Yamaguchi snickered behind his hand at Tsukishima’s comment.
“Whatcha say, you giraffe?!” Hinata puffed his chest waving a fist at them.
The blond rolled his eyes at him. “Captain wants you three to know that practice is going to end early today. That’s all.” Tsukishima turnt his nose up to them and walked away, Yamaguchi following him.
The trio’s lunch had ended, with Yachi praising Tobio for his understanding on the topic they reviewed to Hinata’s displeasure.
After practice, Tobio got a message from Ritsu.
Don’t forget to drink water
Tobio texted back.
Im drinking milk
Drink wATER
Im drinking milk
W A T E R
Tobio scrunched his nose.
You dont bother Shige about drinking water
Thats cause I replaced all the milk with water
Youre cruel
Ik
“Who are you texting there, Kageyama?” Hinata asked.
“Someone cruel.” Tobio replied, packing his bags and slipping on his shoes.
“So are you heading to my place again or...?” Hinata tied his shoelaces and picked up his bag.
Tobio nodded. When they reached the front of the school, Hinata unchained his bike and they walked to get meat buns.
With a mouth full of meat bun, Hinata was chattering on about what happened in class, saying that one of his friends stuck up eraser shavings up his nose and forced himself to sneeze. The eraser shavings went everywhere.
Tobio has listened to every detail that Hinata went on about. It sounds like in his class, they were quite the interesting bunch. Tobio’s homeroom was normal, he thinks. They talked about whatever, but Tobio wasn’t really entertained by them. That’s why he goes and visits Hinata, where they meet Yachi at her classroom. Hinata was an extrovert, so he had lots of people surrounding him and got into weird crap, Yachi was an ambivert, so she was shy but she still made friends despite the timidness she had. It made her more endearing, which made other people want to talk to her. Tobio was an introvert. Asocial? He preferred being alone cause he was used to it. But when Hinata came crashing in like a volleyball to the face, Tobio wasn’t really as alone.
To other people, they still depend on appearances. So with Tobio’s resting bitch face plus the scar on the right side, people were very intimidated by him. He still walked like he carried a crown and red cape, but he’s trying to get rid of it. This is his first year for something new. Something better than elementary and junior high.
“What’re you thinking about, Kageyama?” Hinata peered at him.
“Nothing special. Do you still have my clothes?”
“Yeah, they’re in the closet.”
It took a while to get to Hinata’s house but once they reached there, Natsu, Hinata’s little sister greeted them.
“Mister grumpy! You’re back!” After hugging her brother, she glomped his legs.
“I..am back. Again. Hello.” Tobio stiffly waved at her, even though she wasn’t looking. He is still unsure of what to do. Though many times he has been going through this, physical contact with other humans is still alien to him. His brothers weren’t really touchy-feely, with the exception of hugging when they feel sad or something. It wasn’t that they didn’t care for each other, they did a whole lot, but they just...feel weird expressing it sometimes. Saitama has no trouble with ruffling their hair from time to time, along with his other older brothers who did that, or giving them a pat on the back, but that’s usually for assurance or trying to cheer them up. Besides that, they just talk. Talk and talk. It was their own way of caring for one another. Like poking fun or pushing buttons. Shigeo doesn’t really get angered easily which is very surprising since Saitama, Ritsu, and himself have quite a temper. Saitama will get angry if you mention his bald head and if he forgets if there was a sale at the grocery store. Ritsu will be annoyed if you talk to him in general. He’ll get angry if something doesn’t go his way. Tobio will get angry if you mess something up or annoy him too much. All of them, Shigeo included, will become furious if you insult their family or hurt them.
Come to think of it, Tobio has never seen Shigeo angry, so he doesn’t really know what angers Shigeo.
How did the saying go? The quiet ones are always the scariest ones? Yeah, that’s the saying.
Natsu let go of him and Tobio greeted Hinata’s mother, who was cooking in the kitchen. The boys walked to his room and Hinata opened his closet and threw Tobio his clothes, his sweatpants hitting his chest and falling onto the floor and his hoodie hanging from his head. Tobio removed his hoodie and went to the bathroom to change.
When he came back, Hinata was texting someone, probably Kenma, they got pretty close after their camp. The redhead looked up and smiled. “Kageyama! Your phone has been buzzing like crazy! Who’s been texting you?”
Tobio rummaged through his bag and took out his phone. It was his brothers.
Saitama was sending memes.
Shigeo was sending animal gifs.
Ritsu was just keysmashing.
“Weirdos. That’s who’s texting me.” Tobio pocketed his phone into his hood pocket and placed his folded clothes in the other bag. He sat on the floor, his back against Hinata’s bed.
Hinata hummed and hopped down to the floor, sitting closely to Tobio. “I have strawberries in the fridge. You wanna make strawberry milk with me?” The redhead offered. He felt his heart spike a bit when Tobio looked down to him with slight sparkles in his eyes. Tobio nodded fervently. Hinata smiled back at him and they both got up, racing to the kitchen.
It was a tie, Hinata making a quick jump so that they were tied nose to nose. While Tobio got out the ingredients, Hinata found the utensils.
It only took five minutes to make strawberry milk the way Tobio likes it. Hinata likes to add a bit of honey, so does Natsu, Tobio didn’t mind as long as he still tasted the milk. So, Hinata added a dollop of honey into the blend and had the strawberry mix simmered in a pastel blue pot. After that was finished, they poured the strawberry first into a big glass bottle, then the ice, and then the milk. Tobio had the honor of shaking it profusely, the ice clinking against each other and the drink becoming a light pretty pink. Hinata brought out three glasses and Tobio poured the drink into each.
“Natsu! We made strawberry milk!” Hinata called out to his little sister.
The pitter-patter of light footsteps down the hall had arrived and the smaller redhead thanked both of them, returning to her room.
“So what should we do?” Hinata asked, holding the glass of strawberry milk in his hand.
Tobio had a light pink moustache above his lip. Hinata wanted to brush it off with his thumb.
So he did.
Then it hit him like a ton of bricks when he realized what he was doing.
He jerked back, and stood still, trying to not shake and prevent any strawberry milk from leaping out the glass. His face and the tips of ears felt warm as he laughed nervously.
Tobio didn’t seem fazed by it.
“S-Sorry! It’s a force of habit. Natsu would also get the milk moustaches and I usually wipe it off. It’s an older sibling thing.” He explained, looking away so he wouldn’t stare at Tobio’s piercing stare.
Tobio blinked then nodded. “Oh. I understand.”
“You do?”
“Yeah. My brothers used to do that for me.”
Hinata looked back at him, expression piqued with interest. Tobio rarely talks about his family, well, more like never mentions them. Hinata didn’t want to seem more nosy than he already is. So Hinata goes step by step.
“Your brothers?”
“I have three older brothers. I’m the youngest.”
Hinata hummed. “You’re fifteen. How old are your brothers?”
“Ritsu’s seventeen. Shigeo is eighteen. And Saitama is thirty. He’s an old man now, living with his boyfriend who wears a pink frilly apron.”
“Frilly apron?”
“Yeah, the one that says ‘Kiss the cook’. Ritsu and I got it for Saitama but he gave it to his boyfriend. Something about looking better in it.”
“You have pictures of them?”
Tobio gulped down the milk and put the glass down, his other hand fidgeting in his pocket.
Tobio had another milk moustache.
Hinata wanted to wipe it off.
Instead, Tobio used his sleeve to wipe his mouth and scrolled through numerous pictures of gifs and memes his brothers had sent him. When he got to the first picture, Tobio turned his phone screen to Hinata.
Hinata tried not to snort.
They really looked alike, especially the shape of their eyes. The color of their eyes were completely different. Tobio looked like he was in his first year of junior high, considering the date and time. From the picture, Tobio looks like he’s the older brother, the boy with the bowl cut was smaller than all of them and the other with the spiky black hair was only an inch smaller than Tobio. The bald man was obviously taller than all of them. He must be Saitama.
“The guy with the spiky hair is Ritsu and the one with the bowl-cut is Shigeo.” Tobio pointed out.
“I could really see the resemblance, actually. Do the rest of your brothers play?”
“No, not really. Ritsu only plays if I ask and Shigeo isn’t really athletic. He does work-out though, he just doesn’t play. Saitama can’t play at all.”
“Is Ritsu good?”
“Obviously. When I was a kid, he was the only one who could catch up to me, my team fell behind.”
Hinata grinned. “Maybe I can see him play sometime. If I beat him, that means I beat you!”
Tobio clicks the button to turn his phone off and shoves it in his pocket. “In your dreams. My brother can kick your ass if he wants too.”
“I’d like to see him try! If I win over him I win over you, which means I win over everyone!”
“Wha- How does that make any sense, dumbass?!”
“Cause it does.” He stuck out his tongue and Tobio did the same.
Tobio was the first to retreat. “Wanna play?”
“Hell yeah!”
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“Would you like to explain why you haven’t answered, little brother?” Saitama propped his arm on the pillow, his hand supporting his chin. A sly grin was on his face.
Tobio didn’t like that grin.
“You usually tell us to shut up or something. But last night you said nothing at all.” Ritsu added, his eyes focus on his homework.
Shigeo was over at his boyfriend’s house, sitting on the bed. “Tobio was probably busy. After all, he does have a life outside of us, you know.”
Leave it to Shigeo to be the one who has his back.
Saitama gasped, slapping his cheeks for more dramatic effect. “A life? Out of us?? Out of volleyball??? What has the world come to?!”
“Shut up, aniki!”
“Oh look, he speaks.” Ritsu smirked at him as he stopped writing.
“Don’t mind them, Tobio. How was your day?” Shigeo hugged the pillow closer to him.
“It was fine. The same.”
“What was it? Fine or the same?” Ritsu asked, enjoying the ticked off look he received from Tobio.
Tobio was so easy to anger, it’s so funny.
“It was okay! I went to school, had practice, I tried not to fall asleep in class, had lunch, had practice again and then I went home! That’s it, nothing exciting happened!” Tobio huffed, crossing his arms.
“Why so defensive little brother? Ritsu just wanted a clarification.” Saitama snickered, quickly turning away when Tobio’s eyes snapped to him.
“I’m not being defensive! I’m just clearing things up, that’s all. Nothing exciting has happened and things have just been the same, like clockwork. What about you guys?”
“The usual. Monsters come and go. Genos takes care of them mostly, I just step in if they annoy me too much.” Saitama picked at his nails, throwing away the grime to wherever.
“Hmmm, I found a kitten in the bushes near Teru’s apartment. He’s a ragdoll and I named him Hermes.” Shigeo said.
“Anything interesting, Ritsu?” Saitama asked.
Ritsu pursed his lips. “Shou proposed to me.”
“What?! Nuh-uh!”
“That’s nice to hear, Ritsu.”
“Wait really?!”
“He proposed to me with a cherry ring pop in front of the school gates. Then I kicked his ass.”
“But did you take the ring?!” Saitama shook the camera a bit, his face all up on the screen.
“Of course I took the ring! What kind of person do you take me for?”
“The type to kick someone’s ass after they propose to you.” Shigeo responded, his head turned and gaze softened when the cat came into view.
“Hi, Hermes!” Saitama backed away and waved at them.
Shigeo sat up straight and held up the kitten, moving his paw as if he was waving to them. When he put Hermes down, the cat curled up besides Shigeo, yawning and napping.
“Do you still have the ring?” the eldest brother wondered.
“Hold on,” Ritsu leaned to the right and pulled out a blue ring, but with no cherry lollipop in the shape of a diamond. “I have it. I took my time with it, unlike Shigeo, who’ll just chomp on it with three bites.”
Shigeo rolled his eyes. “I like the crunch.”
“Even I don’t do that lil’brother. I may be the strongest man, but I savor my candy.”
Shigeo shrugged. “I can tell.”
Saitama raised his brow at him. “And what’s that supposed to mean?”
“Nothing, just that the apron you gave Genos-san must be good eye candy you’re savoring, huh.”
“Ooo shit.” Ritsu snorted, covering his mouth with his fist.
Tobio cackled, seeing Saitama have a flabbergasted expression. It never tires him to see his eldest apathetic brother be speechless when he gets hit with Shigeo’s remarks.
“You...When did you become a little shit, Shigeo?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” He petted Hermes, avoiding his older brother’s glare.
“You were so nice! You used to be on the big brother team, remember? We were unstoppable!”
“I don’t remember being on anyone’s team.”
“You- You! Ugh! You know what, when the other little shits are acting like little bastards to you, don’t lean on me!” Saitama puffed his cheek and crossed his arms furiously.
“I’ll keep that in mind. Hmm, Tobio, when are you going to introduce us to your team?” Shigeo hugged the pillow tighter, feeling a shiver down his spine due to the cold air from the AC.
Tobio shrugged. “They’re good people. Except for this one guy, he’s really salty. Why’re you asking, Shige?”
“I’m curious, that’s all.”
“Ritsu-nii, I sent you the topic I’ve been learning at school, did you get it?”
“Yeah I got it. I think I have some of my old notes. I’ll take a picture of it later. Make sure to upload them on your laptop before you go to bed, alright? I don’t want you to forget about them.” Ritsu mothered on. “Also, drink water. I know you’ve been drinking milk 24/7 but you need to drink water. You can’t survive drinking milk alone-Shige, don’t even.”
Shigeo shut his mouth.
“And do your laundry tomorrow! I could see a pile of clothes increasing.”
Tobio shifted the camera away from the pile.
“Ha ha, you’re getting lectured.” Saitama taunted in a sing-song voice.
“You’re not any better, aniki. I could see your underwear on the chair.”
“Oi, we’re focusing on Tobes, not me.” Saitama turned around and said some things to the person behind him. “Looks like I gotta blast. See you losers later.” Saitama shot up a peace sign and ended his side of the call.
Ritsu looked down at his phone. “Damn, I have to get up early tomorrow. I got to go, bye guys.” He waved and then the red phone showed up for his side.
“So do you have to go?” Tobio asked.
“No. Teru’s still in the bathtub. Do you have to go?”
“No. Not really.”
“Did you eat dinner already?”
“Yeah, before I got on the call. I had gyudon. Did you eat?”
“Teru and I are eating take out. Well, when he gets out of the bath we will. The delivery didn’t arrive yet anyways. We’re going to watch a movie tonight.”
“That’s cool. What kind of movie?”
“Horror, I think. Or was it a thriller? I’m not so sure, Teru’s picking it out, but all I know is that it’s between those two or that new Korean movie.”
Tobio nodded.
“How are your matches? Did you win any?”
“Yeah. We defeated a few well-known teams in Miyagi, you know, especially in Aoba Johsai, where my old senpais and old teammates are.”
Shigeo smiled. “That’s nice to hear. I’m sorry we weren’t able to watch you.”
“It’s okay, Nii-san. I understand. Hey, when you come here, can you show me how to make those Korean dishes? I keep seeing it in your Instagram stories and they look good.”
Shigeo was curious as to why Tobio would want to learn from him directly when he has the internet available at the touch of his fingertips. He watched Tobio fidget under his gaze, and Shigeo thought.
‘Tobio misses us. He wants to give us a reason to see him.’
The older Kageyama smiled. “I’ll find a way to visit you, Tobio. Since Ritsu is off weekends, maybe we can meet. I’m not sure about Saitama, but he can try to make time.”
Tobio puffed his cheek. “I don’t want to distract you guys from anything though...I just asked if you can teach me how to cook…”
Shigeo rested his chin on the pillow. “It’s better if I’m there. And it always feels nice to eat with others around.”
He isn’t wrong…
“Tell me when you’re free and I’ll talk to Ritsu and Saitama about it.”
Tobio cracked his fingers. “...Alright.”
“I have to go now, little brother. Delivery is here.”
There was a shout in the background.
“And Teru says hi.”
“Tell him I said hi too. Bye, Nii-san.”
“Talk to you soon, Tobio.”
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