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i. receive
“So you want to practice receiving?” asks Kageyama, his usual scowl plastered on his face. “Why are you telling me this?”
Kei feels an urge to punch the setter. “Well, you’re a better receiver than I am, obviously, so I’ll practice with you. I thought you weren’t that stupid.”
Kageyama grits his teeth, his fists clenching in his sides. “Nishinoya-san is a better person to ask for practice, don’t you think?”
Kei knows that already. He doesn’t need Kageyama to tell him that.
“I know,” he sneers. “But apparently, he’s going to be away for a few days, with his grandpa needing his help on the farm, so I have no choice but to ask you instead.”
Kageyama’s scowl disappears from his face. “Oh. Okay. Why not ask Tanaka-san then?”
A vein throbs on Kei’s head. “Are you serious? How can I work with him? He’s just going to spend the whole time mocking me for my receiving skills. Besides, you’re good at serving so I have a better chance of improving.”
Kageyama shrugs. “He doesn’t mean them though. Also, that’s rich coming from you when you’re much worse.”
Oh. Yeah, he is worse. He doesn’t need to be told he is, much less by Kageyama himself.
“If you’re going to be a haughty king, I’m just wasting my time.” Kei turns away, slinging his bag on his shoulders and waving his hand dismissively. “Seems like the egocentric king is back, so unwilling to help commoners like me when I need help. And I thought we’re teammates, King, but it’s a shame I’m unworthy of his undivi – ”
“Fine,” growls Kageyama. “Fine. I’ll do it. But we’ll do it only after I practice with Hinata. Which means we’ll have to spend more time here.”
Kei looks back, a smug smile forming on his face. “That’s the plan in the first place, King. I wouldn’t want to destroy His Majesty’s perfect schedule.”
“Fuck off, Tsukishima! You’re the worst.”
“Thanks! So are you.”
“You bastard – ”
Kei puts on his headphones, drowning out the yells behind him.
He doesn’t expect much when Kageyama starts to practice with him. Kei is already used to the setter’s short temper and critical words, not to mention his dislike towards Kei. It isn’t a big deal to him really; in fact, it makes his life so much better, with Kageyama so easy to rile up and abide to his wishes.
“Oi, you better receive my serves properly,” warns Kageyama, fingers playing with the volleyball on his hands as he stands on the opposite side of the court, his eyes intensely staring at him. The stare grips tightly on Kei’s nerves, making his blood boil. He settles on ignoring the setter’s words, focusing on his form. He lowers down, connecting his hands as he waits for Kageyama to serve the ball.
Kei absolutely doesn’t take time to admire the setter’s form when he throws the ball high in the air, jumping to serve it with the power in his arms.
“Shit,” he mutters when the ball hits his arms, falling on the ground outside the court’s line after with a loud thud.
“What a weak receive,” complains Kageyama. “Your form isn’t going to work against my serves like that.”
Kei scowls. “That’s what you’re here for, aren’t you? Now, help me fix my form.”
Kageyama walks towards him, arms crossed as he commandingly tells him to show him how he receives the ball. Kei bites a snarky comment, settling on sturdily positioning to his usual receiving form, his eyebrows raised at the setter. “Now what?” he asks.
“Hmm, I think you need to work on your lower body more.” Kageyama rubs his chin with his fingers contemplatively, eyeing his body. “Also, you need to straighten your back a bit more. It looks a little crooked.”
“Huh?”
“Wait. Let me fix it.”
Kei almost gasps when he feels hands on both his stomach and his back, fixing his posture and sending his heart beating wildly, something that has never happened with him before. He swallows, ignoring the twisting inside his stomach and the warmth spreading in his chest. “King, aren’t you taking too long?”
“Huh?” grumbles Kageyama. “If you didn’t ask me for this practice, I wouldn’t be even talking to you.”
Kei really needs those hands to stop touching his body. “Just do it fast, will you?”
“Fine, there.” Kageyama finally releases his hands, making Kei inwardly sigh in relief. “Now, try receiving my serve with that form. I’ll try to control it in your direction.”
“Alright.”
By the fourth time Kageyama serves, Kei finally receives the ball properly, bouncing from his arms high into the ceiling before falling down.
“So you can do it if you try,” says Kageyama. “Let’s do a few more rounds before you forget the form again.”
“I’m not an idiot like you or Hinata,” deadpans Kei, lowering himself down to ready himself for Kageyama’s next serve. He learns how to receive powerful serves in the next few days.
He learns that his heart beats so fast when he spends too much time with Kageyama, and that thought bothers him. He doesn’t want to learn that. Not at all.
ii. serve
“King, are you free today?”
Kageyama raises an eyebrow at him. “Why? I thought you’re already better at receiving?”
Kei sighs, biting back another mocking statement. He knows Kageyama is not on the mood to receive his jabs today, with Yamaguchi pestering him a hundred times to not bother the two idiots who are still fighting until now. He tells himself he doesn’t really care about their fight, but even he is bothered by the lack of talking inside the court during their practices.
“I’m thinking of learning how to do a jump serve.”
Kageyama widens his eyes. “Huh?!”
“Jeez, don’t look so surprised, King.” Kei rolls his eyes. “Even a commoner wants to level up too.”
Oh shit. Kei can’t help it; he’s literally hardwired to say things like this. He mumbles a silent apology to Yamaguchi before looking at Kageyama’s face. To his surprise, the setter seems unperturbed, shrugging at him and saying, “Alright. Same time again?”
“Yeah.”
Kei puts away the thought on Kageyama’s strange behavior and settles on focusing in his class for now.
The extra practice with Kageyama is less loud than usual, and Kei dares to say that Kageyama seems to be acting lackluster. He doesn’t understand the agitated state of his chest and the clenching in his stomach when he sees the dull gaze stare back at him as he tells him about the jump serve. Kei tries hard to concentrate on the words Kageyama are saying, but his focus starts dwindling, settling instead on the small frown on the setter’s face and the drumming fingers on his side.
“Are you alright, King?” he asks, the words tasting strange and weird on his tongue.
Kageyama startles, looking at him like he’s grown two heads. “Huh?”
“Look, if you’re not feeling good, we shouldn’t waste time practicing like this.”
“But you’re the one not focusing here,” points out Kageyama, his eyebrows furrowing as he observes Kei intently. Kei really hates how the setter can easily get under his skin. “Shouldn’t I be the one asking you if you’re alright?”
Kei wants to curse at the warmth spreading on his cheeks.
Kageyama walks towards him, placing his hand on his forehead, eyes filled with concern. “You are red and your forehead feels hot. If you have a fever, you shouldn’t have asked me for this practice.”
“I don’t have a fever,” denies Kei, knowing the flushing on his cheeks and the heat on his head has something to do with the way his heart is beating too fast than a normal, average heartbeat.
Kageyama clicks his tongue, suddenly grabbing his wrist, fingers and palm wrapping around his skin, pulling him. “Let’s just go home.” Kei’s skin burns, and he’s not poetic, but it feels like he’s being thrown inside a furnace with the way his chest is beating a thousand miles per hour, the tingling sensation on his skin never ceasing.
“Oi, King, let go of me. I can walk by myself.”
Kageyama frowns. “You’re sick. I’m not going to leave a sick teammate alone.”
Kei learns that he sucks at jump serves and he doesn’t have enough patience to listen to Kageyama talk about it. He learns that the impatience isn’t related to volleyball at all; his chest is just about to burst when he’s near the setter. He also learns how dangerous it is when Kageyama touches him. Kei hates that he’s learning too much about Kageyama Tobio.
He doesn’t like it. Not at all.
iii. toss
“Your toss really sucks!” exclaims Kageyama.
Kei grins mockingly at him, a vein throbbing on his forehead. “Heh, sorry if I’m not like the King who is too good at setting.” He notices the setter roll his eyes before flicking his forehead. “Oi, what was that for? That hurts.”
Kageyama sends him a forced grin. “Your shoulders are too tense, idiot.”
Kei snorts. “I should be the one calling you idiot, idiot. You’re asking a middle blocker to toss to you for spiking practice. Where’s the logic in that?”
“Of course, I’ll ask you to practice.” Kageyama huffs at him. “Nishinoya-san is graduating next year, so there’s no one to cover for me when I touch the ball first. You can do a proper toss, so obviously, you’re the best choice. It’s practice for both of us, idiot.”
Kei stills, mulling over what he has just heard. “Are you saying I have to take over his part? You’re entrusting his role to me?”
“Why the hell are you surprised?” grumbles Kageyama, dribbling the ball lightly on the floor. “You’re more talented than you give yourself credit for. Of course, the whole team trusts you to deliver. Captain said so.”
Kei positions himself on the middle of the net, watching Kageyama toss the ball high before walking quickly towards the back, preparing to spike a back attack. He raises his arms, watching the ball slowly fall towards his fingers. “It’s just that, I don’t really think I’ve done much for this team to win.”
Kageyama watches as Kei tosses the ball towards him, jumping fiercely to spike the ball towards the opposite court. When his feet touch the ground, Kei is surprised to see the setter storming his way towards him, grabbing his collar tightly, face forming an ugly scowl.
“What the hell did you just say?” he demands.
Kei grins wryly. “I said what I said, Your Highness. Why are you making a big deal about it? Going to beat up a commoner for admitting his lowly skills?”
Kageyama’s lips curve even more downwards. “Take that back. Whatever you said, take it all back.”
“No,” replies Kei stubbornly. “Why would I?”
“You bastard,” starts Kageyama, eyes determinedly looking straight at him, with a fire that he has never seen from the setter’s eyes before. “You are the reason why we won in our first year. You are part of the reason why Karasuno is strong now. Your blocks, your efforts, your skills, everything you’ve laid on the line is part of our volleyball until now. So don’t you dare say that you haven’t done much when you’ve done more than what I, what we, even expected of you, got it?” Kei’s chest lurches at the words he had just heard, at the warm breath hitting his cheeks, at the eyes that keep his body unmoving. “I don’t know why you think you’re not good when you obviously are so talented. Stop downplaying yourself, you snarky asshole!”
Kei learns that his tosses aren’t as powerful or as natural as Kageyama’s, but it’s full of effort and cleverness and care, and that’s enough of a tossing skill in itself. He learns that Kageyama sees him as an equal, as someone who is good enough to be part of Karasuno. He learns that he really hates it when Kageyama touches him because his skin starts tingling and feeling weird.
Kei learns that he’s turning soft for His Majesty, but he doesn’t plan on admitting that to anyone, much less himself.
iv. set
Kei sighs in frustration as Hinata fails to hit his tosses, eyebrows furrowing as he tries to review everything Kageyama has told him. He hasn’t failed on observing Hinata’s movements, on checking the other players and the opponents on the court, on seeing the ball’s trajectory towards the spiker. But his accuracy still ends up being off the mark, and he can see Hinata struggling to not chastise him for hitting his cheeks the seventh time already.
“Oi, Tsukishima, already giving up?” asks Kageyama challengingly.
Kei scowls at him. “I’m not,” he insists. “I’m trying to figure out the proper timing. Hinata’s jumps are not that consistent. How do you fucking succeed in doing quicks with him?”
Kageyama snorts. “The consistency is not the issue here. He is probably working on his speed, that’s why you’re having a harder time.”
“I’m not used to setting like you are,” he replies defensively, slumping against the wall as he tries to observe Hinata’s movements at the court.
“You will be used to it. In a while. I was frustrated too. When I couldn’t do a proper toss that stops on Hinata’s face.” Kageyama stands next to him, their shoulders lightly bumping and pressing. “It takes time and patience. Are you up for it?”
“I don’t give up easily.”
“Good.”
“Wah!” Hinata stands in front of them, making Kei rolls his eyes in irritation. “It’s new to see you and Tsukishima not about to kill each other, Kageyama!”
Kei laughs when Kageyama grabs the middle blocker’s head, saying, “That’s none of your business, Hinata boke!”
“Yeah, that’s none of your business, shrimp.”
Hinata glares at both of them. “Scary! Kageyama is hanging out with Stingyshima now. He’s starting to turn into a new Tsukishima.”
“Shut up,” says Kei, but there’s no bite to it unlike before; Hinata ends up sticking his tongue at him before leaving, walking towards Yachi with his arms outstretched.
Kageyama nudges his shoulder with a shadow of a smile on his face. Kei finds himself biting his cheeks to stop a grin from forming. He still can’t understand why his heart is beating faster than normal or why his cheeks feel like a burning flame. “Ready to try tossing again?” he asks, tilting his head as a challenge.
Kei snorts. “You’re on.”
Kei learns that tossing to Hinata is the fucking hardest thing in the world, but he manages to succeed twice in the end. He learns that Kageyama trusts him a lot and that he doesn’t mind the setter’s company. He learns that Kageyama is easier to talk to when he’s not riling him up and that he likes how supportive the setter is towards him.
Kei learns that he likes being close to Kageyama and that he hasn’t called him King for a while now.
v. spike
“I’m going to toss this ball higher than usual,” says Kageyama, pointing at the ball with a fiery gaze in his eyes. “You’ll spike it, won’t you?”
Kei doesn’t like challenges that much. Despite Kageyama’s reassurances, he still doesn’t trust himself fully – it’s hard to believe he can achieve so much with his skills when there are so many people better than him. But he does trust Kageyama, a fact he has learned after spending more times with him on extra practices, and he trusts that he knows Kei better than he knows himself, at least inside the court, that is.
“Sure,” he replies, accepting the challenge. The adrenaline rush pours inside his chest, leaving Kei feeling more invigorated than usual. “I’ll spike it, King.”
Kageyama grins at him. “Good. Let’s do it then.”
Kei grins back before turning away, walking towards the back of the court, with his resolve stronger than before. He will hit that ball. He has to.
“Alright! Here you go!” yells Kageyama as he watches the ball fall down on his fingertips.
Kei positions himself and starts running towards the front, his legs and thighs burning from the practice earlier, but still functional enough to give Kei strength to do a back attack. He crouches and jumps, willing his body to move higher than he usually does, his eyes trailing at the ball zooming towards him. He takes a huge deep breath and whips his arm into the most powerful spike he can muster, satisfaction filling his chest when the ball falls into the corner of the court, near the line but not outside, a loud thud echoing from the ground.
Kei pants heavily as he watches the ball move.
“You did it.”
Kei lifts his head and turns towards Kageyama. “I did,” he affirms.
Kageyama raises his arm into a fist, outstretching it. Kei smiles and bumps his fists back, relishing at the warmth spreading in his chest, tugging at his heartstrings.
“I told you so.” Kageyama shakes his head. “You should believe in yourself more.”
“Yeah.” Kei looks at his reddening palm, at the callouses born from his hard work and persistence. “I should.”
Kei learns that he can fly higher and reach higher when he spikes. He learns that his limits aren’t really his limits in growing. He learns that he can’t deny how much he likes the thumping inside his chest whenever Kageyama is around him.
Kei learns to accept that he loves Kageyama Tobio, flaws and all.
(+1) block
Just one point and it’s their win.
Just one point and they’re going to Nationals.
Kei grits his teeth, observing the spikers and the setter with agitated eyes, his shoulders tensing at the distracting shouts of their opponent’s cheering squad. He startles when he hears Kageyama growl quietly next to him, his eyes sharp and calculating, lips thinned with displeasure. This is exactly what caused their almost-loss last match; the tension causes anxiety and worry to him and his teammates, prompting them to move too fast and rush things.
He takes a deep breath and nudges Kageyama. “Calm down, King,” he whispers. “We’ll win this. Trust me.”
Kageyama’s shoulder relaxes. “Sorry. I’ve been worried about their ace.”
Kei grins. “You keep teaching me so many things. It’s time for me to teach you how to block properly. You block the straight shot properly and make sure you can get a one-touch play if the ace tries to spike it above the block. I’ll deal with the crosscourt ones.”
Kageyama winces. “I forgot how bossy you can get during blocking.”
“Deal with it, Your Highness. I’m the acting king right now.”
Kageyama rolls his eyes and elbows him. “Yes, Your Highness.”
The ace looks a little nervous, but Kei can see the restlessness, the itch that he wants to spike. Kei plans to use that to his advantage, making sure that the ace is impatient enough to crack to his bait. He tugs at the back of Kageyama’s shirt, his fingertips brushing at the lower back, making Kageyama shiver.
“Don’t do that!” he grumbles. “It tickles.”
Kei laughs. “Alright, sorry, sorry.”
The ace starts running from the back, jumping with all his power. “Now!” yells Kei as he and Kageyama jumps to level the ace spiker, seeing the ball tossed towards him. He focuses intently on the gap he left for the ace to spike the ball to, exactly how he has fooled Ushijima a year ago. Grinning inwardly, he whispers, “King, let me teach you that blocking is us blockers having the last laugh.” Kageyama stifles a laugh as the ball hits his fingertips.
“One-touch!”
Kei positions himself to the back, preparing to do a synchronized attack with his teammates. He wonders if he’ll get the ball this time around; it’s always Hinata who gets the ball everytime they do this for the last point. To his surprise, the moment Kei spikes his hand on air, the ball hits his palm sharply, stinging on his skin. The ball travels towards the opposite court and hits the tips of the libero’s outstretched hands, bouncing towards the outside ground with nobody to receive it.
They win.
Kei can’t believe it. He’s the one who spiked the winning shot.
“What the hell?!” he exclaims, looking at Kageyama in disbelief.
Kageyama presses his fist on his chest. “I’m glad my toss didn’t fail.”
Hinata pouts. “I thought I was going to be the one who spiked that ball! I’m so jealous of you, Tsukishima.”
“Shut up.” Kei laughs, warmth filling his insides, making him feel giddy and light. The smile on his lips is probably fonder than he intends to. “It’s my turn now.”
Kei looks at Kageyama who beams at him, his eyes gazing with approval. His heart lurches out of his chest when Kageyama stands next to him, nudging him with his shoulders, their fingertips brushing. Kei looks at their hands before mustering his courage to grab the setter’s hand, fitting his fingertips subtly towards the other, squeezing it tenderly.
A smile forms on his face when the hand squeezes it back.
Kei vows to make Kageyama learn how to love him back. It’s his turn this time around.