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“Shou-chan, why did you pick up this kitten?”
“Mom, he looked so tiny and helpless shivering in the box. I couldn’t leave him there to die.”
“You know that animals are a big responsibility. There’s a reason why we haven’t allowed you to get a pet before.”
“I’ll take care of it! I promise!”
“... You’ll be responsible for it. If you aren’t, then we’ll have to give it away.”
“I can do it!”
The first and fondest memory Tobio recalls is of a sudden shadow looming over him, blocking the cold, wet rain that soaked him. A tiny hand had stroked his cold, cold body as he shivered in the cardboard box, soggy and drenched in the rain. He looked up, and there was a human with riotous bright orange hair looking down at him, brown eyes wide in concern. The human had scooped him up, and he couldn't help but shiver and snuggle deeper into those small, small arms, trying to steal as much bodily warmth from the human as possible. The human let him, and eventually, he fell asleep, cradled in the human’s comforting presence.
He found out later, ensconced in the comfort of warm, fuzzy blankets, belly full from delicious food that he had never had before, the sound of the humans talking washing over him, that the orange haired human who had picked him up and saved him from drowning in the rain is Hinata Shouyou.
—
“You know, you’ve done a very good job taking care of it. I think we can let you keep it.”
“Really Mom?”
“Of course. Why don’t you give it a name?”
“Oh! Oh! Right!”
Tobio’s second fondest memory is getting a name. He didn’t have a name before he was cast aside in that cardboard box, left shivering and alone. For a long time, Shouyou had called him “kitty”, something that he had graciously deigned to respond to, especially as he learned those calls normally meant food and treats and playtime. But being called “kitty” hadn’t felt right, and he often ignored those calls on his whim.
On a day that Shouyou had called him “kitty”, snapping the metal ring of his wet food to attract his attention, Tobio trotted over to his bowl and imperiously looked up at his human, gaze demanding food. When Shouyou spread his food in the bowl, he immediately started shoveling it into his mouth, ignoring the high pitched noises coming from Shouyou.
“Kitty.” “Cat.” “Kuro.” “Koko.” “Mikan.” “Mochi.” “Tora.”
Tobio ignored his human’s nonsensical sounds, intently focused on devouring his food. But the last sound garnered a flick of his ear as he ate.
“Oh! How about Takeo? No?” “Tomio?” “Tobi?” “Tobio?”
The last sound from Shouyou distracted him, and Tobio lifted his head, giving a mrrr in confusion. The last sound sounded right, like something had fit.
“Tobio! Tobio!”
Tobio swatted Shouyou as he pranced around him, large human legs and feet and sounds distracting. He was supposed to be eating, not listening to his stupid human make the same sound over and over again.
“Ow! That was mean, Tobio!”
—
“I think Tobio loves the volleyball more than you do, nii-chan.”
“What do you mean?”
“Look!”
“Wait, no, Tobio, that’s not your toy! Let go!”
“Mom, should we buy another volleyball for Tobio?”
“Maybe we should…”
Tobio’s favorite thing, other than Shouyou and Natsu and Mom, is the volleyball. It’s red, green, and white, ever so slightly smaller than him, so so round, and it’s his, no matter how often Shouyou tries to pull it away from him. He hadn’t paid attention to the ball at first, thinking it was just a toy that Shouyou had brought home to play with.
But then Shouyou had tossed it in the air, bounced it off his arms, and the way it rolled off to the other side of the yard caught his attention, and he was off, chasing after it.
It has a smell, something not like home, something sharp and fresh, something that he hasn’t smelled before. Tobio loves chasing after it, rubbing his scent into it, curling up against it. It feels right, being so close to the ball, having that sharp smell mingle with his, and Shouyou’s smell overlaid on top.
All of the balls are his.
—
“This sucks. I’m the only one who wants to play volleyball.”
“Really? Not even Izumi-chan and Kouji-chan?”
“Noooo, they’re more into basketball and soccer. I have to beg them to help me out.”
“How unfortunate. The girls’ team is letting you play with them, right?”
“But I don’t want to always play on their team!”
Sometimes Shouyou mopes around, smelling sad and dejected after he comes back from school. On those days, Tobio trots up next to him, and splays his belly to him, offering it up in an attempt to cheer him up. Sometimes Shouyou takes it, sometimes he doesn’t. On these days, Tobio doesn’t claw at Shouyou for rubbing his belly, ever so patient with his mopiness.
“I wish that Yukigaoka had a proper boys’ volleyball team.” Shouyou complains, taking up Tobio’s offer, and splaying his hands into the soft, silky, black fur of Tobio’s stomach. “I don’t mind having the girls’ team and the mamas help me, but I can’t feel myself getting much better. I want to play in actual games too. I want someone to play with, for real.”
Tobio purrs in response, categorizing Hinata’s words in his mind. He kind of gets what Shouyou is trying to say, the years of living around him lending him some ability to understand. It sounds like Shouyou needs a friend, someone to play with. It stings a bit that Shouyou won’t play with him, when he loves the balls as much as Shouyou does, maybe even more, but he had watched the volleyball matches in the black box, nestled at Shouyou’s side, and realized that being a cat means he can’t really play volleyball. Not like humans do.
All he can do is let Shouyou pet him until he perks up again, happy and cheery like normal.
—
‘Hey, have you heard? The bakeneko is back!”
‘The bakeneko? Didn’t those humans chase it off a while back?’
‘You know those humans, they never do anything right. They’re all fakes and phonies!’
‘Ooh, I wonder what I should offer up in exchange for my wish.’
‘Hah, like you have anything of value that it wants.’
In the crisp cold of the dusk, on one of the evenings when Shouyou comes home silent and sad, Tobio overhears the birds in the trees chattering about the bakeneko.
‘Bakeneko? What’s that?’ he meows up to the birds in the trees.
The birds scatter away, screeching, and chirping, ‘Cat! It’s a cat! Don’t eat us!’
‘Wait, don’t go! I promise I don’t eat birds! My human feeds me stuff that tastes better than you anyways.’
The birds settle in their new trees, tilting their heads, beady little eyes trained on him. ‘Really? Promise?’
‘I promise! I just want to know about the bakeneko. Please!’
The birds stare down at him.
‘You’re polite for a cat. Fine then. The bakeneko’s an old old cat who has magic and the power to grant wishes.’
‘It can grant wishes?’
‘For a price.’
The birds fly away at that, leaving Tobio quiet and contemplative.
“Tobiooo, what was that noise you were making? Were you trying to hunt down those chirpy birds?” Hinata comes out and scoops him up, the sadness of the day forgotten and shoved away. “Come on, it’s dinner time. I promise your food will taste better than those noisy little birdies.”
Tobio snuggles into Shouyou’s arms, a rumble in his chest. The bakeneko. Maybe the bakeneko can help him make Shouyou happier.
Tobio stays near the trees the next few days, silent and hidden amongst the long, green grass along the edges of the yard. The birds that visit drop more hints and details, the bakeneko being near the peak of the mountain, the bakeneko preferring magic as an offering, the bakeneko being all powerful and able to grant any wish for the right price, the bakeneko only appearing on the full moon.
At night, Tobio lies on top of Shouyou, little snores and snuffles and whines squeezed out by his weight, and stares out the window at the moon. A few more sun moon cycles, and the moon will become big and round and bright, leading his way to the bakeneko.
On the day of the full moon, Tobio twines his way around Shouyou’s legs before he leaves for school, rubbing his scent onto them.
“You’re being extra clingy today, aren’t you?” Shouyou coos as he scratches his head. “You gonna miss me today?”
Tobio purrs in response, pushing his head into the skritches. Eventually, Shouyou stops petting him, and Tobio watches as he dashes off, rushed and delayed from the pets and his clinginess.
“Tobio, it’s breakfast time!” Mom calls him in, and Tobio obliges, padding back into the house to swallow up his food. It’s not time to go. Not yet.
Tobio lies on the porch of the house, satiated from his meal. His ear twitches at the sound of plastic rustling and the door opening. Mom is finally going out for groceries. It’s his chance.
When the door slams shut behind her, he darts off the porch, heading towards the trees and the tall tall mountain top that the birds spoke of. It’s time to find the bakeneko.
—
“Tobioooo, Tobiooo, where are you?”
“That’s weird, he’s not coming. Mom, have you seen Tobio?”
“Now that you ask, I haven’t seen him since I fed him.”
“What!?”
“Oh no…”
Tobio shivers in the cold and darkness of the night. Before the sun had fallen, the forest had been much warmer and more inviting. But now that it’s night, everything is different and unknown.
The bright, round moon had been deceiving, and he had thought that there would be so much more light. But the light from the moon barely penetrates the tops of the trees, and lends only the dimmest glow to the forest. The ground smells musty and damp, the rotting leaves and foliage on the ground crinkling unpleasantly and clinging to his fur whenever he takes a step.
It’s too late though. He’s already made it this far, and he isn’t sure if he could make his way back. He has to find the bakeneko.
Gradually, a sharp, acrid scent begins to overlay the damp rot from the ground. Despite it making his nose wrinkle, Tobio welcomes it and follows the scent, taking the chance to get away from the dark, monotonous surroundings. He stumbles over knobbly tree roots, dodges away from grasping vines, before the smell leads him into a small clearing, lit by the bright glow of the moon.
‘And what are you doing here, child?’
A voice rumbles out from the middle of the clearing, large green, fluorescent cat eyes shining bright and staring straight at him. The sight makes Tobio’s fur stand up, but he resists the urge to arch up and yowl.
‘Are you the bakeneko?’ he asks.
‘And what if I am?’ The bakeneko shifts slightly, and Tobio watches in awe as it displays its body, large, much larger than his, even larger than Shouyou’s. If the bakeneko wanted to, it could crush him with a single paw. ‘Now tell me, child. Why are you here.’
‘I have a wish.’ Tobio says, cautiously padding closer to the bakeneko.
‘A wish? And why is that? Children such as you should be content to play and eat and sleep, not a single desire unfulfilled.’
The bakeneko leans down to scent Tobio as he makes his way to its paws. Tobio forces himself to remain still as its tongue comes out and licks him, as if to taste him. If the bakeneko wanted to, it could swallow him whole in one bite.
‘I want to make Shouyou happy.’
‘Shouyou? A human?’
‘Yes! He’s my favorite thing!’
The bakeneko rumbles in disagreement, a noise that travels through the air, and washes over Tobio. He trembles at the force and vehemence behind it.
‘Humans are undeserving of our gifts, child.’
‘I don’t care. I don’t like it when he comes home sad because he doesn’t have anyone to play volleyball with. And I want to play volleyball too!’
‘Oh? What is this volleyball you speak of?’
‘It’s round and slightly bigger than me, and it smells really good when Shouyou's and my scents mingle with it! There’s 12 big, big humans who hit and touch the ball, and it goes whoosh, bam, splat! And-’
Tobio’s tail rises as he meows, shaking with excitement as he gets lost in thoughts of volleyball. Eventually the bakeneko gently lays its paw on Tobio, cutting him off.
‘Enough. I understand now.’ The bakeneko rises to its full height, looming over him. ‘Now tell me, child, what will you offer for this?’
Tobio’s tail curls underneath him, as he comes down from the high of talking about volleyball. ‘The birds said you wanted magic, but I don’t know anything about magic. I don’t know what to give.’
‘Oh, child, you have plenty of magic, far more than enough to become a splendid bakeneko as I did. How else would you find me? But tell me, would you truly trade it for the happiness of this human Shouyou and the ability to play volleyball?’
‘Of course!’ Tobio looks straight up at the bakeneko, fighting against the shivers that threaten to erupt when he sees the sheer size of the bakeneko’s fangs whenever it speaks.
‘Is that so. Very well then. Child, give me your paw.’
Tobio sits and slowly extends his paw to the bakeneko. When the bakeneko touches his paw, he mewls at the feeling of something warm being sucked out of him. But he watches with round, wide eyes at the golden bead slowly forming above their paws.
The bakeneko breaks their connection, and Tobio is left feeling weak and drained as the golden bead falls to the ground.
‘Swallow it.’ The bakeneko commands. ‘And I hope that you will not regret this when you are human.’
Tobio reaches for the bead, and licks at it. The bead gradually dissolves away and the liquid slips down his throat. At first the sensation is pleasant, but as the liquid travels through, he feels his bones, his paws, his tail begin to crack.
‘Shouyou, Shouyou, Shouyou-’ he wails, before everything fades away.
—
Kageyama wakes with a gasp. The pain of all his bones breaking in his dream had felt real, far too real. He hasn’t dreamed like that before, has never dreamt something so vivid, so odd.
It must be because of Kazuyo’s death.
Kageyama stumbles out of his bed, throat dry and parched. He catches sight of the volleyball, lonely and set against the wall. He hasn’t played volleyball for what feels like ages, too caught up in his grief over Kazuyo. His fists clench. He feels weak.
But tomorrow, he’ll be back at school, and no longer have time to have his thoughts all consumed by Kazuyo and how there’s no one left at home. He’ll be able to go to practice, to play volleyball, to push himself, push the extra thoughts away.
Even with Kazuyo gone, he’ll find a way to stay on the court the longest by himself.
—
“Shouyou, I think… Tobio’s gone.”
“But why? Where would he go?”
“I don’t know.”
“... I miss him. I wish I hadn’t gone to school that day.”
It’s difficult, going back to practice after Kazuyo’s death. His limbs don’t work like they did before he took time off to attend his funeral, and Kageyama finds himself stumbling and unwieldy, missing his tosses and serves.
But time passes, and Kageyama slowly relearns the feeling of setting and serving, slowly begins outpacing everyone else on the team once again.
“C’mon, let’s run faster,” he says, but when he looks behind him on the jogging route, no one is behind him.
“Jump higher!” slips out as he sets for Kindaichi when they’re all back at the gym, and running practice games. Kindaichi barely manages to hit the ball, and Kageyama feels his skin prickle at the side eyes and scowls on his and Kunimi’s faces. But he pushes the feeling aside when the next person is up to serve.
Everything feels wrong, ever so slightly off-kilter after Kazuyo’s death, like he doesn’t belong. But Kageyama ignores the feeling, all consumed by the sensation of tossing and hitting the ball.
—
“It feels really weird practicing volleyball at home without Tobio trying to steal the ball.”
“Nii-chan…”
Slap
“I don’t have time to mope around! We have our first official game tomorrow!”
Kageyama’s skin crawls when Kitagawa Daiichi enters the gymnasium, the stares and whispers of everyone making him tense. He hears “King” slip out from someone, and he can’t help but whip around to glare at them. The nickname is grating, but it had spread so quickly and easily. Now everyone calls him that, and it digs underneath his skin, something that stings whenever he hears it. All he can do is try to ignore it. And maybe even live up to the name, crushing all the opponents in his path.
He doesn’t know what school Yukigaoka is, but he’ll crush them and keep moving on, on to Nationals, on to win first. As long as he’s in optimal condition, he can take his team there.
But not without water. The second years still aren’t back from the fountains, so he stalks off with a “I’m going to find the second years,” thrown to his coach and captain.
A vein throbs when Kageyama finds them surrounding a runt with orange hair. This is what they had wasted time on, when there’s a match soon to start? Useless. This is why they haven’t even made it to the bench even as second years.
When he scolds them, and sends them off, he’s left facing the orange-haired runt by himself. The color pings some familiarity within him, but Kageyama can’t place where he recognizes it. But it doesn’t matter, not when the runt’s his opponent, and when he’s going to crush him in the match.
—
“Hey, Sho-chan, how would you feel about getting another cat?”
“Another cat?”
“Yeah, you’ve been so down ever since Tobio disappeared.”
“... No, it’s fine, Mom. I don’t have the time to take care of a cat. Not when there’s a human Kageyama Tobio I need to beat.”
“Human Tobio?”
“Yeah, someone who I absolutely need to defeat, after he absolutely crushed us.”
The sting of having his toss ignored, being benched, being rejected from Shiratorizawa is ever present. Kageyama pushes the feeling off, ever focused on working with the volleyball, the sensation of touching the ball the only thing taking his mind off his failures. At this point, he would be lying if he said he didn’t understand why everything had fallen apart. But he doesn’t know how to fix it.
He goes for a serve, tossing the ball up in the air, before a “What are you doing here?!” interrupts him, and Kageyama whirls around to see the orange-haired runt in front of him.
The familiarity strikes again, and Kageyama can’t help but wonder where he had seen him before, before that match. The audacity of the midget quickly blows those thoughts away, and he soon finds himself bickering with him.
Hinata Shouyou. That’s the runt’s name. Somehow the name is familiar, matches with the hair, but Kageyama shoves down the tingling feeling of familiarity in favor of bickering and challenging Hinata to receive his serves. Because as far as he can tell, Hinata is still just as useless and worthless as he had been during the match.
Maybe he lets his rage consume him far too easily, but he puts all of his force into his jump serves. Hinata dodges the first one, and disdain rises. Like he had thought before, what a waste.
Kageyama goes for a second serve, and watches in surprise as Hinata actually receives it head on this time. But then the ball ricochets off his arms, onto his face, and blows off the vice principal’s wig.
Oh. They’re in trouble now.
—
“Ne, nii-chan, you haven’t been complaining about Kageyama-kun as much anymore.”
“Really? He’s still super mean and bossy.”
“Hmm, you always sound really happy when you talk about him, though.”
“I win this time!”
“Shut up dumbass! You got a headstart!”
“Yeah, cause you were unprepared!”
Hinata and Kageyama lie on the curb in front of Sakanoshita, having raced there ahead of everyone else. The dwindling sunlight glows over them as they pant, catching their breaths.
“You know, Kageyama, I always thought you were kind of mean and an asshole, but now that I think about it, you remind me of a cat.”
“Hah? Are you calling me a cat?”
Kageyama straightens up and looms threateningly over Hinata’s splayed body, brows furrowed and pout prominent. “I’m human, dumbass.”
“I mean, yeah, I know that. It’s just-” the words trail off, as Hinata gathers his thoughts.
“Just what?”
“... I had a cat in elementary and middle school.” Hinata starts, eyes fixated to a patch of grass as he draws on his memories. “His name was Tobio, just like yours.”
“You said had?”
“Yeah, had.” Hinata continues on, slow and quiet in a way that he never usually is. “It’s just. One day. He disappeared.”
“Oh.” Kageyama sits down next to Hinata, pushes his weight closer to him, feeling the warmth emanating from him. “That sucks.”
“Yeah. We never did find him again.” Hinata sighs and curls closer to Kageyama. “It made me so angry when I found out you had the same name he did, and you were such an asshole.”
“But now, I realize he was pretty similar to you.”
“I told you I’m not a cat,” Kageyama grumbles, unresisting when Hinata wraps an arm around his waist. Normally, he wouldn’t let Hinata get so close, but today is different. His mood is off, quiet and contemplative, and Kageyama wants him to cheer up back to his perky, annoying self.
“No, no, I’m serious. He loved volleyball, just like you do. He kept stealing my balls whenever I took them out to practice.”
“I bet the cat was better at handling the ball than you were.”
“Excuse me?!” Hinata squawks. “Tobio was barely bigger than the ball, the most he could do was chase after one!”
“Still probably better than you.” Kageyama’s eyes soften as Hinata grows more animated. “You were a huge scrub earlier.”
“You’re so mean, Kageyama,” Hinata whines, as he pushes away from him. “Especially for someone who lost to me today!”
“Uh, what? You cheated!”
“No I didn’t!”
“Yes you did!”
The two squabble in front of Sakanoshita, the sound of cats yowling in the background, until Daichi catches up to them, and pulls them apart, giving them a hard shake.
—
“You know, despite how awful you were initially, I’m really happy you’re my partner.”
“Shut up dumbass.”
“Awww, are you embarrassed?”
“I’m not!”
“C’mon, just admit it, you’re just as happy to be with me as well!”
“No!”