Chapter Text
Hitoka never really noticed Yamaguchi at first. But then again, the first time she followed Shimizu to the gym and introduced herself to the volleyball club, it was all pretty much a blur. Hitoka was too nervous to really take in what was happening as guys crowded around her, big ones too, all looking at her excitedly and expectantly. Her anxiety created a haze in her mind and she could barely remember anyone from the club.
That was until Hinata and Kageyama randomly showed up in her classroom during break the following day, asking for her help with studying. Through Hinata’s encouraging, and Shimizu’s inspired words, Hitoka had decided to join the volleyball club as manager.
It was the first time in her life she had ever made a big decision like that for herself.
That’s when she started to get to know Yamaguchi Tadashi, the boy with the mousy hair and freckles who hung his head low and slouched, and talked timidly with a soft voice. He didn’t stand out very much, almost everyone else in the club overshadowing him with either height or charisma. Mostly charisma. It was strange, Hitoka thought, how this boy caught her interest.
But maybe it was because he reminded her of herself.
The way he looked at Tsukishima too, his best friend— childhood friend, as she soon found out— was like that of someone looking up to something with awe and admiration, out of desire to become just like them. She doesn’t blame Yamaguchi for thinking this way of Tsukishima. He seemed cool and collected, and was tall and handsome too. She remembered girls in her class talking about a “Tsukishima-kun” in class 4 and Hitoka realized now this is who they must have been talking about. He was also very clever, and witty, with a type of confidence that was more indifference and listlessness than anything else, but his height gave him an intimidating air that contradicted his almost angelic looks.
Hitoka understood how Yamaguchi must have felt looking at Tsukishima, because she felt that way when Shimizu had first approached her to tell her about the volleyball club. Hitoka was absolutely taken by her beauty, frozen on the spot in awe over how such a gorgeous person was talking to someone like her, and the next thing she knew, she accidentally agreed to trial the manager position for the club.
Well, it all worked out in the end anyway.
Not long after she had joined, the club had already decided on a week long training camp during the holidays in Tokyo. Hitoka had looked forward to it, thinking it’d be her chance to truly see what it takes to be a manager of a volleyball club. She had learnt so much under Shimizu’s tutelage, not just about being a manager, but volleyball itself. Slowly, slowly, everyday, Hitoka took more and more pride and care in being a manager. Her clumsiness would still shine through, but it made her all the more determined to prove herself.
One hot afternoon, while handing out drink bottles to the team, she passed one over to Yamaguchi and found herself staring up at him in awe.
“You’re taller than I thought,” she said, stepping closer and holding her hand up to compare heights. She guessed it was because he was always next to Tsukishima, who was the tallest in the club, so Yamaguchi never really seemed so tall by comparison. But standing in front of him now, she could see he really was pretty tall, taller than average, and while Hitoka would typically be intimidated by height, considering how small she was, she was just amazed.
Yamaguchi seemed taken aback at first, his cheeks dusted a light pink, and sheepishly scratched the back of his neck.
“Yeah, I mean, I’m about the same height as Kageyama, but I guess cos I’m kinda wimpish, I seem shorter than what I am,” he said with an almost-sad tone.
Hitoka gasped in shock. That wasn't what she meant at all! She fell to the ground on her hands and knees and apologised profusely. Yamaguchi panicked in turn, frantically trying to reassure Hitoka and apologizing as well. Hitoka felt awful for making Yamaguchi apologize and even went as far as to attempt to bury herself in the mud, because she was not fit to be a human being. This went on for a while. Once she finally got back up, she noticed she was covered in mud, and her less-than-becoming appearance made her embarrassed. She was almost going to apologize again, but Yamaguchi silently handed a towel to her. Hitoka was first surprised at the gesture, but took it graciously, mumbling her thanks and not making eye contact.
“It’s okay,” Yamaguchi said, and Hitoka finally looked up. He was smiling a soft smile, a kind smile. Hitoka smiled back.
Yamaguchi waved his goodbye and returned to the rest of the team.
Hitoka continued smiling to herself as she cleaned up the mud, watching him from the corner of her eye.
The training camp continued on like normal, but Hitoka had noticed a shift in Yamaguchi. In both him and Tsukishima, individually and in their relationship. One night, Hitoka saw Yamaguchi run after Tsukishima, shouting his name, and after that, Hitoka wasn’t sure what happened. But when Yamaguchi returned he seemed a little dazed, like he had just been on a ride at a theme park and was a little bewildered from it.
Just what had happened exactly between those two?
It worried Hitoka. She wouldn’t be able to handle it if they were fighting as well. She was already dealing with Kageyama and Hinata, still uneasy from witnessing their punch-up, but more upset at the fact they still hadn’t made up.
Yamaguchi seemed unsure when he asked Hinata if he saw Tsukishima as a rival, and despite Hinata’s unwavering answer, Yamaguchi didn’t seem that convinced.
“If Hinata-kun and Tsukishima-kun are rivals, that’d be like the sun versus the moon, isn’t?” Hitoka said to Yamaguchi, explaining the reasoning by the meanings of the kanji in their names.
“It’d be great if that was the case…” Yamaguchi said, and Hitoka looked at him. She wanted to ask what Yamaguchi and Tsukishima had talked about, what had happened to bring all this on, but instead she kept quiet, just watching him as he quietly contemplated something with a slight frown.
Suddenly he turned back to Hitoka.
“I’m going to go practice some more serves, so see ya.”
Hitoka nodded. “See you.”
The next day however, Hitoka noticed something different about Tsukishima. During the practice match against Fukurodani, for the first time since Hitoka had joined the club, Tsukishima felt just as intense as the rest of them, just as determined, and when his attempted kill block scared the Fukurodani ace into a feint, despite Fukurodani scoring, it felt like Karasuno had scored the point instead. Tsukishima had changed, slightly, and when he glared at Hinata from across the court, Hitoka noticed Yamaguchi’s reaction. He seemed surprised, but then relaxed, all the tension from last night lifting from his shoulders.
So that’s what it was all about.
Yamaguchi was worried about where Tsukishima stood with volleyball, as was everyone else. But now it seemed like no one had to worry anymore.
The training camp eventually drew to a close and everyone had said their goodbyes. On the way to the bus that was waiting to take Karasuno home, a hairbrush had fallen out of Hitoka’s bag, which she swore she had zipped up, but in her haste had probably forgotten to. She made a scramble to pick it up, embarrassed she didn’t realize her bag was unzipped, but before she could grab it, a large hand had picked it up for her.
“Here you go, Yachi-san,” Yamaguchi said with a smile as he handed the hairbrush back to Hitoka.
“Ah, thank you…” she said shyly, tucking it back into her bag. Yamaguchi smiled one last time before he walked past her to catch up with Tsukishima. Something caught her eye then, and she turned to notice, tilting her head in slight awe.
Yamaguchi was ahead of her, talking with Tsukishima. Something about him seemed different than before.
She knew Yamaguchi was tall, but had he always been that tall?