Chapter Text
Hajime was confused. It was the middle of his first semester at Aoba Johsai and literally nothing was like Kitagawa Daiichi. For one, the second and first string teams interacted with one another semi-frequently. They didn’t practice together, but practice matches were frequent between the two. Iwaizumi never even knew the names of any of the second string players at Kita-Ichi, he just knew a couple of faces.
Another thing: Aoba Johsai didn’t have practice every single day. In fact, they were specifically given Monday off so that they could do nothing but rest. It was weird. Especially since Hajime was used to having cardio every morning and actual volleyball practice every afternoon. He was honestly a little restless from the lack of activity.
He was also surprised at how laid-back Irihata-san was. Mizoguchi, who wasn’t even the head coach, was more strict than him. Hajime was so used to Coach Hirayama's insanely intense and strict practices that Sejioh felt almost...boring in comparison.
Boring didn’t quite fit though. Seijoh was many things, but boring was not one of them. It was filled to the brim with intelligent and capable players; they always placed in the top four of the prefecture too. It was amazing to Hajime that they did this with such a laid back schedule and almost none of the overly grueling workouts that he was used to.
By this time in his first year at Kita-Ichi, Hajime had already been given a detailed workout plan that evolved over the course of several months, as well as a strictly monitored diet to follow. Every year he got a new plan and every month he would check in with Coach Hirayama to make sure that he was being pushed enough. The fact that neither of the coaches had yet to give him even a rough outline was making him anxious. Was his meal plan going to be really intense? Would he have to do intermediate fasting again? Coach Hirayama made him do that once during his second year and Hajime hated it.
Eventually, Hajime couldn’t stand it anymore. After one of their evening practices, he requested to speak to the coaches privately. They both looked a little surprised by his request, but nevertheless agreed. Oikawa saw them walking off together and looked toward Hajime worriedly, silently asking if he should be concerned. Hajime gave a small shake of his head in response, letting Oikawa know that he had requested the meeting and he wasn’t being punished (as far as he knew).
By the time the three of them reached Coach Irihata’s office, Hajime was shaking slightly. He couldn’t help it really; ever since Coach Hirayama first backhanded him, being alone with authority figures made him nervous. But, Hajime had requested his meeting, so as long as he was respectful he wouldn’t be punished.
(At least, he thinks so. That’s how it worked at Kitagawa Daiichi so it probably worked the same everywhere else too. Right?)
The three of them got settled, the two coaches sitting cross-legged on one side of the low table, Hajime kneeling on the other side.
“So, Iwaizumi-kun, why did you request this meeting?” Coach Mizoguchi asked. Hajime looked up at him, staring at the spot in between his eyes. As far as he could tell, the man didn’t look upset with him just… curious. And maybe something else too?
“I had a few questions about my personal training, sir. Specifically, if there was a training and dieting program you wanted me to follow?” Coach Mizoguchi looked a little taken aback by the question. Hajime risked a glance over at Coach Irihata and saw a similar expression of shock coloring his features. He panicked. “I was just curious--I mean, I had a plan Kita-Ichi, and was expecting to receive one here by now, and I’ve been a little confused as to why I haven’t gotten one--,”
“Iwaizumi-Kun,” Coach Irihata interrupted. Hajime’s gaze shot straight to him. “What kind of training regimen did you receive at Kitagawa Daiichi?”
“I-um,” Hajime cleared his throat, cursing his shaky voice. “I still remember my regimen from last year. I write it down for you?” Coach Mizoguchi reached around behind him and pulled out a sheet of paper and a pencil, handing both to Hajime.
“Please do,” Coach Mizoguchi said to him.
So Hajime did. He wrote out everything, every detail of his running routine, all of his cardio and weight-lifting exercises, and even the basics of his diet plan. Once he was done, he looked over it a few times, deemed it satisfactory, and handed it to the coaches.
Hajime watched the coaches as they read over his plan and grew increasingly more nervous as their expressions tightened the longer they read. By the time they reached the diet section, Coach Irihata held the paper in such a tight grip that Hajime was sure he would rip the paper.
“Oh god,” he thought. “They think it’s too light of a program, don’t they? I’m going to get a more intense one, aren’t I? Most days, I could barely handle that one, I don’t think I could survive--”
“Iwaizumi-kun,” Coach Mizoguchi’s voice snapped him out of his thoughts.
“Yes sir?”
“Is this… your entire plan?” Fuck. This was what Hajime was worried about.
“Mostly, sir.”
“There’s more?!” Coach Irihata interrupted. Hajime was surprised at how intense the normally level-headed man sounded. It made Hajime hesitate a bit before answering.
“My exact diet plan was changed frequently, so I just gave the last numbers I was given last year.” Coach Hirayama had initially given him a caloric intake range and then broken that down into percentages. A certain percentage of his diet had to be protein, another had to be fruits, another was vegetables, etc. “I can give you a broader spectrum of my plan from last year tomorrow, I still have the spreadsheets at my house.”
“Iwaizumi-kun, look at me.” Coach Irihata’s voice was deadly serious. It startled Hajime a bit, and also made him nervous. Coach Hirayama’s voice always got like that before a major lecture and harsh punishment. “You’re not in trouble Iwaizumi, I just want to clarify a few things with you. Okay?”
Hajime hesitated a second before nodding. Coach Irihata’s eyes looked kinder than Coach Hirayama’s, it made Hajime a little less nervous.
“Okay. First of all,” Coach Irihata placed his head in his hands and sighed. He then looked Hajime directly in the eyes. “The combination of this diet plan and your exercise regimen, plus additional volleyball practice could have killed you.”
“What?”
“At the time of this program, you were what? Fourteen? Fifteen?”
“Fifteen, sir.”
“A fifteen-year-old’s body can not handle something this intense. If you had continued with this diet and this training regimen at the same rate you were going, it could have had permanent effects on your body. It could have even forced your body to a point of exhaustion so severe that it would just give out on you.”
Permanent effects...exhaustion...a fifteen-year-old can’t handle this…
But he handled it right? And-and he’s fine now, there are no permanent injuries, his body is fine, he’s fine. Right? He would know if something’s wrong. Maybe they’re wrong? Maybe the coaches are just being dramatic? Coach Hirayama would never force him through something he couldn’t handle, right? He’s a professional, he knew what Hajime could and couldn’t handle and he--
“Hajime!” That was Oikawa’s voice. That--that was Oikawa’s voice. Why was Oikawa here? And why was he calling Hajime by his first name--
Hajime felt two calloused hands grab his cheeks and force his head up. Oikawa was in front of him, cradling Hajime’s head in his hands. “Hajime, I need you to calm down,” His voice was shaky but calm. Oikawa grabbed one of Hajime’s hands and brought it up to his chest to follow his own deep breaths.
Oh yeah, I should probably breathe, Hajime thought to himself. He hadn’t even realized how erratic his breathing had gotten, or that he was trembling all over. He forced himself to follow Oikawa’s breathing, and eventually, he felt his heart rate slow to a semi-normal level. His hands were still shaking; he couldn’t seem to stop them.
Once he had calmed down slightly, Hajime leaned forward and practically collapsed into Oikawa’s chest, seeking the comfort of his best friend. Oikawa repositioned Hajime so that he was tucked into his side, with his head pillowed on Oikawa’s shoulder. Hajime felt like he had just run two marathons in hundred-degree weather; he was on the verge of passing out right then and there.
“Stay awake for a little bit longer, m‘kay Iwa-chan?” Oikawa’s voice was soft and gentle in Hajime’s ear. His hand came up and stroked Hajime’s hair, scratching gently at the scalp. Oikawa knew that this motion always soothed Hajime, it was something his mom used to do. Hajime nodded into Oikawa’s shoulder, letting him know that he’d try his best to stay awake.
“What the hell happened?” Oikawa had now turned the coaches, his voice dripping with venom. Hajime risked a glance at the coaches, fully expecting them to be pissed at him for… whatever that was. Surprisingly, they looked more concerned than upset. If this had been Coach Hirayama, Hajime would have been scolded for zoning out for so long.
“Iwaizumi-kun showed us a copy of his training and diet regimen from last year,” Coach Mizoguchi said. “We… we had some concerns about the intensity of it. We shared our concerns with him and well, you know the rest.”
“His training regimen?” Oikawa questioned.
Right. Fuck. He had told Oikawa about his training regimen and diet plan but never gave explicit details about it. Oikawa could be over-protective sometimes, and Hajime had a feeling that if he saw his training program, then Oikawa would freak out over it. It wasn’t even that bad, it was just a lot more than Oikawa did and Oikawa had a pretty intense workout. Hajime was the ace, so he needed to be as strong as possible so he could support the team.
“It wasn’t that bad, Oikawa. Don’t worry too much about it,” Hajime’s voice slurred a little, a testament to how tired he was.
“Iwaizumi-kun, your coach had you running twenty-five kilometers every single day. This was on top of weightlifting exercises and a very strict diet,” Coach Irihata said.
“Twenty-five kilometers! Iwa-chan you told me it was only ten!” Oikawa looked down at Hajime who was still resting on his shoulder. “That’s too much, Iwa-chan.”
He did tell Oikawa that it was ten. He knew that if he had told Oikawa how long he actually ran for, he would get scolded for overworking himself. Honestly, Oikawa could be such a hypocrite about that sort of thing. Besides, he’s only collapsed from exhaustion a couple of times, so it’s not that big of a deal
“Iwaizumi-kun, I have one last question for you, and then I’m going to let you and Oikawa go home for the night,” Hajime looked up from his place nestled into Oikawa’s shoulder. Coach Mizoguchi’s expression was once again, deadly serious. “Did you ever have any rest days?”
Hajime was surprised by the question. “I had lighter days. Every two weeks I would just go for a run and do some simple cardio, but never any rest days.” In his first year, he had asked Coach Hirayama about a rest day and had gotten three extra kilometers added to his routine for it. He never asked for one again.
Everyone in the room looked horrified by what he said. “Iwa!” Oikawa shouted at him in shock.
“You never had
any
rest days?!”
“That’s exactly what I said, Crappykawa,” Hajime muttered. Coach Irihata cleared his throat.
“Iwaizumi-kun, thank you for answering our questions. As for your own, besides the weight training and cardio we do during practice, we do not require any additional exercise. If you would like, I can draw up a much safer workout plan for you to follow.”
“I would appreciate that sir,” Hajime said. Coach Irihata nodded.
“Very well, I’ll have that for you by the start of next week. Oikawa-kun,” Coach Irihata turned toward Oikawa. “I have some questions for you regarding your time at Kitagawa Daiichi, but those can wait until tomorrow. Please help Iwaizumi-kun home.”
“Yes sir,” Oikawa replied, already helping Hajime stand up. They both turned to the coaches and gave simultaneous bows of thanks before exiting the room. Oikawa ended up carrying both of their bags and kept an arm around Hajime’s waist for the entire walk home. They didn’t speak until they reached Hajime’s house, which came before Oikawa’s.
“I’m staying the night,” Oikawa said, leaving no room for argument. Hajime didn’t want to argue with him anyways, he was still a little shaky from his weird zoning-out thing earlier and both of his parents were working late. Hajime didn’t want to be alone right now.
After a quick dinner and a shower, the two of them ended up curled up on Hajime’s bed, both of them too tired to pull out the futon. Oikawa wrapped himself around Hajime, pulling him tight into his chest.
“Please take care of yourself, Iwa-chan,” Oikawa whispered into Hajime’s hair. They could both hear the unsaid message: I can’t lose you.
“As long as you do the same, Oikawa.” Hajime replied. The two of them fell into a comfortable silence and both eventually drifted off into a peaceful sleep.
After receiving his new training program and doing some research of his own, Hajime very quickly realized that Coach Irihata and Coach Mizoguchi were right. He had been pushed way too hard when he was way too young. It was honestly a miracle that he didn't have any major health issues because of his routine.
It was a lot to grapple with at first, the idea that his idol had fucked up so majorly, but slowly he started to accept it. At first, Hajime wanted to believe in Hirayama-san. The man was practically a god in his eyes after all. Then, he learned about all of the shit Oikawa went through and every shred of respect he had for Hirayama went flying out the window.