Chapter Text
Every year during the month of December just before the Spring tournament something magical happened at the Karasuno Volleyball team. Something only they knew about and kept a secret from the outside world.
“One of the first years comes from the future. Crazy, right?” Tanaka roared across the gym, laughing. Kageyama narrowed his eyes in confusion. Time travel was actually a thing? Tsukishima sighed beside him, adjusting his glasses and mumbling something Kageyama didn’t hear.
“Huh?” Yamaguchi hummed.
“Hey, hey Tanaka, don’t scare the first years,” Suga came up from behind them, patting Tanaka's shoulder, his wide grin easing Hinata and Yamaguchi who had gone stiff at the implication of their future selves popping in for a visit.
Kageyama licked his lips. Was that actually beneficial to know about your future like this?
What if he came back and told everyone who they become in the future? Would he still be playing volleyball?
Kageyama clicked his tongue. Of course, he would. He flicked his gaze at Hinata who vibrated on the spot, no longer standing still, his mouth running a mile a minute but Kageyama couldn't catch what he was saying only now noticing the buzzing in his ears. It seemed awfully loud.
“I’m not scaring them, just telling them the truth,” Tanaka waved his hand as Kageyama tried to clear his head. Things have been weird lately.
“Just because last year, you’re the one who came back and chuckled to yourself every time you walked past Shimizu doesn't mean you have to be the leader, I came back in my year too you know,” Suga, frowned earning a chuckle from around the team that had gathered in the gym. Practice stopping for the entertainment of Suga scolding Tanaka. And well for the novelty of introducing the stranger phenomena to the newcomers.
“Hey, guys,” Ukai called from the sidelines, getting their attention, his brows drawn tight, no words needed to remind them that they need to get back to practice. Kageyama agreed with the silent statement, they shouldn’t waste any time with Nationals so close. They had to get better.
“Ah coach, sorry about this, Tanaka is just getting excited,” Daichi bowed, taking Tanaka along with himself, still no explanation in sight. Kageyama blinked, gripping the ball he had been holding since Tanaka senpai approached them.
Ukai waved them off, “What’s this all about anyway?” Was the coach as clueless as they were?
“Ah, well, we have this one weird thing happening every year, when one of the first years switches bodies with their future self for one day,” Daichi explained, rubbing the back of his neck. Ukai oohed, nodding. Did the coach know after all?
“I remember the old geezer mentioning something like that, does it happen at a specific date?” He wondered, now the whole team gathered in front of him.
Kageyama stalled at the back of the group, lips drawn tight. He hoped that it wouldn’t interfere with their practice. A missed day is a missed opportunity.
“Yeah usually the second week of December, we go on a little practice camp on these days, usually those who come back gives us a lesson, although last year was more screaming from Tanaka, trying to sound all cool,” Chuckles ran around the room and Tanaka seethed but Daichi threw a glare and Tanaka turned away seemingly as if he’d done nothing wrong in his life.
“Does it happen every year?” Kageyama wondered out loud. What if their year was an exception?
“As far as we know,” Asahi nodded.
“So let me get this straight, one of us,” Tsukishima pointed at the four of them, after a thought pointing to Yachi who let out a squeal. ”Might come from the future for one day?” Kageyama watched Tsukishima wince at the idea. For once in his life, he couldn’t agree more with him, no matter how much he resented that idea.
“Exactly,” Suga looked far too excited for that fact.
“Will we, if we come from the future, remember that?” Yamaguchi looked around nervously.
“Nope, for me that day was just blank, I woke up the next day and everyone was staring at me in awe while I was as confused as before,” Suga laughed, Tanaka nodding along with him. He had experienced the same thing after all.
“Cool!” Hinata screamed, throwing his hands in the air and screaming right into Kageyama's ear. When he had moved so close was beyond Kageyama but the runt was annoying.
“Shut up, dumbass,” Kageyama threw a punch at him as Hinata evaded, he threw another jab but Hinata just jumped behind him landing a fist in the middle of Kageyama's back making him stumble forward. Kageyama roared and tried to grab his hair.
“I’m not sure I’ll be able to deal with these dumbasses if one of them comes from the future, imagine how much more annoying they’ll get,” Tsukishima muttered under his nose but those two dumbasses heard him and glared at him, whilst their hands were locked in an intense match of power. Kageyama narrowed his gaze as Tsukishima bristled and looked away.
Damn, that annoying guy never answered his challenge.
“Well it’s in a week, so inform your parents about it and prepare to not receive any answers about the future, because there’s an unspoken rule that you should not ask anything,” Kageyama nodded. So there were rules huh? He looked at Hinata who seemed to not have heard any of this part. Would the dumbass tell everything if he came back? Probably, he was like that, big mouth and always talking.
Chores of groans and disappointment ran through the gym as Ukai told everyone to go home and rest. Daichi added an extra threat towards the particular two to get home and rest. They hastily nodded and went to clean up, Tsukishima's laugh echoing in the gym. Kageyama raced Hinata picking up balls as his mind wandered.
He didn’t really think of the phenomena as something real because he’d never experienced anything like that and it still seemed like his senpais were pulling his leg. And even then in two days, he was going to Tokyo to practice with the best in the whole country. He had no time for these silly shenanigans.
But of course, some airheads like Hinata soaked it all up, eyes glimmering and questions flowing out at every little notion about the whole time travel thing. He couldn’t really understand why Hinata got so excited about it. Sure he was curious but if he himself came back it’s not like he would remember anything and if it were to go by Tanaka and Suga they didn’t really know what happened during that time. It seemed that the rest of the team just didn’t talk about what their future selves did or said.
“Can you imagine me coming from the future, Kageyama? What if I grow super tall and gain so much muscle huh?” He glowed jumping up and down and Kageyama scoffed, dropping balls and rolling the cart towards the storage room.
“As if runt, you’ll always be short,” Hinata threw a ball at him and Kgayema plucked one from his cart, throwing it back, smirking as he nailed the teen on his side.
Daichi threw a glare and Kayema picked up the ball Hinata threw and got back to cleaning. Yeah, he wasn't messing with the captain. Hinata ran over to him, dropping his balls in the cart walking alongside, his shoulder knocking Kageyamas.
“If you come back I think I’ll be insanely jealous but also proud,” Hinata skipped along.
“Huh?!” Kageyama looked at him eyebrows raised. “You? Proud of me? Don’t be stupid why would you be,” Why would he be?
“Because!,” He stopped, turning in his track as Kageyama followed. “You’d be the greatest setter, and maybe at severs,” He mumbled along, “And I know you’ll play lots and lots of volleyball in the future so I’d be proud of you for being a decent human being and talking to others, I guess,” He meekly added as Kageyama scoffed.
“Quit acting like my parents, you being proud of me doesn’t mean anything,” He jerked away from Hinata's oncoming hands and continued to push the cart entering the storage room, Nishinoya bouncing out of there.
“I hope that at least we play volleyball together in the future too,” Hinata stood at the door watching Kageyama. He smiled that stupid crepy smile, eye’s wild and almost trying to look into Kageyamas soul. Something itched underneath Kageyama’s skin.
“Yeah,” Kageyama nodded. He watched Hinata flash a big smile and go help with the net. Kageyama took a ball in his hands, squeezing it between his palms and frowning. Would they though?
They had a promise, Hinata would beat him one day. It was more like a challenge. But he was so useless without the quick set. Hands tied with receives, lucky shots when he hit other types of sets. Blocking impressive only because he jumped so high. So could he stand alongside him?
Was he really that one Kazuyo-kun talked about?
He threw the ball back into the cart and walked out. Watched as Hinata bounded around gathering equipment and saying his goodbyes to the others. Hinata was useless without him but Hinata evolved at a pace Kagyema wasn’t sure he could keep up with one day. He was useless only because Kaayema was so good. He knew he was good but comparing the guy that came here at the start of the year and the guy that Hinata was now. Who knew how much he would evolve in the next two years. Maybe Kageyama would be the one running after him then and it excited him.
In a way though, he felt fear creeping up behind him.
He wanted to stand at the top of the world, with him. But could he? Kageyama scoffed at the thought process. Of course, he would. He would win against Hinata one day and prove to him that he was the stronger one.
He sighed, shaking his head and gathering his things to head out, Hinata’s head poking out behind the door wondering why he was taking so long.
The week in between the conversation and the time travel was spent with lectures, practice, awkward situations and getting lost in Tokyo. During the week few first years, invited or not, had gone through strenuous training camp and those who stayed behind honed their skills of serving.
Faced with the nation's best Kageyama came back with ideas and questions. He came back to see how different it was here and how not best it was. Something seemed to build up when he saw Hinata when he tried to do the ‘boom’ jump. It ate him up. As they played, as he seized up his team he soon was choking. Something eventually simmered and started to leak out.
The tension ran high between the members as Kageyama seemed weirdly snappy after coming back and soon time travel was the last thing on everyone's minds despite only being one day away and the team gathering for a sleepover at the old house near the school.
Kageyama stood off to the side, ready to sleep. His mind was buzzing the same buzz when the team first brought this up. It was annoying and the glances thrown at him didn’t help either. He knew he was unbearable but it had been like that since the start. He wasn’t great at communicating but the team, they had to get better. He only helped them.
“Alright everyone, no shenanigans and go to sleep, I’m sure you’re all excited to meet whoever comes from the future but that doesn't mean you have the permission to slack off at practice tomorrow or cause havoc,” Coach looked around the room sternly, lingering on few specific trouble makers of the team and nodding to himself.
Perhaps it was a matter of Daichi’s stern glare or the excitement rushing through veins but the room with all the boisterous boys quieted fast and soon everyone was asleep in wait for the first year from the future.
All except one, Kageyama. For all his curiosity he was awfully not excited for any of this. His mind running a mile a minute he almost wanted to go on a run himself, feel the cold December air against his lungs and the burn of his legs but Daichi specifically said to sleep and he didn’t want to go around disobeying the captain.
He rolled around in his futon getting an eyeful of Hinata sleeping, his mouth open and a trail of droll slipping onto the pillow. He looked peaceful, the opposite of how Kageyama felt.
He was afraid, maybe, he didn’t know but he was something. What if he was the one and the team would be disappointed with who he became. Not that he doubted himself in becoming a professional volleyball player, it was more his personality. The high strung looks thrown at him after he asked for more. But he was right, with the way the team moved now they stood no chance against the teams gathered at Nationals. They should listen to him.
Kageyama huffed, pulling the blanket over his head, he needed to sleep. Like right now.