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Day IV: Bloom
Today Kageyama decided to walk to school faster. True it was earlier than usual due to the fact he had morning practice, but he wanted to prevent yesterday morning’s incident—and sure as hell last night’s as well—with the idiot bullies that wouldn’t leave him alone. So he made his way quickly, reaching the school in half the time it normally took him.
Consequently, he probably didn’t need to warm up for practice this time because he was already beat.
6:30AM and he was a whole half an hour early, half regretful, half not. The school was deserted, although there were a few teachers and handful of students he noticed as he walked in. Either way for the next thirty minutes he had nothing to do other than wait for his teammates to appear.
Especially Hinata.
Kageyama decided to lean against the bycicle racks to wait for the shortie to arrive. He took out his phone and, with nothing else to do, texted him.
To: The Idiot
From: Bakayama
Hey hurry up and get to school already.
Hinata’s reply took about ten minutes in which Kageyama had honestly lost all hope the idiot would even reply. He was probably still asleep or something. Kageyama resorted to playing a game on his phone whilst he waited.
To: Bakayama
From: The Idiot
I’m on my way baka!! Why are you even in school so early?
To: The Idiot
From: Bakayama
Just hurry up. Everyone’s already here and we’re waiting for you.
That was an obvious lie, but Kageyama had nothing else to do so it wouldn’t hurt Hinata to pedal any faster, would it?
About five minutes later Hinata was rushing into the school gates at full speed, stopping just before the bicycle racks and a good foot away from crashing into Kageyama.
“A—Ahaha, my bad!” he laughed nervously as he got off his bike, scratching the back of his head.
“Took you long enough,” Kageyama rolled his eyes as he watched Hinata lock his bicycle. Once he was done he turned towards the raven, his hazel eyes scanning his surrounding as though something was missing.
“Didn’t you say everyone was already here?”
“I lied,” Kageyama said bluntly and turned around in the direction of the gym.
“You—You--…!! Bakayama! I nearly fell off my bike like three times because I thought I was late!” Hinata yelled at him, rushing to stand right in front of him before Kageyama could go any further. “You seriously…! I swear one day I’ll punch your face you turd!” What he did was push Kageyama with little to no strength.
Of course he wasn’t about to fight the most menacing guy he knew after Sawamura Daichi, so an innocent but threatening gesture was fine, wasn’t it?
Only that the effect it caused wasn’t something Hinata had expected at all.
Kageyama stepped back from Hinata, flinching, his right hand going to his stomach. He struggled with the pain that surged through his abdomen, allowing it to subside before finally regaining his composure and sighing.
“K—Kageyama…”
“I’m fine, idiot,” Kageyama mumbled, placing a hand on Hinata’s messy red hair. “I just made a wrong movement.”
“E—Eh?! Kageyama you’re definitely not fine,” Hinata argued, taking Kageyama’s hand away from his head and holding it in his own. Unable to look at the taller boy in the eyes without picturing the previous day, he decided to just look at his chest. “Those guys hit you pretty bad and it’s definitely my fault. I couldn’t do anything, I’m sorry…” Guilt suddenly washed over Hinata as he remembered how Kageyama had been beaten and how there was nothing he could do about it.
“Don’t be stupid,” Kageyama mumbled, looking down in an attempt to meet Hinata’s eyes. “It wasn’t your fault, Hinata. I…” Kageyama suddenly realized he was at a loss of words, not because he didn’t know what to say but because Hinata was looking right at him now and he was so distracting; it was mesmerizing.
Whatever that bubbling feeling that kept surging through him every time he met Hinata’s eyes was, he had no idea but it was making him weak.
“D—Don’t apologize. Let’s…. just go to them gym, I’m sure everyone will be here soon.” Kageyama slid his hand from Hinata’s and made his way to the gym.
“Oi, Kageyama, Hinata!” a voice suddenly chimed in, making both boys turn to the source. It was Daichi, Suga and Tanaka. Tanaka had been the one to call out whilst waving along with the other two.
Well, at least that saved Kageyama from whatever awkward silence he would have been with Hinata while they waited for them.
“Ah, good morning!” Hinata smiled at his upperclassmen that greeted him back.
“I see you two are here earlier than usual. That’s quite the surprise,” Daichi chuckled.
“Yeah! What have you two been doing all this time, Kageyama, Hinata?” Tanaka got uncomfortably close to the pair who instantly backed away with nervous expressions.
“Now, now, Tanaka. Don’t scare them. I thought you’d already gone through that phase with these two,” Sugawara chimed in, holding his friend back.
“Heh, I guess you could say it’s different this time, Suga,” Tanaka gave his friend a sly smirk before turning back at a confused looking Kageyama and Hinata.
“You two have been pretty close lately. Hmm, hmm…I wonder—“
“Well, it’s about time we start practice, isn’t it? Let’s go, Tanaka, everyone~” Sugawara dragged Tanaka away before he could embarrass the two oblivious teens.
Despite not saying much, Kageyama somehow got the message and was beating a deep shade of red.
“Eh? What was Tanaka-senpai even talking about? We always hang out together, right Kageyama-kun?” Hinata turned to Kageyama with the most innocent expression anybody could bear witness off.
It only made to worsen Kageyama’s case to the point he walked ahead, hiding his face in his hands.
“E—Eh? Kageyama-kun? Oi, wait up!”
Hinata managed to take hold of Kageyama’s T-shirt before he could completely run away from him. He looked down at the ground awkwardly, figuring out how to express himself through his speech.
“L—Let go, Hinata,” Kageyama grumbled, attempting to remove Hinata’s grasp with his hand, only the redhead wouldn’t budge and such an expression told him he wouldn’t.
“Listen…let’s…let’s talk about it, about what happened…later,” he mumbled, not meeting Kageyama’s eyes. “At lunch. I’ll meet you in the courtyard by the vending machines,” and with that Hinata went ahead, leaving Kageyama to wonder how such a conversation would even take place.
…
“Everyone here?”Ukai questioned as his eyes scanned the gym to confirm the whole team was present. Upon receiving confirmation from the team itself, he nodded, pleased with everyone’s responsibility. “Alright then, warm up and we’ll be forming two teams. I want to see you guys play right off the bat today, so get to it.”
“Hai!” the team responded and soon enough Daichi began leading the warm ups.
Everything went accordingly, except for Kageyama.
His movements were calculated to the point it took him twice as long to finish his warm ups. Inside the game his sets were off, making Hinata turn to him in anger when they’d lose a point.
“Kageyama! I thought I told you to stop doing that!”
“Idiot, I’m…not doing it on purpose,” Kageyama argued, although that’s as much as he would say about why he was off.
Hinata was confused at first, still angry at Kageyama, feeling as though he was underestimating him for the still visible bruises on his arms, but not long he finally understood. The images reached his mind and he stepped back.
“Kageyama, you…”
The whistle blew and it was the other team’s turn to serve the ball. Kageyama got into position, knees bent, arms at his sides, eyes focused on the ball being served and nothing else.
When Chikara served the ball it successfully made it to their side of the net. Tsukishima received it successfully, making sure it would reach their setter who was ready and focused to set it to their spiker, Hinata.
He was quick on his feet to move to the right angle, quick to position his hands in the right spot, and skilled enough to give his usual strong set which Hinata victoriously spiked with all his might.
Landing on both feet, Hinata wiped the sweat off his forehead and listened to the sweet sound of the whistle blow, indicating a point to them as the other team failed to counter their attack.
Though he had to admit, that did rush a bit of pain through his arm, but it was nothing.
“Kageyama!”
“Kageyama, what’s wrong?!”
W—What?
Hinata had heard a thump, but he had only assimilated it with the sound of the ball hitting the gym floor. Upon turning around he noticed it had been Kageyama, who now laid on the floor, clutching his abdomen for dear life, his face contorted into an expression of pain.
He could see how his teeth were gritted, suppressing any sound of pain from coming out and further worrying his teammates, how his eyes were shut tight and his body was laying on its side, slightly shaking.
Sugawara was the first to crouch down besides his teammate, rushing from his side of the court and placing an arm to Kageyama’s shoulder.
“Is it your stomach, Kageyama?” he questioned gently.
Kageyama nodded slowly, hoping the pain wouldn’t worsen if he moved too abruptly.
“Can someone please call the nurse?” Sugawara asked and a second later the manager was already rushing out the door-- along with one of the second years and Asahi-- dialing the nurse’s number so he could reach her faster.
“Kageyama-kun…” Hinata felt mortified as he approached his rival and teammate.
“I-- …I’ll be fine, Sugawara-senpai, everyone, I—I just made a—a wrong movement. S—Sorry for worrying you…”
“Wrong movement?” Tsukishima chimed in, obviously annoyed with Kageyama’s excuse. “What are you, sixty years old? Idiot. You don’t even look fine. If you’re hurt don’t come to practice!” Tsukishima scolded the setter, looking annoyed but everyone could tell he was as worried for the raven as the rest.
Kageyama didn’t glare at him due to the pain still being quite present and vivid on his abdomen.
“The nurse said to take him to her office, but to be careful when moving him!” Asahi announced from the door.
Upon hearing this Kageyama slowly, cautiously began to stand up with much difficulty due to the greater pain it was causing when he bent his abdomen. When he was finally on his feet he stood in his spot for a moment, breathing in, breathing out, and making his way to the door.
Sugawara was sure to stay at his side along with Daichi and, of course, Hinata. Ukai lead them to the nurse’s office, telling the rest of the team to stand by whilst they took care of the incident. Not everyone could help Kageyama so the rest of the team stayed behind.
…
“I—Itte.” Kageyama grunted as he laid on the bed in the nurse’s office. It hurt like hell, but he didn’t want to make such a big deal out of it so he suppressed all the profanities that wanted to come out of his mouth; most of them to curse Yamato the bully for being the cause of this.
When the nurse told Kageyama to lift his shirt in order to inspect the area that was causing the problems, the raven hesitated. He knew it was not a good idea to do so considering the bruises he’d gotten from the previous day and of course he’d be bombarded with questions which he’d have no other choice but to answer.
The outcome of this sounded all too troublesome.
But he had no other choice.
“Kageyama. Why didn’t you say anything about this?” Ukai questioned upon seeing the bruises at Kageyama’s sides and abdomen. He frowned down at the teen, a look of disappointment washing over him.
Kageyama felt rather guilty now. He knew he was supposed to trust his teammates with this type of stuff, but at the same time he didn’t wish to worry them or stop practicing. It was stupid. He was stupid.
“I…apologize, coach.” Kageyama looked away.
The older man didn’t respond, simply looked at the boy and sighed. “I’m going back. Make sure to get better Kageyama. Until you are fully healed I don’t want you practicing.” And with that he was gone.
Exactly what Kageyama didn’t want.
…
After having to explain the events that lead to his bruises the previous day, the nurse had given Kageyama some painkillers and a bag of ice to apply on the area of pain. The nurse had told him that he’d been lucky the bruises hadn’t been much worse, which could have caused internal bleeding or even a broken rib.
He didn’t feel all too lucky. The pain was still a bitch.
“I’ll be calling for your mother to pick you up, Kageyama. You should rest up. I suggest you visit your doctor so he can prescribe you something that will lessen the pain. Once your mother comes I’ll inform her of this.”
Kageyama couldn’t help but to agree. He didn’t have much of a say in this. Besides, the nurse didn’t even allow him to argue, leaving the room as soon as she was done talking, surely to call his mother.
He sighed.
“Kageyama…” Hinata appeared at the door after the nurse had gone out, looking completely mortified, his gaze on Kageyama’s bare abdomen where he held an ice bag. He walked in cautiously and made his way to sit besides the raven.
“I…didn’t know it was that bad, Kageyama. I’m sorry,” Hinata shook his head, looking to be on the verge of tears.
Noticing this Kageyama panicked, stuttering out some words until, “No! Of course it’s not your fault you idiot!” came out and he stuck with that.
Hinata found Kageyama stuttering completely silly and comical, but wasn’t able to laugh due the fact he was feeling guilty as hell.
“Come one, Hinata. Don’t put yourself down for this. It’s my own fault. Those guys are…” Kageyama stopped himself from continuing any further, and held in his words.
Of course, Hinata noticed.
“Anyway, I’ll be fine. The nurse told me that some prescribed meds would lessen the pain so I’ll probably be ok before you know it,” Kageyama actually smiled at the redhead.
He smiled.
Hinata’s whole emotional state changed completely from mortified to awed and quite abashed.
Suddenly he was nervous, not knowing what to do, say or what to look at. He remembered the thing he had been holding in his hands for a while now and instantly found it as a solution to his problems. “E—Etto, I—uh… I brought you a bento,” he managed to say, placing the wrapped box on the bed next to Kageyama.
“You…brought me a bento?” Kageyama looked utterly confused, like Hinata was handing over a pink bow and asking him to wear it for the next game. It was silly and Hinata broke a laugh. Finally.
“Idiot, just take it,” He pushed it slightly towards the boy, feeling much easier when Kageyama accepted it. “T—Thanks…” he mumbled as he opened it up to see some fresh food inside.
“And…I really wanted to talk about yesterday. I… was really worried about you. And you keep getting me out of those messes, Kageyama.”
“It’s nothing, idiot,” the raven shook his head and tried reaching over to pat the boy’s hair. Unable to reach, Kageyama got frustrated and ended up awkwardly placing his hand atop Hinata’s and giving it a light pat.
“W—What are you doing?” Hinata questioned, an blank expression and monotonous voice.
“Nothing! Just… Whatever. Stop apologizing,” Kageyama crossed his arms over his chest and gave a pout.
It was such a silly face that Hinata just laughed, his cheeks slowly growing redder and redder. “What even is that face?”
“It’s just my face, stupid!”
“No, that’s definitely not Kageyama!”
“Shut up!”
It really helped to change the mood up. Hinata was feeling much better and Kageyama felt rather comforted by the shorter boy’s presence to the point he had forgotten most of the pain his abdomen was causing him.
After some time they began chatting idly about their morning practice, which was long over by then; Hinata would laugh at Kageyama’s silly expressions and Kageyama would point out what an idiot he was.
In that moment something clicked in Kageyama’s head.
Hinata was not someone he disliked, someone he repulsed or someone he found superficial. It was all the contrary. He liked Hinata. He was funny, although he could say and do dumb things, he didn’t always know what to say but managed to find fitting words to lighten the mood, he was true sunshine, and Kageyama couldn’t understand why.
That bubbling feeling that had been overtaking his chest, it was blooming.
He really liked Hinata, didn’t he?
“You two have been pretty close lately. Hmm, hmm…I wonder—“
Tanaka’s words struck him like a lightning strike, and he paused, noticing Hinata sit in front of him as though he sat in some sort of spotlight, like he finally figured out the missing piece.
“Kageyama?”
His dark eyes went wide, his lips slightly parted as he stared at Hinata.
Is it really like that?
“Hinata, I—“
“Kageyama, your mother is here to pick you up,” the nurse walked in then, smiling at the teen.
Kageyama’s heart felt like it was about to pop out.
What the hell was I even gonna say?
“C—Come on, I’ll help you,” Hinata offered, holding a hand out for Kageyama to take.
Was it really so? Was this what that feeling really led to?
Like…
He couldn’t be sure then. No. Not now.
Kageyama took Hinata’s hand and stood up from the bed carefully, managing to successfully stand without feeling much pain. Hinata led him to the school exit where his mother had been waiting.
Hinata.
That bubbling feeling was blooming and Kageyama was trying to understand why. As he walked off besides his mother and looked back, he couldn’t get it off his head. Couldn’t help but wonder what the hell was it.