Work Text:
Since leaving, Brazil was always on Hinata’s mind. He carried the friendships in his heart and constantly used the techniques he used from beach volleyball to carry him on the indoor court. His time with the MSBY Black Jackals was a fun time, and a time that he would never be able to forget, but deep within his soul, Hinata knew that Brazil was the place for him.
His time there had been short, only two years long, but the bonds he forged with all of his friends there, the reputation he had built in the beach volleyball scene. He always remembered Heitor’s and Nice’s wedding, the happiness that they had upon seeing their little orange friend attending. There was no way Hinata could have said no to begin with. Heitor had always been so encouraging of Hinata, and Hinata would always be grateful to Heitor for being such an amazing partner in beach volleyball. Without him, Hinata would never have really been able to make a name for himself.
But Heitor wasn’t the only person to help Hinata out during his time in Brazil.
Hinata always remembers it fondly, the feeling of playing beach volleyball with Oikawa. Their run in had been completely unplanned, a hilarious happenstance that the two would meet in a land so far away from their home. He remembers the grins on Oikawa’s face as they played together, falling into the sands and picking matches with people at the beach. Their shared meals together and the way Oikawa was, almost obviously, flirting with him. It wasn’t that Hinata hadn’t noticed, but as their visit with each other was going to be brief, Hinata tried not to harbour many feelings towards his former rival-turned-admirer.
Now, Hinata still doesn’t understand what his true feelings had been then, back in Brazil. He was in love with the country (and still is, mind you), and perhaps his feelings had begun projecting into the time he spent with Oikawa. It wasn’t really a bad thing, not in Hinata’s eyes. Oikawa was handsome, and devilishly so, and he was quite the amazing person. Despite these factors, Hinata couldn’t bring himself to put any feelings into anything but his volleyball.
When the two of them parted, as Oikawa left for Argentina once again, Hinata’s mind turned focus to volleyball once more. He pushed himself to do his best and give his all at beach volleyball, making a name for himself as the infamous “Ninja Shouyou.” He’s still not sure how they came up with that name for him, because he certainly wasn’t anything like a ninja, but Hinata always appreciated the sentiment and love behind the name either way.
Whenever he sat alone in a hotel room, or at his own house, his mind often wandered to Pedro. His roommate and, while Pedro probably never considered himself this, best friend while in Brazil. Now, it wasn’t that Pedro didn’t like Hinata. However, Hinata knew that when he first moved to Brazil, he was likely an annoying, seemingly tourist-type of person. He barely knew Portuguese, and had to use a board and marker most of the time to get himself around town. Pedro probably laughed at him sometimes -- actually, he had laughed at him sometimes, but Hinata knew that it was in good spirits, and Pedro didn’t actually hate him.
Thinking back to his roommate now, Hinata often feels lost whenever he’s in a room alone. His fellow teammates of the Black Jackals are still amazing, of course, but there had always been something about living with Pedro that was different than the way he was living now. Hinata may never be able to put a finger on it, but he often yearns to be back in the small apartment, rooms heated by the Brazilian sun, manga books of different languages strewn about on his floor. Pedro always did lecture him about taking care of them properly, especially the One Piece volumes.
Though playing indoor volleyball was where it all started for Hinata, there was just… something about beach volleyball that kept Hinata’s heart captured. Maybe it was the ever changing sand beneath his feet, the way that there were only a few players on the court that had to do everything together, as a pair, as a team. He loved feeling the rush of adrenaline as he and Heitor would play in matches, pushing his body to conform to the sand, rather than make the sand conform to him.
No matter which way you looked at it, volleyball was Hinata’s love.
Indoor or outdoor -- the place didn’t matter to him. He treasured every experience that he gained from playing. The losses. The wins. Every moment he spent both on and off the courts helped him grow. Hinata is thankful, and always will be, to the many opponents he’s faced. From Oikawa to Ushijima, to the random strangers he battled it out with on the beaches of Brazil. He will always be grateful to his partners, to the ones he’s trained beside to help himself stand exactly where he is now. From Kageyama to Heitor, to Oikawa for that brief week, to Atsumu on the MSBY team.
No matter who they were, Hinata would thank them. If they were involved in his volleyball career, they helped him grow and reach.
Hinata stands, clutching his duffel bag with one hand and his backpack in the other. He breathes the air in deeply, smiling wide to himself at the familiar smells wafting around him. Though it’s only the airport, Hinata feels as if he’s home already. Outside of the doors to the airport, Heitor and Nice are there, waving their arms to gather Hinata’s attention. He beams gleefully and runs out to meet them, dropping his duffel bag as he jumps up to hug Heitor tight. The married couple laugh, though Heitor is clearly flustered, and Hinata drops himself back down onto the ground.
They talk as Hinata pushes his things into their car. He climbs into the backseat, laughing and going over his many victories and matches from playing with the MSBY Black Jackals, as Heitor drives. They bring him right to a spot he knows all too well, the old apartment building that he once housed with Pedro in. Only this time, Hinata will be living on his own. He thanks the couple for taking him to his house and assures them he’ll be fine, waving them off before they leave. The young man heads right up to his apartment, throws the door open, and smiles to himself.
The smile is a mix of emotions, from nostalgia to happiness, to a twinge of sadness hidden within. Leaving Japan had been hard, since his mother and sister would still be there, but Hinata just knew that Brazil was the place for him. His mother understood, even though she was all tears, but the sincere smile she gave him before he boarded his plane was all he needed for support: that no matter where he was, she would always be supporting him and cheering for him.
Hinata drops his bags to the floor of the apartment, letting the door fall shut behind him. He can’t stop smiling as he makes his way from the main hall to his bedroom, flipping on the light with a slight sigh. He stops at the foot of the bed and falls forward, body hitting the bed with a soft ‘fwmp’. Hinata sighs out again, gripping onto the thin sheet that covers the bed, grin buried against it as he tries to contain his excitement.
He fails.
The ginger throws his head back and laughs loudly, rolling himself over to be on his back. His golden eyes sparkle as he stares up at the ceiling, smile still evident on his face. He lets out a small gasp as he suddenly sits up, scrambling around his pants pocket to pull out his phone. He suddenly remembers what he was going to do, grinning down at the screen of his phone as he types out a message.
Me: oikawa-san, let’s go out for dinner!!!!! o(≧∇≦o) (◍•ᴗ•◍)♡ ✧*。
Oikawa-san!!!: sure, shouyou. i’ll meet you soon. ( *¯ ³¯*)♡