Work Text:
Being eighteen with big dreams and huge aspirations can be exhausting at times.
Koushi knows this, and so does Asahi and Daichi. There’s a reason why the three of them have stayed side by side for the longest time, always by the hip, never one without the others. Even at the worst, they found a way back to each other, proving the statement stronger together than alone to be true.
It may not seem like it, but Koushi is the eldest. So it’s his duty, regardless of spoken or not, to watch after the other two. Even if Daichi is the rightful captain, sometimes he’ll need someone else to be there, right? So that’s what Koushi does best - make sure that the other two receive as much guidance as they possibly can get.
At sixteen when they first meet, Koushi remembers how he’d wordlessly watch over the other two and commit every single movement to memory. He can tell Daichi is getting frustrated just by the way he jerks his arm subconsciously when he’s about to make a bad spike, sees the one frown line on his forehead that creases far too deep when Asahi worries about something. Koushi knows every single concern: Asahi’s public image to others, and Daichi’s worry about getting the underclassmen in shape in time for the important games.
Koushi watches as they grow taller and above him - Daichi, who used to be the shortest, is now just a couple of inches taller, while Asahi has always towered over them both. Koushi likes being the shortest; he feels comfortable in their shadows.
Without realizing, Koushi’s days are filled with nothing but Asahi and Daichi. They eat together, hang out at their respective houses; their families know each others’ a little too much for comfort, and they sleepover more often than not during the holidays. They know what they like to eat, and their parents usually ask them to bring extras to school for break time. They share all their worries, watch each other disappear into their respective houses before Koushi walks home by himself, the furthest of the lot, and goes to sleep only after saying good night to the other two.
An inseparable force, united by a string that ties them all together to each other. Koushi learns, stays by their side, and sees the worst and the best in them both. He motivates, loves, and helps them back on their feet when he can. He silently watches as they play in senior year, observing them both to make sure they’re at their best, comfort them when they struggle. It’s only natural he does because even if silent, he knows everything.
✩
It’s not that they’re immature.
Koushi knows they’re mature beyond their years. But sometimes even the most mature will fall apart and they need to back each other up. That’s what Koushi knows, he’s done it many times for his brother. He watches many times, including Asahi walking out and Daichi falling like he’s been put through a shredder, the quiet hours in which both of them confide in Koushi, the silent tears they cry when they lose to Seijoh the first time.
Koushi shifts ever so slightly in his seat on the bus as he turns to look at the other two, cautious enough to not wake Daichi up, who’s sleeping on his shoulder, and chances a look behind his seat to see Asahi knocked out beside Noya. The latter raises a thumb and returns his hand to Asahi’s knee sleepily.
Koushi settles back into his seat and lets his arm circle around Daichi’s shoulders as he shifts to sleeping on his chest - it’s been a long game against Shiratorizawa today, fueled by pure adrenaline and the ever-growing hunger to keep winning. So all the more the crash into slumber would be dramatic, like taking in too much alcohol at once.
He thinks about the struggles they’ve gone through in the three years to get to this point, losing and feeling hopeless so many times before they decided to take their dreams into their own hands. The desperation to win weighs down further with the team’s, a bag filled with overflowing expectations and aspirations that they share the burden of.
He thinks about Daichi, who’s gotten so much older suddenly, his fingers calloused from carrying the burden of their losses one too many times in the past. Daichi, who cried brokenly in the wee hours of the morning when they lost to Date Tech in second year, who cried into his shoulder, held him so tight like Koushi was a sandcastle waiting to be washed away by the elevating waves of his worries; who hides his worries in his body and writhes in his sleep at times from his never-ending nightmares about losing and crumbling away.
Daichi’s hand dances across his chest, like a ballerina taking their first steps across the wooden floor of the stage, and settles. It anchors Koushi, the warm grip that is so uniquely him. Koushi glances out of the window to take a glance at the scenery while keeping his chin on Daichi’s head - there’s nothing but fields for miles beyond what he can see. The sun hangs low in the sky, casting shadows of red and orange along the former cloudless blue.
He thinks about how every strong fighter will have their moments of doubt, like the sun and the moon, and that’s when his thoughts trail to Asahi. For a boy who’s got a name that means east, Asahi’s more like the moon - multiple faces to his personality, his confidence is the full moon that shines down during winter solstice while his insecurities are the waning crescents after the rise of a new moon. On the court he’s a force to be reckoned with, but off the court he’s just a boy with insecurities that are so minor it’s borderline silly.
The three of them couldn’t be any more different. Koushi is the fine balance between chaos and dignity that bridges them both, a unity in which cannot be broken even if fate tried to. They’re only stronger together than apart. Fate can try repeatedly to tear them apart in the form of Asahi leaving the team and benching Koushi in favour of putting Kageyama on the starting team, but there’s a reason why they’re one, two and three respectively. They represent the three pillars of support on this team; they form a team stronger than anyone could wish to. Fate can try prying them apart, but they’ll fight back in retaliation, in the form of a sturdy receive, a high toss, and a powerful spike.
So Koushi fights, hopes, and lets the wind carry his wish that they will continue growing together.
✩
Koushi’s heart forms a soft spot for Kiyoko.
It’s not that everyone forgets Kiyoko is a vital part of this team, too. No, that’s not it. It’s just that Kiyoko is often in the behind the scenes of things, so the effort she gives isn’t seen as much as the effort the team gives on the court.
But Koushi knows that without Kiyoko’s silent encouragement, the foundations of their unwavering strength would not be as solid as the one they currently have. Kiyoko has seen them at their worst, watched them grow better, silently guided them. Koushi will be damned if he doesn’t think of Kiyoko as part of their family, because she, more than anyone, deserves a place with them, too.
Kiyoko, who feels like a younger sister to him, reminds him that there is always a silent but powerful force that cannot be removed from the equation of a team that has only solidified over the years. When Daichi first scouted her, he’d seen the insecurity Kiyoko held - she’d later tell him the reason why she wore tights even in the warm, humid summer, along with the many lingering thoughts about how she felt like she couldn’t contribute enough.
But Koushi begs to differ; for someone who was mostly a silent observer of a coach-less team, Kiyoko has, more often than not, gone out of her way to help them. He thinks of her as an ambush predator - waiting to strike for the kill. Of course, she’s not malicious or threatening at first glance, but she has often proven that she is more than capable of fighting back on her own, too.
He watches her come out of her shell, her wings waiting to grow; watches her soar in her new position, finding her new confidence and embracing it all, growing proud that she learns to love her scars and her flaws through Yachi. Recruiting Yachi has done the team well, but there’s no denying that Yachi has also helped Kiyoko step out of her insecurities and blossom like the first flower in spring. Kiyoko, who shines on her own even behind the scenes, who embraces her role as manager, who tells Koushi that she’s grateful she was ever recruited to be here.
Koushi has never been more proud. Kiyoko, who learns to fly together with the rest of the team, who learns her value and defines her own worth, who grows more beautiful through the years to become who she is today, who lifts her head high in the light that shines down on the court when they play.
She soars, higher than the rest, and never looks back.
✩
Eventually, they play more games, lose, and return to the reality that is the familiar greenery and shining blue skies of Miyagi, accompanied by the impending doom of college. Koushi knows where he’s headed, a college honours program in childhood education for him and EMT for Daichi. Asahi will be going to Tokyo to study design, and Kiyoko will remain in Sendai to pursue her own undecided dreams that she will sort out later.
Still dressed in their respective uniforms with their decorative flower pins, the four seniors stand in the gym, where their friendship started, their hopes, dreams, aspirations, and their fight to the top.
There they stand, the three people in his life he once held so dearly, now all grown up. Unspoken words and lingering gazes as they watch each other, risen from the ground to where they are now. Without each other, Koushi wonders where they’ll be today.
“This is it, huh?” Koushi is the first to say after a long silence of staring.
Asahi scoffs at that. “You make it sound like it’s something serious.”
“Yeah.” Kiyoko pipes up, “We’ll still see each other during the semester breaks if you three come back to Sendai.”
“I think that’ll be enough of a promise to suffice for the moment.” Daichi grins, his grip on his graduation certificate tube tightening just slightly. The twitch in his fingers is but a telltale sign of underlying worry, to which Koushi resolves to talk to him about it later.
He takes in the sight of it all - mature, bright eyes that twinkle in the stark, bright white lighting of the hall they once trained in for nationals, playing the game they loved and growing up together. It’s hard to understand how something as simple as volleyball has managed to bring a ragtag group together closer than anything, but Koushi thanks every last deity up there that he has had the chance to grow with them.
Koushi sees the faces of their former younger selves - Asahi, with his wavy chin-length hair, Daichi who used to be shorter than Koushi, and the ever-familiar silver-haired boy who stood with them. He sees Kiyoko from the past with her double ponytails, a stark contrast to the shoulder length she sports these days.
They’ve come so far, more than Koushi will ever realize.
Daichi, who found his confidence to lead and loves everyone fiercely, who puts everyone first ahead of himself to give his teammates a solid foundation because who’s going to if he doesn’t? Asahi, who learnt that it’s okay to be vulnerable without running away, that’s it’s okay to let the waves consume him before he rebuilds what is left of him. Kiyoko, who learnt that her greatest gift is her power to observe in silence, to use what she knows to guide everyone along to doing better; who learnt that scars are but a badge of the battles she wins.
And Koushi, who learnt that even if he’s not able to play in the starting line up, he’s just as valuable as all of them are, who guides carefully out of good intentions.
The string that ties all four of them tightens a little more in their unique bond, an invisible bow on all four of their pinkies. An unstoppable, unique force that cannot be broken. The tide is strong, but the trust between them is more than enough to hold a fortress down.
✩
Asahi, who still looks like the world is weighing down on him and all his worries are overflowing, scowls at him when Koushi tells him this.
“Can you get any more brutal with your opinions?” Asahi pouts, letting his hair be ruffled by Daichi who’s tiptoeing. Koushi snorts in response.
“To be fair, considering you never got rid of the hair, I’d say that it suits you and I can’t imagine you otherwise.” Koushi shrugs, tone playfully with his shit-eating grin.
“I’m in agreement with that,” Daichi offers.
Asahi now scowls at Daichi, too. “Aren’t you supposed to be the gentle captain?”
“Captain to a team of six rowdy paramedics, but a friend to you.”
“Smooth.” Koushi offers a fistbump. Daichi obliges with his own.
Asahi rolls his eyes. Koushi knows through the reflex of his fingers that Asahi considered flipping them off, but held back on it.
Kiyoko laughs quietly as she watches them. “It’s good to see all of you again.” She grins brightly, hands clasped in front of her. Koushi thinks she looks good like this, marriage is a good look on her. When she had announced she was getting married, everyone had been surprised - of everyone in the team, they hadn’t expected Kiyoko to be the first. But when they found out who she was getting married to, it had been even more shocking.
“And I still can’t believe you married Tanaka,” Daichi huffs, “Even if it’s been two years.”
Kiyoko’s fond grin only widens, one of affection and love as she looks over to the food stall where Tanaka is grabbing snacks for them. “Well, I never quite told the story, did I?” Her fingers trace over her own wedding ring while she looks at all of them again, “After graduation, I decided maybe I’d give him a chance, see if it’ll help him get over me. In hindsight, I only realized that I did like him, too.”
“And thus, a great love story,” Tanaka returns with five small boxes of onigiri in his hands, lacing their fingers with a happy grin. “Trust me, I was just as surprised as y’all were when she said she’d give me a try. Also, I bought the onigiri from one of the Miya twins!”
Koushi reaches out to rub Tanaka’s head, covered in his beanie. Unlike the past, he can no longer ruffle the scruff there, and he can feel the bit of hair he’s growing out again. “Take care of her or we will have a real good talk,” he’s sure there’s ambers glowing in his eyes, because Tanaka gulps and nods nervously. Daichi merely drags Koushi back to stop him and holds him close.
While waiting for the gates to the stadium to open, Koushi takes another good look at all of his friends and his loving partner. What started as a shared desire to win, a hunger that never went away only intensified when the potential to go far rose - even after years apart and seeing each other less, it feels natural to come back to them and reminisce on the past.
All of them have grown, are still growing, yet he sees their former selves in each of them, the people they once used to be still deep in them.
Asahi, who is gentle and tells the three of them about how he wishes to drop everything just to see Noya again, loves Noya so affectionately, who can’t quite believe he deserves the love Noya gives, who now laughs in a carefree manner because he has someone to share his troubles with, who uses his powerful hands to create designs that capture the essence of the beauty the world offers. Asahi is the calm before the storm, the sunshine after the rain, and the birds that sing at dawn.
Daichi, who holds Koushi’s hands when he’s cold, who wakes up and peppers the faintest of kisses down his neck onto his shoulders, who is grouchy if he wakes up even a minute too late as it disrupts his schedule, who leads a team of paramedics confidently like how he used to in high school and is top in the precinct for his impeccable skill. Daichi loves fiercely and never waivers for a second, wears his heart on his sleeve like his paramedic’s badge, and gives the world more than he takes, never wavering from what he feels so strongly for.
Kiyoko, who isn’t afraid to admit her feelings anymore, who embraces love and her newfound life with Tanaka. For the nth time that night, Koushi thinks marriage looks good on them both. Flaws that once frayed their personalities are now concealed and healed with each others’ strengths, uplifting and embracing what they have and lack respectively. Tanaka’s loud personality is a stark contrast to Kiyoko’s reserved self, but as Kiyoko said once, she finds charm in the way Tanaka does things with passion.
Koushi, who will never get tired of watching the way his friends slowly grow and become people they’re proud of. He’s sure that he has grown, too, but now’s not the time to think about himself when he’s taking a moment to take it all in.
He watches as they laugh, silently eyeing them all as they converse about the MSBY vs Adlers game that they’ll be watching later. They discuss briefly about Miya Onigiri, which Tanaka found out earlier that it’s a business venture that Osamu had wanted to do for the longest time since high school. There’s excited chatter about seeing Hinata up against Kageyama like they’ve promised since the beginning, and some doubtful words about Hinata coping with being back in Japan and how he’s coping. But Koushi knows it’s all just silly worries like they were in the past. Fate will find a way to prove them all wrong.
Koushi takes a breath as he enters the arena, eager to be reunited with the people he loves. The familiar lights shine down, waiting to be rivalled with another bright star.
Fate may send them a wave, but their strong fortress will not be washed away that easily.
fin.