Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

One day, twenty-five year old professional volleyball player Hinata Shouyou woke up in a room he hadn’t lived in since he was a teenager.

He frowned, cataloguing the sight in front of him. This was strange. He had been celebrating his team’s victory against Ali Roma only yesterday, and their subsequent winning of the FIVB Championships, in Poland. So how was he in Miyagi right now? 

Maybe this was just a very elaborate prank, Shouyou theorised with an irritated sigh. Exactly how his teammates managed to fly him to Japan without waking him up is beyond him, but they all must have been pretty fucking buzzed last night to do something like this. He should text them, probably, maybe ask if they at least had the decency to book him a flight back.

He swung his feet off his bed and got off, only to fall back in shock as he realised—merda, he felt much, much shorter than he had last night. 

Now that he took a proper look at it, his body was much smaller and skinnier. All of his muscles were gone . If he didn’t know better, Shouyou would’ve thought he was some kid, but that didn’t make sense, not when he knew he was an adult. Did someone do something to him last night?

Horrified, Shouyou speed walked to the bathroom to get a look in the mirror. What he saw… wasn’t his reflection. Not anymore. Hadn’t been in a while.

So what was the face of teenager-Shouyou doing in the mirror?

“Okaasan!” He hollered, trying not to panic. This was a dream, his mind chanted. This was a dream. This was a dream. This was a dream–

“What is it, Shouyou?” His mom yelled back, probably from the kitchen like she always did. Good, good. That meant she hadn’t gone off to work yet.

He ran down the stairs, bustling through the kitchen door. His mother looked up to give him a quizzical glance, but otherwise kept preparing their bento. Natsu was already at the kitchen table, grumpily eating her breakfast like a little brat

Shouyou’s breath caught. Why did his mom and sister suddenly look ten years younger?

Nobody answered his unasked question and the scene in front of him continued to look like a picturesque memory from his childhood. His body quivered where it stood, not liking the implications of what was happening. Unfortunately, Shouyou was much better known for his quick action rather than his thinking, and his mouth flew open on its own to say—

“Okaasan, why do you and Natsu-chan look so young today?”

Horrified hands clapped over his mouth, silencing it and buying his mind some time to think.

His mom chuckled. “Don’t think you can go around buttering me up, young man. No matter what you say, I’m not making you tamagoyaki for your bento!”

Eh? “Bento? Why would I need a bento?”

“For your first day, of course. It was all you could talk about last night! How did you forget? Are you feeling okay, Shouyou?”

Though he knew his mother was teasing, the redhead couldn’t help the feeble shake of his head. This made even Natsu look at him strangely.

Concerned hands cupped his face, pulling them up — up! — slightly to meet his mother’s eyes. “Oh, you don’t look so good. Why don’t you go rest up, honey? I know you were excited for school but this is no condition to go biking over a mountain.”

Shouyou had never had to bike over a mountain to get to school, except when he was at Karasuno.

(Now that he thought about it, his room had felt strange without his old club uniform in sight.)

He was too shocked to protest.

(Vaguely, he could hear Natsu ask, “Okaasan, what’s wrong with Niichan?”

She was quickly shushed.)

Shouyou didn’t know what was happening. 

Or, more accurately, he knew too much of what was happening, and what would happen after.

His new situation felt surreal, straight out of a nightmare, with no way out. The more he thought about it, the more confusing it got, and the less he tried to think about it– Well. Not -thinking about something was the same as thinking about it, right? After being holed up in his room for most of the morning, Shouyou had raided the house the second his family had left. He wasn’t sure what exactly he had been searching for—clues, old memories, proof that the memories he remembered had happened—but it was to no avail. None of his little knickknacks existed anymore. It was like he had gone back in time or something–

Shouyou gasped, because holy shit. Holy shit, he had gone back in time.

Chapter Text

The next evening, Shouyou ran to the Karasuno gym for volleyball practice. 

Originally, he had never skipped the first day of school. Originally, he had gotten into a fight with Kageyama on the first day and blasted the vice principal’s toupee off his head. Originally, he had been banned from the volleyball club until he could prove that he could get along with Kageyama.

But this time wasn’t the original, and he had skipped the first day.

Shouyou had never gone to the club meeting on the second day.

“Pardon me for intruding!” He practically screamed as he opened the doors of the gym. The second years only spared him a few curious glances and chuckles as he made his way inside, while the third years started to approach him with unsure smiles. 

Shouyou had a sudden thought—Would they underestimate him?

Well, he knew his height made everyone doubt his abilities—and maybe no one would’ve ever noticed him at first if it weren’t for Kageyama—but his own teammates had never underestimated him. Though, that might’ve had something to do with the toupee incident and his subsequent match with Kageyama more so than he himself… but originally— 

Shouyou stopped short. 

He'd forgotten. This wasn’t the original anymore; the same rules don’t apply.

Man, where was Kageyama when you need him?

“Hello,” Daichi said, “I’m Sawamura Daichi, captain of the Karasuno Volleyball Team. This is our vice captain, Sugawara Koushi. Are you here to join our club?”

“Y-Yes!” He only barely refrained himself from saluting– or worse, pulling his senpai into a hug. “My name is Hinata Shouyou and I’m a first year!”

Suga hummed. “You’re from Yukigaoka, right? We saw your match against Kitaiichi.”

He nodded, wincing at the (frankly, old) memory of his first ever volleyball match, where he had met Kageyama.

“What position do you play?” Daichi asked.

“Opposite hitter,” he answered confidently. One of his biggest pride and joys was his position as a wing spiker on his team. The fun he had had playing it was the best ever. His original transition from the position of middle blocker was probably one of the best decisions of his life but—

He froze as he realised. This was not the original.

Shouyou had half a mind to apologise right then and there, and pretend that his tongue had somehow slipped and formed a whole different answer. It was also, he realised with dawning horror, the wrong answer as he watched Daichi, third year captain and current opposite hitter, stare back at him with quietly assessing eyes.

Was he predestined to leave a bad impression on his team? Or, more likely, start a rivalry with everyone he met?

“HAH?!” A familiar voice cried out from beyond the third years. The voice may have sounded rude but he couldn’t believe anyone would take it seriously when it sounded so young.

Kageyama came barreling towards them, until he literally barreled into Shouyou. “Since when did YOU play OPPOSITE HITTER? You’re supposed to be a middle blocker, dumbass! You weren’t even the opposite during the Inter Middle!”

Shouyou tried not to panic, but failed. How was he going to explain this? “Did I say that?” He laughed nervously. “I– I meant outside hitter, sorry! And you can’t get mad at me for a slip of tongue, Bakageyama!”

The other boy spluttered. “Since when did you know what ‘slip of tongue’ meant–?”

“My, my,” a third voice drawled, “It’s barely been a few minutes and the freaks are already screaming at each other. Though, I’m surprised that neither of you have been banned from the club yet…”

A beat of silence followed Tsukishima Kei’s words. The blonde himself froze up as he seemed to realise that he’d said something wrong, which was strange considering the middle blocker’s usual love for instigating his teammates–

Wait, how did Kageyama know that he was supposed to be a middle blocker when the boy had supposedly never seen Shouyou play that position before? Why did Tsukishima call them the ‘freaks’ if their freak quick didn’t exist yet? And why did he think they’d be banned?

“Oh, do you guys already know each other?” Suga cut in, watching the three first years curiously. Daichi and Yamaguchi wore equally confused expressions, though the latter also looked a little betrayed.

Shouyou, Kageyama and Tsukishima gaped uselessly at each other.

“Ah, yes,” Tsukishima finally gritted out, the first to snap out of his apparent shock. “Though we only met a couple of days ago.”

His words made Shouyou choke on air, while Kageyama wasn’t looking much better either. Even in the future, Tsukishima had never been willing to admit that they knew each other, let alone lie about it. Seriously, what was going on? Was he in an alternate universe where they were all actually best friends? Was this his punishment for drinking too much alcohol?!

“I see,” Daichi said, “Well, what positions do you play?”

“Middle blocker. I’m Tsukishima Kei.”

“I– I’m Yamaguchi Tadashi. I play middle blocker too.”

Daichi nodded. “Okay! Why don’t you all join the second years for passing drills?”

“Yessir!”

Before Shouyou could run up to the second years, however, Tsukishima pulled him and Kageyama back by the collar of their shirts, dragging them to a more isolated corner of the gym. He couldn’t help but protest — firstly, because he wanted to play volleyball; secondly, because he wanted nothing to do with his new strange friendship in this alternate universe; and thirdly, because it had become a bit of a habit of his to deny the other player.

“Oh my god, shut up, you’re so immature,” Tsukishima hissed, depositing them on the floor, before asking him, “Hinata, what is Bokuto-san’s signature pose?”

He blinked, confused. “Um… it’s the ‘Bokuto Beam,’ right?”

“Okay, and Kageyama, what is Hoishiumi-san’s vertical jump?”

“Around 350 cm, I think.”

Tsukishima breathed out harshly. “Correct. Great going, King.”

Kageyama bristled. “Why are you asking us this, anyway? Daichi-san said we’re supposed to be practising with Ennoshita-san and the others.”

“Why am I ask–?” The tall boy laughed hysterically. “Do you two even think before you say anything? And what were you thinking for the past few days? ‘Oh no, we’re lost with no way of going back, what do we do? I have an idea! Why don’t we just keep playing volleyball and pretend we didn’t just lose ten years of our lives.’” He mocked. "I can't believe I found out like this!"

Shouyou gasped. “Wait– You– How do you know that?” He angled himself to an attack, arms up. “You did this! Let us go back, Alien-shima!”

“Don’t be stupid, dumbass.” Kageyama scoffed, turning to Tsukishima. “How did you figure it out? We couldn’t have been obvious…”

“Because you called Hinata a middle blocker even though he’s hasn't even played the position yet,” Tsukishima pointed out irritably, “then you, Hinata, even went as far as to call Kageyama ‘Bakageyama’—which you didn’t do originally until that time you both failed your finals in first year.

“Bokuto’s current signature pose is the ‘hey, hey, hey’ victory pose he does after a good cross shot, or line shot, or- Yeah, whatever. And Kageyama didn’t even know who Hoshiumi-san was until he was invited to the All-Japan Youth training camp this year.”

Kageyama swivelled around to face him. “Wait, you’re from the future too?!”

Shouyou nodded, equally surprised. Tsukishima’s left eyebrow twitched. “Not so loud, idiot, you’re going to make them suspicious!”

He pointed to the space behind Shouyou’s shoulder, where the third years were watching them with mixed expressions of curiosity and confusion. He felt bad about keeping his favourite senpais out of the loop, but Shouyou didn’t doubt that this was something he needed to keep with himself. Right now, though, he couldn’t wrap his head around the idea that he wasn’t stuck here alone.

“Wait, so we’re all from the future? Are we from the same year, too?” Kageyama asked.

“Depends,” Shouyou bit his lip worriedly, “What’s the last thing you remember?”

“The 2022 FIVB Championships,” Kageyama replied, “My match against ASAS.”

“Me too!” He yelled, high-fiving him. Then, they both turned to Tsukishima.

“I… didn’t have any upcoming tournaments at the time,” Tsukishima said slowly, “but I believe I’m from then, too.”

They cheered. Shouyou could almost cry in relief — it felt good knowing he wasn’t alone.

“Do you know if anyone else came back, too?”

Tsukishima and Kageyama shook their heads.

“I tried to check Yamaguchi but he seems to be the same.”

“I asked a few things to my sister but she seems normal, too. Yesterday I asked the third years and Tanaka-san but nothing seems to be out of the ordinary.” 

“Why us?” Shouyou wondered aloud, frowning. “It’s not like we’re smart, or anything. Heck, we're not even the kind of people the government would want to get rid of. We’re just a bunch of athletes, trying to get better at our sport. What’s the point in bringing back people like us?”

Tsukishima hummed. “Maybe it’s because we’re athletes.”

Kageyama frowned. “What do you mean?”

“All three of us are — were — professional volleyball players, and we’re the only ones here that are affected by whatever happened yesterday. Look at how our other teammates seem to be fine. None of them play volleyball professionally.”

“But why send a bunch of volleyball players back in time? Who would even do such a thing? Or even, how would they do it? Time travel is — should be — impossible.”

“I don’t know,” Tsukishima sighed.

They stood in silence.

“What now?” Kageyama asked. “We’re not smart enough to find a way to go back on our own, and anyone that could’ve helped us isn’t even affected.”

Tsukishima spluttered. “Wait, you can’t seriously expect us to just sit here and do nothing. This is ten years of our lives. All that dedication, all that hard work, is lost.”

“Who knows,” Shouyou said quietly, “Maybe we’ll go back in a few days. Maybe this is a fever dream we’re all stuck in. Maybe I’m in a coma from drinking too much alcohol and you guys are just in my head.”

“Or maybe there’s no way back,” Kageyama argued, “Maybe we’re stuck like this forever. Who knows, like you said. Wouldn’t it be better to just make sure we don’t mess it up?”

None of them had answers. How would they?

Shouyou sighed. He really wasn’t made for much thinking. “Let’s just go back to practice. It’ll look weird if we just stand here the whole time.”

“Let’s grab some meat buns after this,” Tsukishima said, “We’ll talk more later.”

They nodded in agreement.

Chapter Text

“Listen up, everyone!” Daichi yelled, clapping his hands once.

The gym fell silent as they all turned to look at their captain. Shouyou caught the ball Ennoshita had tossed to him and tucked it under his arm, wondering what the third year wanted. Next to him, Tsukishima and Yamaguchi stopped their conversation (about… dinosaurs? Seriously?) to look at Daichi, too.

“Let’s begin our first practice match,” he said, “first, we’ll split into teams. Team one is Ennoshita, Tanaka and Hinata. Team two is Sugawara, Tsukishima and Kinoshita. Team three is Yamaguchi, Kageyama and I. Narita will be the judge for the first three games and then he’ll switch positions with Yamaguchi for the next three. Understood?”

“Osu!”

Even though they had only been practising for an hour or so, Shouyou could feel the influence of a lack of coach on the whole team. Though they had only done warm ups and drills, there was no one to correct their form or offer advice except the third years themselves, whose limited knowledge and experience hindered what they could do. It had been a while since he had to think back on his time in high school but now that Shouyou was here and experiencing everything again with the mind of someone much more experienced, he could see the glaring holes in Karasuno’s volleyball club that he hadn’t before.

It also made him realise that he was never quite grateful enough for Coach Ukai or Takeda.

Shouyou headed to Ennoshita and Tanaka to talk strategy. Their first match would be against Tsukishima’s team, who were already grouped together and talking in hushed voices. He greeted them both, who introduced themselves with welcoming smiles. 

His eyes narrowed as he analysed his teammates. Tanaka and Ennoshita were, as he remembered, strong attackers. They were both decent at receiving too, and like how Tanaka was better at blocking, Ennoshita was good at setting. Really, Shouyou was free to take any position on this team. The real question was, which position would be in his best interest to take?

“Sugawara-san’s a dependable setter and his receives are pretty stable,” Ennoshita told them, “but his offence isn’t the best. We won’t have to worry about him spiking, and his moves are pretty predictable.”

Shouyou nodded, hoping that they couldn’t tell he already knew. 

“Kinoshita’s spikes are pretty okay,” Tanaka added, “I mean, it’s nowhere near my level but he pulls through when he needs to. His receives are so-so.”

He also knew this was a bit of a disservice to the guy, but kept mum. 

“Do you know anything about Tsukishima-kun?” Ennoshita asked.

Shouyou thought about what to say. “Well, I guess he’s a really good read blocker, and he gets used to tricks pretty fast. His vertical is super high and he’s a persistent guy, so it’s really hard to avoid all of his blocks. He analyses everything on the court, and even if you spike the ball like boom, He’ll be there to block it like gwah!”

Tanaka’s head tilted to the side. “Boom? Gwah?”

“Well… It’s like… that feeling you get when you hit the ball with a boom! and you know it’s going to score but then suddenly there’s a blocker in front of you and you’re all gwah! because you didn’t think anyone would be there and you totally mess up? It’s like that!” Shouyou punctuated his sentences with his hands, gesturing wildly, hoping he’d be understood. Karasuno had originally gotten used to his manner of speech and he hoped he wouldn’t have to worry about communicating with his team for long.

“He sounds just like Noya-san,” Ennoshita muttered. Then, louder, he said, “So there’s no fooling him, huh? Is there any way to get past his blocks?”

Shouyou nodded. “Tsukishima-kun’s not very strong and hasn’t got a lot of stamina, so making him run around and tire himself is our best bet. Of course, he still falls for traps and such, but we’ll have to make sure they aren’t repeated too often or he’ll pick up on them.”

“Got it. So, here’s our plan–”

“HIT HARD AND RECEIVE HARDER!” Tanaka interrupted, laughing. “AND YOUR AMAZING SENPAI WILL TAKE CARE OF THE REST, SHRIMPY!” 

“Tanaka, please, we need a proper plan. Our opponents already know our moves so we’re missing our usual element of surprise–”

Shouyou laughed along, bright and happy. “Please take care of me, Tanaka-senpai!”

“Hey, wait-!”

“LET’S KICK THEIR BUTT!”

“OSU!”

Ennoshita sighed, shaking his head in either defeat or disappointment. Possibly both.

(On the other side of the court, their opponents were watching them as well. Sugawara and Kinoshita seemed mostly amused, but Tsukishima was looking at them with such comical derision that Shouyou just barely stifled his giggle. Really, Tanaka sure knew how to rile them up!)

The first rally began with Shouyou’s turn to serve. He aimed the ball right at Tsukishima, who he knew hadn’t been too good at receiving in the past, and surprisingly the boy managed a close save that sent the ball over. Shouyou picked it up easily, the ball heading straight to Ennoshita, and Tanaka spiked it with a BHAM! line shot.

He cheered, running up to Tanaka for a high-five.

Shouyou aimed the next serve at Tsukishima again, who received it with little fuss this time. Sugawara set the ball high and close to the net, and Kinoshita hit it before he could blink with a woosh! that he shakily received with a fwump.  

“Sorry! It’s low!” He yelled.

Still, Ennoshita managed to set it and Tanaka spiked—only he was blocked completely by Tsukishima, sending the ball back to their court. Ennoshita was there just in time to receive it and Shouyou bumped it up for Tanaka to try again. This time he was received by Sugawara and Tsukishima set the ball—that hit the floor with a WHAM! —that he just barely failed to receive. 

Shouyou scowled, adrenaline suddenly rushing through him. Wow, it had been a while since he last had to play against Tsukishima. He’d forgotten what it was like to manoeuvre around his stable plays and keen eyes.

Sugawara served next, the ball going to Tanaka, who received it. Shouyou was already jumping, already moving, and when Ennoshita set him the ball, he did a feint last minute over Tsukishima’s hands. 

2-1

On the court, his old senpais were looking at him with shock. The gym had gone quiet. Tsukishima was the only one that seemed to be unsurprised, glaring at his fingers as if willing them to elongate. Shouyou grinned, daring Tsukishima to look at him. God, he loved this feeling. The attention, the awe, the surprise. The fear and respect. The earliest sign—they were going to take him seriously now.

Then, Tanaka started laughing hysterically, running over to him and clapping him on the back. He almost tripped from the force of it, startled out of his silent gloating, and the older boy started saying something, something like— “You sure can jump, Shrimpy!”

His senpais must be quite surprised to learn that he could fly.

Chapter Text

Another ball slammed on their side of the court—the wrong side of the court.

Tsukishima Kei panted heavily. It was too early to be tired. 

Tanaka served the ball again and Sugawara lifted it up. Kei tossed, Kinoshita spiked, ball going just above Hinata’s fingertips. Tanaka spiked and Kinoshita received. Sugawara wasn’t any good at spiking yet, so Kei hit the ball instead.

Hinata received it. Flawlessly.

It was frustrating, because Kei was sure that the Hinata of the past didn’t get any decent at receiving until the end of first year. Yet here he was, saving the ball like he was possessed by Nishinoya’s spirit himself.

Tanaka set the ball for the first time in the game, and Kei had to run across the court at the last minute to block Ennoshita’s spike. “One-touch!”

Sugawara did a dump, effectively stopping the steadily growing momentum of their plays. 

24-22

The other team was still two points ahead. 

Was it just him, or did the game seem to go on forever?

Kei took off his sweatshirt and tossed it to the side. Too hot. It was too hot. Sweat dribbled down the side of his face. He was already missing his old sports goggles. 

He did a jump serve, one he technically only learnt after his second year at Karasuno, and Hinata received. With his face. Which was now rapidly swelling.

What the fuck, Kei thought flatly, though not quite surprised. This boy was a horror story.

Ennoshita sent the ball back to them and Kinoshita spiked the ball through. Another point.

“Hinata!” Tanaka wailed afterwards, looking horrified. “Are you okay!?”

(Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Kageyama snickering.)

“A-Ah! I’m fine, Tanaka-senpai! It’s just a little bruise, nothing I can’t handle!”

“You should go to the nurse’s office,” Ennoshita suggested. “Get it checked out.”

The redhead protested, “I’m fine, senpai! Really! I was able to turn my head to the side at the last moment, so nothing important got hurt.”

Ennoshita spluttered. “You– What–? Hinata!”

(Kageyama was full-on cackling now. Even Kei couldn’t help but smirk.)

Tanaka gaped. “You’ve got some spunk!” 

Hinata giggled and thanked him. Like it was something to be proud of. 

Worst part was, this wasn’t even the first time he’d done something like this. In fact, Kei was surprised that the other player couldn’t save himself from the impact.

“I guess you can keep playing, then,” Ennoshita said grudgingly.

Kei served a second time and Tanaka received. Hinata spiked, Sugawara dug, and Kinoshita hit. Ennoshita received it, a little shakily, and Tanaka jumped, readying himself for a cross shot– no, he must be thrown off-guard from seeing his new kohai get hurt, he’ll probably hit one of his signature straights instead. Kei jumped– 

–…only for the ball to go over his hands and hit the line with a resounding thud.

25-23

What?

That should’ve been perfect. 

Kei felt frustration, pricking under his skin. He had jumped too late and lost. To Hinata. Again.

But he also felt exhilaration, coursing through him like white wine, like an addiction he could get drunk off of. There was always the pain of losing, no matter who your opponent was, but there was also something else, something simple, something more straightforward— 

And oh, how he missed volleyball.

After practice ended, it was difficult getting Yamaguchi off his back about his new ‘friends.’ Two promises, three bribes and one very embarrassing begging later, Kei managed to escape getting hounded by his best friend and snuck away to meet up with the freak duo.

The two were, as promised, standing in front of Ukai’s store, meat buns in hand.

(...Huh. At this distance, they could pass off as a couple, like the tabloids enjoyed raving about.)

“There’s something off about our plays,” is how Kageyama chooses to greet him.

Kei stifled a sigh. This wasn’t what he wanted to talk about. “Obviously.” 

“We’re like a mesh of our skills from the future and now. It’s as if our brains don’t–”

“Understand that we have different bodies. I know.” Kei interrupted. Kageyama looked surprised, like he hadn't expected him to notice. Rude.

Hinata bit his lip. “I think it's the other way around, actually. My muscles seem to remember everything, but my brain… It's like it never played a game in its life.”

Kei felt a chill go down his spine. Such a straightforward statement, and yet…

“We don't belong here,” Kei concluded, “it's obvious. We need to leave.”

Kageyama rolled his eyes, like he thought Kei was saying something stupid. “Yeah? And how do we do that, genius?”

He bristled. “We’ll research. Go through all the possible cases–”

“Because there’s so many real-life cases of time travel lying around.”

“–Books, movies, manga. Hell, the theory of relativity–”

“You know that’s sci-fi, right?”

“–We retrace our footsteps. Try to find a common catalyst–”

“A common what’s-it?”

Kei finally snapped. “Look, I’m stuck in the past with two of the biggest dumbasses in the world. So unless you have a better idea, I don’t want to hear it, King.”

Hinata sighed, and handed him a meat bun. “Look, Tsukishima, I don’t think there’s any of us who don't want to go back. But, you gotta admit, we have no guarantee that we’ll find a way to fix things. I don’t want us to lose ourselves in the hopes of getting to a time that’ll arrive one day anyway.”

That… was logical. More logical than anything he’d expected Hinata to be able to come up with on his own. They must have discussed this without him beforehand.

Still, Kei thought of crying, of vomiting from the fear, of panicking, of thinking he’d gone mad, of trying to end the world’s worst prank ever. He thought of panic attacks against the frame of his bed, of ripping through school albums, in search of his high school diploma. He thought of Yamaguchi Tadashi, ten years younger, smile shy and shaky, like he wasn’t sure if he’s cool enough on his own to let it take up the space.

His heart disagreed vehemently with Hinata and Kageyama. They were volleyball monsters, freaks of nature, who’d call for the ball even if it’s on fire, even if it would kill them. The regular athlete’s career is short. What’s another ten years for them? 

It’s not the same for Kei, though, who spent years softly mending his relationship with his brother, who spent hours working on his blocks so that his high school team could win nationals, who chose to play volleyball for a little longer, not because it was all he could live and breathe, but because he was having fun. To him, ten years was everything. It was friendship, it was love, it was growth, it was life.

His life was gone now.

The only proof he had of it was staring right back at him.

And they’re telling him to quit?

“Fine,” He agreed, purely because he didn’t want to ever talk about it again. He’ll think of something himself, find a way to go back, and make these idiots apologise for ever doubting him.