Archive of Our Own ^beta

Making her way out of the lockers, Natsu Hinata still couldn't comprehend that her team had won the final match of the Spring High Preliminary. With this (well deserved, in her opinion) victory, they became Miyagi's representative team at the Nationals.

She chose Niiyama Girls' High for this exact reason, because she knew they were the best when it came to girls' volleyball. She remembered watching their matches on TV as she grew up, hoping that one day she'd play for their team. Being part of it and contributing so much in winning the game brought her a weird sense of pride, one she'd never felt as strong as in that moment.

It was her first high school year, which meant she was one of the less experienced players on the team. She'd always dreamed of being part of this team, so she'd worked hard to achieve it and, with the help of Shouyou Hinata, her older brother and nowadays pro volleyball player, she managed to get her skills on a high enough level to be accepted to Niiyama Girls' High with a sports scholarship. She was talented, everybody told her that, and even though she was short (5'2 at best), her jumping power and quick reflexes were out of this world. That's why, despite her size, she became a middle blocker.

Shouyou had always been her biggest supporter through the years. He'd been through the exact same thing in his high school experience. Everyone mocked him because of his size and the position he played, but because of him and the other players who joined his team that year, Karasuno's volleyball team became incredibly good once again. In Shouyou's three years of high school, Karasuno reached nationals two times and in his third year they managed to come out third in all Japan.

That was one of the moments she'd been proudest to call him her brother. And before Shouyou left Japan and went to Brazil to learn all he could about beach volleyball, Natsu promised herself she'd one day become as good as him. Maybe even better. That was her ultimate goal in life.

She couldn't stop the grin which appeared on her face as she thought about how Shouyou would react to the news.

Natsu hurriedly searched for her phone in her bag and, after finding it and grabbing it aggressively, she almost dropped it as she was searching for Shouyou's contact. With a victorious squeal, she formulated her text:

Me : won the match today
Me : i'm going to nationals
Me : suck it sho, you're not the best in this family anymore

She didn't have to wait long before seeing the three dots appearing on her screen, signaling that her brother was typing. One thing she was grateful for was that Shouyou never took long to reply (she couldn't say the same for her brother's boyfriend, who sometimes took more than a week — Shouyou, though, fixed the problem by pestering him to check his phone every once in a while).

Nii-chan : WHAT?????? NO WAY
Nii-chan : SO SO SO PROUD OF U NAT-CHAN!!!!
Nii-chan : Tobio says congrats, too!!!
Nii-chan : I'm so happy right now!! My sis is following in my footsteps!!
Nii-chan : I can't talk long, but I'll facetime you once I get home so you can tell me all about it, okay???

Natsu laughed to herself. She knew how busy both Shouyou and Tobio were, but they always made time to facetime her every week and gossip about the most insignificant things. She'd never admit it out loud, but she was always looking forward to their calls. Somehow, they always gave her a reason to keep pushing to become better — so that one day, she'd reach their level.

Me : can't wait!!

Nii-chan : And ur still not better than me
Nii-chan : U can't receive worth a crap

Natsu was ready to reply and continue Shouyou's banter when she suddenly hit something hard and fell backwards. Having already dealt with this many times before, she protected herself the best she could by supporting her upper body with her arms to ease the impact.

It wasn't anything new to her, really. Everyone close to her knew she was the clumsiest person ever. She had a habit of running into stuff, and even worse, into people, so it was more or less a reflex to scramble to her feet fast, recovering her eyesight to be met with someone completely different from what she'd expected.

In front of her stood a tall boy, his skin fair, his fluffy hair chestnut and warm brown eyes. His jaw was well defined and sharp. She not-so-subtlety scanned him up and down and noticed, to her surprise, that he was wearing a light blue jersey. She immediately recognised the colours.

Realising she'd been staring for too long, Natsu raised her gaze to meet the boy's eyes. "I'm so sorry, that was so rude of me. Are you okay?"

His smile was one of the softest she'd ever seen. "Don't worry about it. I'm fine. I'm more worried about you though, you took a nasty fall there."

"Nothing new to me," she laughed in response, playing with her orange fiery ponytail in an awkward manner. "Happens to me even when I'm on the court."

There were a few seconds of silence, until the boy decided to speak up. "Well done out there, by the way. I'm glad you made it to nationals."

Natsu was a caught off guard by his remark. "You watched my game?"

"I'm actually playing in then men's final, so my team came earlier. We didn't realise your match wasn't finished by the time we got here, so we caught the last set and we couldn't help but watch."

Natsu couldn't suppress a small smile. "So what did ya think?"

"Your team seemed to have a really great connection going on, anyone could see you trust each other a lot. Your libero was great! Your captain's serves were almost frightening! You were also really good, especially for your size. You jump really high and your hits are really strong!"

"Make fun of my height and I'll—" she warned, raising her fist and readying it for a punch to put him in his place.

The boy moved his hands in exasperation and closed his eyes. "Nothing like that at all! My uncle always told me to watch out for the short players. He said they're the most dangerous."

Natsu softened and actually laughed. "Your uncle sounds very wise, uhh..." she trailed off, realising she had no idea of the boy's name.

He caught on quickly and responded to her silent request. "Oikawa. Oikawa Takeru." He smiled and held out a hand, waiting for her to properly introduce herself as well.

His name sounded extremely familiar to her, though she couldn't figure out from where. She tried recalling the time she'd heard the name, but nothing came to mind.

"Hinata Natsu," she said, accepting his hand and shaking it slightly. She returned the smile and they stood like that for a few awkward seconds. Natsu was a talkative person, so she couldn't stand the silence. "You go to Aoba Johsai, right?"

Oikawa's eyes widened slightly. "Y-yeah. I chose the team because my uncle used to go here. He really said I'd learn a lot from the coaches and the team is one of the top ones in the prefecture."

"Is your uncle a pro volleyball player?" she asked, not being able to contain her curiosity.

"Yes, actually. He played for Argentina at the last Olympics. He lost to Japan's team, though."

"Oh." Her brain finally processed from where she'd heard the name Oikawa. "Is your uncle by any chance Oikawa Tooru?"

Oikawa beamed. "Yes, that's him! You've heard of him before?"

"Ever since I was little," she replied wholeheartedly. "There was a massive rivalry between him and my brother when they were in high school. Still is today, actually."

"Is he a pro player, too?"

She never wasted an opportunity to brag about her amazing brother. "He sure is! He played for Japan's team at the last Olympics. Hinata Shouyou, but you might recognise him by the nickname 'Ninja Shouyou'!"

"No way Ninja Shouyou's your brother! The resemblance is so strong, I can't believe I didn't notice before! That's so cool! I watched many of his games from his high school days and he was amazing! I've never seen someone jump higher!" Natsu could practically see Oikawa jumping slightly as he spoke, clearly caught deeply in the conversation. He seemed laidback, completely aware of the vibe he gave off. Natsu felt herself captivated by the boy in front of her. "So, what are you going to do now, Hinata-san?" he asked suddenly.

"Now that I'm going to nationals?" Natsu suggested the meaning of the question.

Oikawa shook his head. "No, I meant now as in..." he rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly, "now."

"Oh. I'll probably go home and... sleep?" She had to be honest, she hadn't thought that far in the future. Her brain had only been screaming 'nationals' ever since the referee blew his whistle signaling the end of the match.

"Then will you stay and watch my game? I promise you, it won't be a waste of time. Then I'll be able to ask you about your opinion on the way I play. Seems only fair. Gotta warn you, though, I'm pretty good."

His grin was way too overconfident for her taste, but she supposed they were the same in that department. Natsu was, too, extremely confident in her abilities. "Fine," she replied, "I'll stay for the game. But you better live up to my expectations, otherwise I'm leaving. I don't call just anyone 'good'."

Oikawa chuckled. "I can do that. You won't be disappointed."

Just when he was about to add something else, another boy wearing the Aoba Johsai jersey came running towards them, violently grabbing Oikawa by the arm and dragging him along. "Dude, we've been looking all over for you! What are you doing? Coach said it's time for our warmup!"

Oikawa looked over his shoulder and directly at Natsu, with a glare full of playfulness. "Wish me luck, Hinata-san! I'm looking forward to seeing you cheering for me from the stands!" He showed a peace sign and a cheeky smile. His teammate immediately hit him over the hand and Oikawa complained.

Natsu snorted as she heard the last remark his teammate had made before turning the corner: "She your girlfriend or something?"

***

Sighing, Natsu fell on her bed, exhausted. It had been a tiring day. Nevertheless, it was the proudest she'd ever been of herself, and that was enough to keep her awake. She was still patiently waiting for Shouyou's call so she could brag to him about her accomplishment.

Not more than fifteen minutes later, her phone rang and she more than hurriedly answered. Her screen lit up and showed two extremely familiar figures. The first one was Shouyou, his mop of fiery orange hair, similar to her own, lit up by the angle in which the phone was being held. He showed the biggest smile she'd ever seen from him, and that made her stomach tighten in affection.

The other figure had dark hair, his fringe falling aimlessly in front of his deep blue glare. His smile was content, way less beaming than Shouyou's, but for Natsu it was more than enough. Tobio's eyes said way more than his facial expressions ever did, anyway.

By the look of it, they were in their shared apartment, sitting on the blue couch Natsu loved ever since she had visited them for the first time in Tokyo. She fondly remembered the times when they were still in high school and she was way younger, when she'd sit between Shouyou and Tobio as they were analysing new footage of an important volleyball match. She'd desperately try keeping up with the players' movements and her brother's comments, but she always found herself drifting to sleep, cuddling up to both boys who held her lovingly and softly played with her hair. She cherished moments like those more than she let others see. She'd never admit it out loud, but she missed her brother deeply. Not like she needed to admit it, though. Shouyou seemed to always know what she was thinking.

"Hey, Sho—" she started saying, but was quickly interrupted by an overly excited Shouyou who practically screamed through the phone's mic.

"CONGRATULATIONS, NAT-CHAN!"

"Nice going, champ," softly said Tobio, who smirked slightly. Poor Natsu started feeling her cheeks burn up from the praise.

"I KNEW YOU COULD DO IT!!!! HOW WAS IT? TELL ME ALL ABOUT IT!" Shouyou said, excitedly. His eyes seemed to be glowing, already invested in the conversation.

And she did. She told them about how the match was not even a close call, because the decisive set had been won by her team with a five point gap. She told them about that one awesome spike which left the whole gymnasium speechless and about the rivalry between her and a friend of hers from middle school. She knew she was rambling, but she couldn't stop herself in all the excitement. Tobio kept nodding to her story while Shouyou asked questions here and there, adding some sort of small praise towards his sister. There was no denying that Natsu had made her brother the proudest one in the world. She felt herself one step closer to her ultimate goal.

"So," it was the first thing Tobio said ever since Natsu starting telling them about the game, "who won the men's final?"

"Karasuno, but the match was tight the whole time. They managed to win the last set after reaching the thirtieth point, it was heart-stopping," Natsu explained.

"Yes,” he hissed the ‘s’, “I can't believe even after so long Karasuno's still the best in the prefecture. Coach Ukai sure makes them work for their victories, though. Remind me again, who did they play?" Shouyou asked.

"Seijoh," she replied, a bit of a smile forming on her lips. "By the way, you guys remember your old rival Oikawa? Who's in Argentina now."

Tobio snorts, unamused. "Like I'd ever be able to forget that pain in the ass upperclassman."

"You're a pain in the ass," Shouyou joked, softly nudging his boyfriend. "Why are you asking, though?" he questioned, looking at her yet again.

"While I was texting you earlier, I ran into his nephew, Oikawa Takeru, who plays for Seijoh. Fun fact, he's a big fan of yours, Sho. He's actually the one who asked me to stay and watch his game as well. He was so great, you have no idea! I've never seen more powerful serves than his in our age group. I think they could even rival yours, Tobio-nii! And his sets were so precise, they kinda reminded me a little of the sets you use for your freak quick attack!"

Tobio was pouting through the phone as Natsu spoke. When she finished rambling, he rolled his eyes so hard Natsu swore she couldn't see his irises for a whole second. "Nothing else to expect from an Oikawa, I guess. I'm glad Karasuno showed him his place," he mumbled, more to himself.

Not a moment later, Shouyou started laughing. Laughing and laughing and laughing until Tobio shoved him off from the couch. Natsu laughed herself, knowing exactly the reason behind her brother's sudden reaction.

"You're so childish, Tobio," said Shouyou, who got himself back next to his boyfriend on the couch. "This reminded you of your rivalry with your perfect upperclassman and now you can't stop thinking of what a big idiot you were back then. Admit it, only the name Oikawa gives you creeps!" he laughed, ruffling the mop of black hair on top of Tobio's hair.

"Fuck off, dumbass," Tobio replied, but the gleam of playfulness was obvious in his eyes. Even so, he made a move to get up from the couch, all pouty.

"Come onnnnn, Tobio-nii, you know you're still the best setter in my eyes! I promise you, there's no one better! Also, between us, he kind of like, missed two serves! You never did that in high school, I mean come on!" Natsu knew she was talking to him like he was some sort of child, but it was a trick Shouyou taught her for when Tobio got all jealous and pouty and it always worked.

"I know I'm the best and there's no one else who'll ever be on my level!" he said, raising his chin as a form of superiority. Natsu shook her head, amused by his antics.

A few seconds later, Tobio yawned, sleep overtaking his senses. Shouyou urged him to go to bed, but Tobio was stubborn, wanting to talk to Natsu a little more. The girl assured him that she'd call the next day, too, and that he should go rest. Natsu knew that training was draining, especially because they were part of V League teams. They'd already been scouted for the next olympics, even though that wouldn't be for another two years, but the training regime had already started. Natsu heard the happiness in Shouyou's voice when he'd given her the news— there was no setter he loved more than his boyfriend and with him around, he felt unstoppable. At least, that's what Natsu deduced from all those years ago when the two would still come to the Hinata residence, bickering over the stupidest of things. Natsu felt her stomach twisting at the memory.

Tobio excused himself, saying he was going to take a shower and made her promise to call tomorrow, too. Natsu said her goodbyes, then she was left with the sight of her brother alone.

A few long seconds, Shouyou broke the silence. "I really miss you, Nat-chan. I wish I could come home more often. Tobio misses you a lot, too... we were planning on coming back for a weekend, but seeing as you're coming to Tokyo for nationals, we'll just see each other here. We're gonna make time to come to your games and cheer on you, I promise!"

"You better! You haven't seen me play in like, a year! I've improved a lot. I'm even better than you were back in the day!"

"Yeah yeah, keep dreaming, Natsu. There's no way you can surpass me. And even if you ever do, you still have Tobio to surpass."

Natsu groaned. "Don't remind me. Dude was a beast in high school."

Shouyou looked hurt. 'What do you mean in high school? He's always been a beast, not just in volleyball." On his face was plastered a devilish grin, one Natsu recognized.

"Gross, Sho, I'm your sister! I don't need to know about your private life." Natsu felt like just ending the call, too embarrassed to say anything else.

"Oh come on, it's not like you're a baby anymore. Stop acting like one."

"What happened to 'Ew, Tobio, she's my kid sister, don't tell her stuff like that'?"

"Well that's different, I am allowed to mock you all I want with it." Suddenly, something in Shouyou's eyes changed. "Speaking of me mocking you, this is the first time you mention a guy in a long time. And you only do that when you have a cruuuuush! Is he cute?"

"Alright, I'm ending the call." Natsu almost pressed the 'end call' button. She really didn't need the teasing.

"Nuh uh, no you are not! I mean, our Oikawa was hot as hell, I can't imagine his nephew not inheriting the same genes. Was he cocky at least?"

"For sure! But I mean he had a good reason, he's very good at volleyball." Natsu soon realized what her brother was doing. "I see what you're trying to do here, but I'm not budging. And I'm really tired, so I gotta go. I'll call tomorrow."

Shouyou was laughing way too hard now. "Fine, I'll stop for now. Still, can't wait to meet him at one of our future family dinners."

"GoodBYE, Shouyou," and this time she really did end the call.

She raised her hand to her face and softly touched her burning cheeks. There was no way she was blushing. She would never admit that, even to herself.

Damn you, Shouyou, with your unnecessary teasing.

***

Her body was on fire. The only thing that was keeping her from playing the volleyball of her life and winning was the rest of the hours left before the match. Natsu could feel the anticipation in her stomach grow with each passing minute.

Her teammates all tried calming her down, but to no avail. Once Natsu got all excited over a game, there was nothing that could relax her. She was pouncing as she got off the team bus and practically hurried inside, towards the locker rooms.

There was another match on the court the moment they arrived, but Natsu couldn't care to look who was winning. All she knew was that nothing was stopping her this year.

Now, in her second year of high school, Natsu had already been at Nationals once. The results hadn't been satisfying, but not disappointing either. They came in seventh in the whole country and even though all her other teammates were thrilled with it, Natsu couldn't help but wonder how it would have been if she had bluffed  and tipped the last ball instead of spiking it with full force. Because of her blocked spike, the team had lost the game. The redhead kept blaming herself for their loss, but no one else did. Her friends had been most supportive, promising among themselves next year they'd win.

And now here they were, at the first match of Miyagi's prelims. Their first objective was getting all the way to the finals. Then, they needed to focus on winning against the other team and making it to Nationals this year as well.

And to say Natsu was excited was an understatement. The girl was radiating and couldn't wait to show off her new moves, the most important of them all being finally learning to receive properly. The key factor to mastering that ability was Shouyou's instruction to detach her feet from the ground for a fracture of a second right before sprinting for the receive.

The redhead changed into her volleyball shorts and tank top, proudly showing off the red and white colours of her uniform. She put her hair up in a messy ponytail of wavy hair and without another word to her friends, she hurried out of the room and down the hall to go buy herself some water from the vending machine.

After paying, she waited for the machine to drop the bottle. Even in those few seconds, Natsu jumped up and down in excitement, She knew she needed to preserve her energy for the game, but she just had too much.

When she finally grasped the bottle of water, she squealed victoriously and then took a big gulp out of it. Deciding it wouldn't last her longer than a couple of minutes, she bought another one.

On her way back to the locker room, she actually stopped to look at the scoreboard of the match. It was 15-11 for the girls in yellow and white and they were on the third set.

That meant their match would start soon, and Natsu couldn't help but smile.

She wanted to give the news to her teammates, so she once again found herself sprinting down the hall and surprisingly (not really) into a hard body.

She put on a little bit of muscle ever since last year, so she held her ground and managed not to fall this time. Instead, she dropped one of the bottles.

Huffing, she bent down to pick up the bottle while mumbling her usual apology. "I'm sorry, I wasn't looking where—"

"We've got to stop running into each other like this," a voice interrupted her. An oddly familiar voice.

Her amber eyes were met with dark ones staring right back at her. There was a mischievous smirk plastered on his face and, even though it should have been intimidating, Natsu felt herself smile brightly.

"Oikawa-san! It's so nice to see you again!" she exclaimed as she fixed her posture.

"Likewise, Hinata-san. Though, I was really hoping that this time when you fell, I'd catch you like the gentleman I am," he said jokingly and then proceeded in saying something else, but Natsu wasn't exactly paying attention.

While the boy spoke, she studied his appearance. He looked pretty much the same as last year, except his hair was probably a centimetre or two longer, which accentuated his waves more. And he definitely got taller. Damn boys and their growth spurt, she said to herself. It was unfair that in a year he grew so much and her height remained the same. It was just unfair.

"Hinata-san, you there?" His question snapped her out of her thoughts. He was eyeing her with concern.

"Yes, sorry, I just got a bit in my own head. What were you saying?"

"I was congratulating you for your performance at the Nationals last year. I watched all your matches on TV— well, at least the ones which were played while I didn't have classes. It was a shame you lost by two points after such a long game, though."

,Natsu was sure he didn't mean to make her feel bad for it, but she just couldn't help but do so. Even if it was a long time ago, the loss was still on her mind more than she liked.

The boy seemed to catch on her reaction, as her eyes lost the spark she had before. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to bring you down. It really wasn't your fault, you guys were just unlucky."

"No no, it's fine don't worry. I just really don't want to make my team lose any other matches." She looked down, embarrassed. And it was just then that she noticed that the boy was not wearing his jersey. Instead, he was in casual clothing, just a regular pair of jeans and a plain white T-shirt. "What are you doing here, though?" she asked, realising a few moments later that the question came off a bit rude. "I mean, the men's prelims starts this evening and it's still morning..."

"Oh, yeah. Well believe it or not, I just came to check it out and get accustomed to the gym again. I just couldn't stay still. Also, I was kinda hoping I'd run into you and watch your matches. I'll cheer for you!"

Natsu, without her will, started smiling. She felt her cheeks burning up. Was she... blushing?

No, it's just the hype for the game and I tired myself out a little. Better stop now from jumping around.

Even she herself didn't believe that poor excuse of an explanation.

"I— y-yeah, I'm counting on it! Today you'll see something from me you've never seen before!"

"Now you got me all interested, shortie! What is it?" Oikawa asked and Natsu slapped his bicep, a frown on her face.

"I'm not short, you're just gigantic," she scoffed, "and you'll have to wait and see, I'm not spoiling!"

She took out her phone to check the time and her eyes got wide when she saw how late she was.

"I'm sorry to cut this short, I'd love to chat more, but I really need to go, otherwise I'll get my ass kicked by my captain," she said, laughing. She waved as she stepped back and then she remembered a little something. "What was it you said to me a year ago? 'I'm looking forward to seeing you cheering for me from the stands!'? Yeah, same goes to you!"

She giggled at how flustered Oikawa became. She bowed her head a little and started running towards the lockers.

"Come watch my games tonight, too!" she heard from behind. Then, a little softer, he added: "Then maybe after, we could... hang out? After the matches."

Natsu turned around while still running. "I'll be there! And... sure. But you have to win both your games for me to hang around after!" she teased. She hit her back to the glass doors, not looking where she was going, her eyes still fixated on the boy. A little grunt escaped her lips and then she opened the door, not even caring to feel embarrassed. Oikawa was laughing loudly and wholeheartedly at the little scene.

"It's a deal! Good luck there!"

Then Natsu closed the door, separating her from the fuzzy feeling, her brain instantly switching to game mode.

She still got her ass kicked for being late, though.

***

Of course he'd won both his matches. Natsu never even thought he wouldn't. Though, that cocky bastard looked directly at her after scoring the last point and showed her a peace sign with his hand, at with Natsu rolled her eyes but laughed.

The audience was scattering out the gym once the mandatory 'thank you' was said, and Natsu found herself waiting on the halls for Oikawa to emerge from the changing rooms.

Her palms were sweaty. She was nervous, she knew so much. But it still bugged her. There was no reason for her to be. She never really had problems when it came to socialising. Natsu had learned that when it came to her people skills, very few were even a match to her.

She'd been told many times that she was like the sun. Mostly because of her energic personality, one which filled people with warmth and comfort. She found herself being sought by many of her teammates when they needed help with this and that. That explanation still didn't give her a good enough reason for people to compare her to the "sun", but Shouyou told her that it's also because of their damned orange curls that others made this association. In his words, 'It's the Hinata genes!'.

She was usually confident, partially because of this 'sunny' personality of hers.

So why was that confidence wavering now?

She'd handled boys before. She'd been approached before, too. It somehow felt different this time around, maybe because this particular boy had piqued her interest in a way others hadn't.

First off, he wasn't bad looking. Quite the opposite, but Natsu would never admit it out loud. The simple fact that her cockiness was being challenged by him was also an important reason. She loved how natural it felt to be provoked by him. She loved how he was gentle with her and got flustered when she'd finally flip her teasing switch on. She couldn't help but stare at those little smiles of his when he found something Natsu said funny. The fact that he was passionate about volleyball, as well. She'd seen him play enough to acknowledge how awesome he was.

There were many reasons for her sudden interest in him. But those were no reasons for her to feel intimidated by him and get all shy. She had to pull herself together.

Just in that moment, as if like someone up there had heard her thoughts, Oikawa emerged from the locker room, his jersey thrown over his shoulder, smug smirk still in place as he was chatting with a couple of his teammates.

Natsu noticed how he'd changed clothes to ordinary ones, black t-shirt and dark jeans, paired with some colorful sneakers that really stood out to her.

She straightened her back and put her hands in her pockets, blowing a raspberry to give the impression that she'd got bored while waiting. Oikawa, of course, noticed her right away and stopped in the middle of the sentence to greet her.

"Hey there! Have you been waiting for long? I'm sorry for that," he said, not looking sorry at all.

Natsu rolled her eyes. "In fact, I have. Two more minutes and I would have left."

"Well, we can't have that happen," he laughed.

Was he... mocking her?

"Still as annoying as ever. If you don't stop teasing me I might consider ditching your ass and going home," she said and headed towards the exit, her steps slow and anticipating.

"Oh my, what a threat! Alright fellas," he turned towards his teammates, "I got the lady all mad, can't risk any more mistakes. Gotta go, have a great night and remember to rest for tomorrow." Eyeing Natsu, he pointed towards the door. "Let's go."

"Wait, Takeru, aren't you coming with us to get meat buns?" one of his teammates asked immediately.

"Can't help it when pretty girls ask for my company, sorry guys. We'll see each other tomorrow, try not to miss me too much."

Oikawa grabbed her arm and started walking. Natsu faked struggling, but smiled nonetheless. She turned around towards Oikawa's teammates and waved at them. "Just to be clear, he asked for my company, not the other way around," she said.

Before she could catch what they responded, Oikawa closed the door right in her nose and released her arm.

He let out a breath as if he finally relaxed after a long time. "Now that it's just us, we can finally go. Any specific place in mind?"

"Not really. We can go to the park next to my house, there's a nice supermarket there as well."

"Lead the way, then."

Natsu nodded and pointed towards a darkened alley. Having started walking, she could feel Oikawa trailing after her a few inches away.

Silence fell over them, but they were looking at each other teasingly, like it was a competition who would give in first and start the conversation, and of course Natsu wanted to win. Though, she was the type to get antsy when people weren't speaking around her, so she decided to give him the win on this one.

"You seem like a handful."

"I'm just joking with them and they'd already got used to my antics. I'm not like this all the time, but someone in the team has to play the jester. It helps raise up the spirits," he muttered, shrugging. Natsu looked at his face as they were now walking side by side and noticed how this time around, his answer was truthful and not mocking.

"So you're just faking the cockiness?" she asked, too fast to realise how offensive the question may have sounded.

Oikawa didn't seem to take it that way. "Don't get it twisted, being a tease is what I excel in. It's my real personality, I just... accentuate it a little it when I'm with the team."

"So you're proving my point. You're a pain in the butt."

"Am not, thank you very much."

"Except for now and when we talked about volleyball, literally all the things you've said to me were more or less teasing."

"So what are you trying to say?" he eyed her curiously and leaned in, the teasing smirk on full display.

She shoved her hand in his face, turning away. "See, this is exactly what I mean!"

Oikawa laughed, really laughed, then straightened his back. "This is only a bit of my whole personality, I can be serious when I talk to people." Natsu looked at him skeptically. "Okay, how about this: after you hang out with me today, you'll be allowed to comment on my behaviour. I'm pretty determined to prove you wrong. I bet you'll change your opinion on me after this."

She faked thinking. "Alright. What are we betting on?"

He seemed to be taken aback by her response. "Wait what?"

"If you're so confident about it, let's bet. It's not like I have much to lose anyway."

"Your pride, maybe?"

Natsu elbowed him in the ribs. "I'm glad you're concerned about it, but do not worry. My pride won't be hurt because of you and your stupid games."

"I know what you're doing! You're trying to rile me up. But that won't work that easily on me." Natsu scrunched her nose in response and crossed her arms.

"Yeah yeah whatever, so now tell me what are we betting on?"

Oikawa's eyes narrowed for a second, then it was like a lightbulb appeared above his head. "If I win, you'll have to come to all my matches from now on."

"Seems fair. What do I get if I win?"

"Well, name your wish."

What could Natsu even want from him?  Nothing came to mind. She just wanted to hang out with him more, but that sounded way too sappy to say out loud. She came up with the silliest thing she could think of in that moment. "If I win, I want you to get a t-shirt with the words 'Hinata Natsu is always right' and wear it to practice."

It was a bad idea. It was stupid. It was extremely childish. But it was so endearing.

He just chuckled in response, before his gaze became determined. "You're on."

***

The rest of the walk was spent exchanging jokes and making silly faces, holding a staring contest and a singing session. Their voices filled the dark and empty streets with laughter, waking up the locals. They got screamed at once to shut up and they really did try to, but their joyous sounds returned in only five minutes.

When they reached the supermarket, Oikawa volunteered to go in alone and buy them snacks at which Natsu protested, saying she's a picky eater and there'd be no way that he'd know what she likes. Oikawa, of course, turned it into yet another bet and in case he won, he wanted Natsu to admit to his face that he's the best setter ever. (He won the bet and poor Natsu was left embarrassed, her ears turning pink and not returning to their normal colour until after a long time.)

Their conversation shifted to something a little lighter as they started comparing their relatives' progress with volleyball. Natsu told him about how Shou had gotten into volleyball, how he formed his own team in the last year of middle school and how Tobio kicked his butt in Shou's first ever official game. It came very easily to her to talk about them, especially since it had been a while since she last told the story. Oikawa listened to her carefully, sometimes inquiring about a little detail Natsu had said.

Oikawa spoke of his uncle and his progress, what he knows about Tobio from when he was only a kid and how they met. Natsu found the story funny and commented a lot about how sassy little Oikawa Takeru was. Oikawa once again got flustered.

As they found a bench to sit on, the conversation was toned up yet again, their voices loud and high-pitched as they were gushing about Kageyama Tobio's personality back in high school.

"No, I'm telling you, Tobio-nii still gets all shy when meeting new people, just like he did back then. I can still remember the first time Shou brought him home, poor guy was a mess of mumbles and got flustered whenever mom asked him anything. Shou invited him to spend the night over so they could practice receives in our backyard. At dinner, mom asked him what spice he wanted on his rice and he replied with 'yeah'. Of course mom, Shou and I started laughing hysterically and up to this day, Tobio-nii still doesn't know what he said so funny.

"You guys are such meanies! I feel so sorry for him!" Oikawa said as he sat down beside her.

"Nah, he's alright. Plus, this isn't even the worst he's gone through. Whenever he visited I'd bother them all the time to help me with volleyball practice! Most of the things I know nowadays are because of those little moments spent in our backyard. I'd also spend time with them when they were doing homework together, but Shou would have literally done anything to get rid of me. He even gave me his phone to play the worm game once and he used to be super secretive about it."

He scoffed. "And you called me a handful."

"In my defense, I was a kid, not like you," she replied, sticking her tongue out. "But yeah, I really was. I used to tie Tobio-nii's hair up with my weird pink elastics and clams and he never once complained about it, though he did tackle Shou to the ground and made him delete any photos he took. Shou still managed to sneak one unnoticed, look!" Natsu searched her gallery and found the picture she was looking for, showing it to the boy next to her. He burst into laughter at Tobio's two little ponytails at the top of his head.

"No way he actually allowed you to do that to him," he said, breathless.

"Oh come on, I think he's a very pretty princess," she joked, shoving her phone back into her pocket.

"You are such a monster, Hinata-san!"

"Am not," Natsu clapped back. "And it's Natsu, I'm not into honorifics or anything like that."

"Okay, then call me Takeru," he said with ease.

"Alright, Takeru," she said, the name feeling foreign on her lips. She didn't let herself get distracted by that thought, though. "This isn't even the worst thing I ever did to him."

"Okay, so then what is the worst thing?"

"Hmm..." Natsu took her sweet time thinking about her answer. "Probably when I accidentally revealed his relationship with Shou to my mom. It's not like they were keeping it hidden or anything, but they just wanted to tell her in a different way and I didn't know that only I knew about it so–"

"Wait what?" Oikawa– Takeru blurted, his eyes almost popping out of his head. "Hinata is dating Kageyama?"

"What?" Natsu retorted. "I thought that was common knowledge already!"

"Well apparently it isn't!" he said, throwing his hands in front.

"Or you're just plain dumb," Natsu stated, "Even though you didn't know, I made it super obvious by only what I told you today."

"Stop attacking me! I just didn't realise it," he said defensively. "When did they... uh... when did they start going out?"

"Just a little while after Shou got back from Brazil. At the after party for their very first game against each other. Though they've been tip-toeing around each other ever since their second year of high school. It was painfully obvious they were pining for each other and all their friends knew it, too, they were just too damn oblivious to realise that themselves," she exhaled, rolling her eyes. "It was so hard for me not to tell Tobio-nii about Shou's crush on him when they were in high school, it would have saved me the cringe for the rest of three years in which I only heard from Shou on the phone 'Kageyama this, Kageyama that'. They really should have just gotten together all those years ago."

"And what..." Takeru trailed off, looking down, a shyness suddenly overtaking him. "What about you?"

Natsu cocked an eyebrow. "What about me?"

"Do you have... like, y'know..." He said, waiting for her response. Natsu didn't respond, not understanding the question and urging him to continue. "A boyfriend," he said, pink suddenly dusting his cheeks.

"Oh!" Natsu felt so stupid, her own face heating up rapidly. "N-no, I don't," she answered simply, turning her head rapidly.

"And why is that?"

She felt her heartbeat increase rapidly. "It's not like I'm against it or anything, I just never found someone to be on the same level as me, no one really-" she stopped mid sentence, realising what she'd said. "Not 'level' as in I'm superior to others, I didn't mean it like that! I meant, no one ever matched my passion for volleyball or my energy or my humour well enough to... I don't know... make me interested. Can't say I ever gave much thought to it, though," she admitted, shrugging. Takeru's eyes were on her and he nodded in agreement to her words. "Why the interest in my love life?" she grinned, surpassing the urge to lean in to tease him more.

"Well... I..." Takeru was too flustered to blurt more than two words consecutively. "I was just... curious."

"Why?" she pressed forward, with no shame.

"I just was!" he exclaimed. His face started to look more and more like a tomato.

"So then, what about you?" her follow-up question seemed to surprise him.

Takeru's face shifted to mischief. "Wouldn't you like to know..." Natsu hit his shoulder lightly and he laughed. "No, I don't have a girlfriend because all the other ladies who liked me would be left heartbroken!" he faked a dramatic sigh and Natsu continued her assault, hitting a little harder. "Okay, okay I get it!" When the laughter died down, his smile also disappeared, his gaze seemingly lost in his own world. "I guess... I feel the same way as you, only my main reason is I feel like she'd distract me from my main goal, which is getting to the top and playing in division 1. I don't want to feel obligated to spend time with her when I'm supposed to practice to get better and I also don't want to hurt her by neglecting her."

"Valid reason," interrupted Natsu, "but you're just holding yourself back. What if she wanted to support you to get better? What if she'd be there every step of the way? What if she'd turn out to be your biggest competition? You're missing out on teen romance because you're too scared to let yourself have fun."

"That's true but... I can't know anything like that before actually starting going out with her."

"Exactly, you can't. Give yourself the chance have feelings without shutting them out!"

"Give myself the chance, eh?" he said, looking down. At the corner of his lips, a small smile appeared. "Maybe I'll take your word for it and tell her. You're right, I've got nothing to lose."

Natsu shot her eyebrows upwards. "Oh? Have someone in mind already?"

"Maybe." He smiled at her, a real and genuine smile.

Natsu's heart did a backflip as she smiled back. If their pinkies on the bench touched lightly, she tried not to think about it too much. It all felt so endearing. Like it was another one of their dumb competitions.

And maybe it was.

"Alright then, I'll cheer on you! You better tell me how it went afterwards," she said, to which Takeru nodded softly, chuckling.

"Sure. You'll be the first to know."

***

Natsu lost a second bet that night, because Takeru actually did manage to get serious for a little while. She then had to go to all of Takeru's matches and, of course, she held her promise. Takeru looked at her many times while he was on the court, as in saying 'look what I can do!'. And, as an amazing friend that she was, she cheered for him at every point. In her heart she knew, though, that she would have gone watch him play no matter if she'd won the bet or not.

***

And even though her terrible loss at the finals brought her down to tears in his arms, when he called her strong and amazing and then finally, finally, kissed her, Natsu felt a little spark of joy in her heart restore.

When Takeru won his finals and moved up to Nationals, Natsu felt content. Happy, even.

Maybe she wasn't going to Nationals that year and she'd take revenge for it next time. But someone else was, someone who crawled his way into her heart with ease and turned her world upside down. Someone she cared deeply for. Someone she knew returned her feelings.

She promised herself she'd be there for him for every step on his way to success.

***

The whistle blow signaling the end of the match was ringing repeatedly in his ears. Takeru felt numb, his legs shaking slightly, sweat rolling down his forehead. None of these stopped him from looking at his teammates with empty eyes, only to find them look back at him.

The only thing that broke him from the spell was one cheer. To any other person, it sounded like any other cheer one would ever hear, but not to him. To his ears, it was entirely unique. Because it was hers.

He looked at the stands to see her mop of orange hair stand out in the crowd, tears spilling from her eyes like two rivers. Yet, she was smiling. She was happy. Why?

Because he'd won.

He'd move up to Nationals for his second year in a row, but also his last of high school. And not only that.

She'd won her finals, too.

Which meant that their greatest wish came true.

Takeru threw his fist in the air victoriously, screaming from the top of his lungs. He registered the yells from his teammates and he vaguely felt them huddle up around him and crushing him with powerful hugs, but they were only a background to what he really wanted to see and hear. His eyes were glued to his biggest four supporters. Natsu was jumping and screaming, accompanied by her brother, Hinata Shouyou, who matched her energy as if they were one and the same person, and her brother-in-law, Kageyama Tobio, who was clapping and smiling proudly towards Takeru. Next to them stood none other than his uncle and his biggest inspiration, Tooru, who was yelling something that sounded like 'HE'S MY NEPHEW', and whose eyes were glossy, ready to spill tears.

Takeru thought he was dreaming. But Natsu looked so real, staring at him and looking so proud and showering him with screams of praise that he didn't even understand. He laughed as happy tears spilled from his eyes.

He couldn't wait for the ceremony to end so he could finally be with her.

***

And then there they were.

Standing on opposite sides of the hall.

Natsu, who proudly displayed the number '1' on her white and red jersey, hair out of the usual ponytail and now framing her face with orange unruly curls, had Tooru, Hinata and Kageyama behind her, all three smiling fondly. And one minute she was standing there, just staring at him in awe and the next she was running towards him at full speed, launching towards him as soon as he was in reach.

But Takeru was prepared. He caught her easily and hugged her tight, feeling the tears well up in his eyes once again. He heard little sobs coming from her as well and clutched her tighter, rubbing his thumbs on her back in a circular manner, trying to soothe her. She was real. She was there. And they both had done it.

Letting go of each other, they stood close, their hands searching for each other and intertwining. He stared at her with a relieved smile on his face. Her face mirrored his, yet her smile was beaming. A smile which could never be rivaled.

There was no need for words. They could understand each other just like that.

Their shared dream had come true.

They made the top together.

They'd conquer the world together.

Together.

Takeru loved the sound of that.