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Realistically Tenma knew that there were better ways to spend his time and money than taking a flight half-way across the country simply just to watch one volleyball game; he even booked the hotel for three nights. And while his work schedule was a little more flexible then normal as he was currently working on releasing his second manga, it was still abuzz with activity; and the deadlines for his drafts were approaching quickly.
And according to some friends, Tenma figured he was a little past the ideal age to be lined up front and center for the autograph of players younger than him. The bags under his eyes certainly weren't making him look any younger either.
However, Tenma was certain if he had missed this chance to watch the Japan National Team in their prime for at-least a single game, he would regret it. Late at night when his mind was tormented by the choices he never made, this would be one eating away at him slowly and slowly.
After all, it wasn’t every day the Olympics took place in Tokyo and watching this team made up of monsters with an insatiable hunger was a delight like no other. His heart became a roaring drum inside his chest as they tore through their opponents defense with sheer, undeniable force; his voice was hoarse and scratchy from his endless cheering.
And how could he have missed the chance to see those two players whose mere presence forced every onlooker to acknowledge them, to see them burn brighter than any star in the sky. Tenma had seen their rivalry spark all those years ago. And now, finally, Hoshiumi Kourai and Hinata Shouyou were on a team together.
So, that was what brought him here. Watching the two shortest in the entire Olympic roster soar higher than the clouds and change the world around them through sheer force of will had been a phenomenal sight.
And it was why he was currently lined up here waiting for them. Tenma also knew the moment they saw him they’d immediately brighten up and head his way; they weren’t exactly friends but there was a connection that intertwined them.
As if on cue, Hoshiumi Kourai stepped out into the main hall, he was walking with his arm wrapped around Hinata. The pair whispered secrets that could be about anything and nothing in particular. The two of them inside their own world as if the crowd didn’t exist.
“Hey, Hinata!” Tenma shouted to get their attention, he ignored the glances his way at the gall of him to approach pro-athletes like he had.
Immediately, his head shot up and those eyes that carried the sun inside of them lit up the entire room, “Tenma-san!?”
A slight gasp escaped from Hoshiumi who turned on his heels and pointed straight at him, as if he could sense where exactly he was. It was a gesture of complete recognition, pulling him out of a faceless crowd that mirrored hundreds both of them had seen, “I was wondering when we’d see you again!”
“It has been a while, hasn’t it?”
Tenma couldn’t help but find it funny they were both this excited to see him as if he was someone who stood upon equal level with them; it made him feel like maybe he was.
“Way too long, you’ve finished your first manga since then!” Hinata agreed excitedly as he whirled away from the hug. In that split second, Tenma swore he saw Hoshiumi’s face fall as he left his side, as if his very presence next to him was deeply cherished.
“You actually kept up with that?” Tenma could think of a thousand better ways for an athlete of his caliber to spend his time then reading his manga; standing next to a burning star made his own accomplishments appear so tiny.
Immediately he shoved that thought aside, he was proud of his work, even though it was still a tad embarrassing to hear someone so awe-inspiring read his work.
“Of course! The way you write action is so gaauwh, I feel like I’m there!” The words were barely audible with how fast Hinata spoke, sounding like he’d been dying to get this compliment off his chest.
“We actually read the final arc together-” Hoshiumi chipped in, “Kageyama even read it too, I didn’t think that kind of stuff interested him.”
Hinata perked straight up as if just hearing Kageyama’s name brightened his day, “He reads most of the recommendations I give him! Though, your manga is the one we talk the most about!”
Tenma nervously rubbed the back of his neck feeling a flush of embarrassment at such open praise, he was still not used to it even after so many years in the industry. And to see such joy in the eyes of two players who shone like stars on the grandest stage was an indescribable feeling. Tenma still couldn’t comprehend he had been the inspiration for them both, he was endlessly grateful for it, how could he not be when the pair burst every record set to contain them?
“Oh, thanks!” He coughed out too many seconds too late, “But, anyway, as to why I’m here-”
“An autograph, right?” Hoshiumi cut in with words that saw straight through him, “Maybe even a celebratory photo if you’re brave?”
“We’d gladly pose for a picture with you, Tenma-san!” Hinata said proudly and by Hoshiumi’s slight smile, he agreed too.
Tenma shook his head vigorously, “I already have both your autographs from your first match, remember?” After the long interview with Bokuto whose energy was akin to a whirlwind, you couldn’t look away from it but it blew through you, he had somehow found them both in them to get them to sign his notebook, “If I’m honest, I just wanted an excuse to see both of you playing together.”
“Us?” Hoshiumi leaned in over the rope guarding them off, “You mean the whole Japan team, yeah?”
The glint in his eye made it clear Hoshiumi knew exactly what Tenma had meant and was just trying to tease him. He couldn’t help but smile back, glad to play along.
“Don’t tell them but I really did just come to see the two of you.”
Hoshiumi howled in laughter and far too gently for a hurricane of a man, hit Hinata on the arm, “You hear that, Hinata–” Tenma noted two things, he no longer called him by his full-name, and the second, he saw Hinata smile so slightly at hearing his name. It was far more intimate than the grins that seemed to come as natural as breathing, “He came just to see us, the former Little Giant.”
Tenma’s heart caught in his throat hearing that name again after so many years. Despite Hoshiumi having claimed the title for himself, the title that graced headlines all across the country and beyond, he still thought of Tenma as that? They both did?
“Does that make us the best on our team?” Hinata asked with confidence that did not sound anything like cockines. That unshakeable confidence had been earned through years of effort, years of clawing his way for recognition.
That was what being the Little Giant meant. To constantly push yourself and keep your head high even as the world tried drowning the embers inside of you out.
Tenma could never live that way, and he was glad he had taken his current path in life despite the exhaustion. But, it felt good to see others carry that weight almost effortlessly.
“I always knew we were the best on our team! Tenma is the first to finally realize it!” Hoshiumi said quite bombastically.
“Please don't tell everyone that.”
“Why? I think all those giants could do with a little less ego.”
Hinata laughed in response, it was loud and infectious and Tenma thought that it was the type of laugh that made everyone feel as if they wanted to join in.
“You make a good point but they are our team-mates, we need their egos!”
Hoshiumi's face deflated at that, desperately wanting to show them just how great they both were. He looked almost sad like this, Tenma couldn't help but want to mend it, “Maybe wait for after the Olympics?”
“So smart, Tenma-san.” Hinata nodded as if he had heard sage wisdom, “We’ll let you know how their egos feel.”
Hoshiumi shoved Hinata fondly, the pair of them seemed so comfortable with each other. They were far from the boys Tenma had seen seen them as during Nationals all those years ago, who looked at the other with sheer shock, completely unbuilt to see someone like them across the net. Now, there was utmost understanding between them, knowing their strengths as well as they knew their own.
They were rivals, he'd watched games with them across the net enough to know that would never change; it was rivals who ran next to you, pushing you across the finish line. But, as Tenma watched them, he could tell they were something more.
Standing here as an onlooker, as someone whose presence in their life may be important but still so foreign, he could not tell what they were to the other. But what was true was that as they laughed, as they played on the court, the pair moved in sync and soared higher because of each-other.
“So, you saw us play. What did you think? We’re pretty awesome, aren’t we?” Hoshiumi’s voice was full of pride that came with being good and his words were the undeniable truth.
No-one who saw them would ever assure they were weak because they were not.
“Awesome doesn’t seem enough to describe it.” Tenma gripped the manga he had brought as if it would give him the right words, and then, he looked at both of them, his eyes practically sparkling in awe, “I thought you two were awesome back in high-school but now, you’re both something else entirely.”
“Ha. You’ve got that right, we are the best! But, we’ve still got a long way to go.” Hoshiumi beat his hand against his chest as he spoke, this was a statement he wholly believed.
Hinata sighed, “I’m still working on my jump, it’s not high enough-”
“You’re kidding.” Tenma interrupted.
“I’m not! I still need to beat, Hoshiumi-san-”
Hoshiumi flashed his partner a sharp-toothed grin,“Good luck with that, nobody will ever beat me in the air.”
“He’s right.” Hinata declared in agreement, and it was a truth no-one could argue, or so Tenma thought, his height in the air was unbelievable, “But, I have you beat on defense and speed!”
A howl of a laugh escaped Hoshiumi, booming across the room as if it had come from a grand, towering presence, “And that's why it's a good thing we’re taking on the world together.”
“Bad for everyone else.”
Tenma was amazed at how casual they both were at declaring statements so boldly, how they moved through the world knowing they could reach for anything and grasp it. And. just by watching them here, ideas came flooding back to him, of ideas for how to look a challenge in its eye and meet it; the weight of the deadline lightened upon his shoulders.
“See what I said, you guys are unbelievable.”
“I’m so glad someone realizes it.” Hoshiumi declares proudly.
Hinata nodded in agreement “If the former Little Giant thinks so then it’s true!”
It still felt strange to be compared directly to him. Tenma enjoyed the sport, but he had never felt like they both did, he had different things he loved that took him down a different path.
“Y’know, I was plenty good but you say that as if I was ever as good as both of you are, as you two were.” Tenma wasn’t trying to disparage himself, it was just true. Watching them soar to new heights captured his entire attention in a way he has never felt playing under the bright lights around the court.
“Don’t be so hard on yourself, most people aren’t!”
“Hoshiumi-san is right,” Hinata looked deep in thought, “Plus, you were still the player that inspired me, that makes you amazing in my eyes, Tenma-san-”
“—And my title wouldn’t exist without you,” Hoshiumi added.
Both statements were a blunt hammer of a response that could not be ignored or brushed aside, “Well, I can’t say either of you are wrong, can I?”
“Nope!” Hinata answered immediately.
Tenma smiled so faintly and looked off to the side, he truly enjoyed being in their presence, something inside of him felt at peace here, “I never would’ve thought that I’d inspire players like you two. You both seem to be having the times of your lives on that court.”
“You didn’t?” Hoshiumi asked not unkindly.
Tenma sighed, it was full of a wash of emotions, fond memories and bitter ones flashing before him.
“I did have fun, I was good and it’s hard not to have fun when you’re good-” Being good was the gateway to freedom, to expressing yourself on that stage, you could not get anywhere without that skill; it was a bitterly unfair truth applied to everyone who ever walked that path. “And I can still remember all those faces watching me in awe as I jumped so high!”
“That’s my favorite feeling! They think they have you cornered and then, bam!” Hinata was moving his hands excitedly in-front of him, clearly fond memories of his own unbelievable jumps flashing ahead of him.
Tenma could recall some of those himself and as he looked off to the distant doors that led to that court, a new memory played in-front of him. Of how it felt to walk out of the court after a win alongside your team, teaming over with sheer excitement and joy, it was those blissful seconds he treasured the most.
Yet, the losses painted his memory as much as the wins ever did, he could recall every struggle block, every loss as if it was occurring in this very moment. It was hard to look back on those days with just fondness when he could feel the ache in his bones from pushing himself too far, when he remembered all the mistakes clear as day.
Being the ace had been a grand honor, but it had come with its own set of burdens too.
“But, for all the fun I had, there was still that burden of having to surprise everyone. It's seriously impressive how the both of you carry it so easily.”
“I just make it look easy,” Hinata cut in with a sudden serious edge to his voice
Hoshiumi’s eyebrows furrowed, carrying a thousand bitter memories upon them, “Even all those years later we still have interviewers trying to turn my height ito a disadvantage.”
“But it doesn’t stop either of you.”
Hinata’s eyes suddenly stared at him, no, through him, the intensity inside burned through his soul, shivers traveling down his spine. He remembered that feeling, the strength that came to you at the thought of giving up, he’d lost it, but Hinata, he would die with it.
“Why would it?” The question seemed so simple, “It just made me want to get better.”
“What he said!” Hoshiumi concurred and Tenma could only stare in awe.
Both of them saw those eyes narrowed in judgment, saw the world that was built to keep them out, and forced them all to acknowledge them. If they were stars in the sky, nobody could ignore that brightness emitting from their entire being, they never once broke down and stayed down under the pressures of the world.
And now, Tenma bore witness to the fruits of their labor, “And that’s why I enjoy watching you two as much as I did when I was playing.”
Hinata smiled and that intensity vanished as soon as it came, and then, his eyes widened as if struck by an idea,“You know, while we are here, can I ask a tiny favor?”
“What is it?”
Hinata jumped for joy and he looked straight at Hoshiumi as if he understood exactly the thought going through his mind, and, somehow, Tenma was inclined to believe no words were needed to communicate between them, Hoshiumi nodded as if he agreed, and then Hinata looked back at him, his eyes sparkling with sheer joy,“Your next manga, could we have it signed?”
It was that simple? He almost wondered why he needed to even ask, “Of-course!”
“Oooh I can’t wait to brag to everyone about it!" Hinata sounded as excited as he did during the interviews Tenma had seen.
Hoshiumi had tuned into this conversation too, “So, next-time your manga is out, we’re meeting in person?”
“Yeah. I’d seriously enjoy that!”
“That means we’ll have to trade numbers!” Hoshiumi declared. “We don’t want to wait forever to somehow run into each-other.”
Hinata instantly grabbed a phone out of the jacket he’d thrown on during the changing rooms, as if he had been waiting years for this very moment, “I’m happy we ran into each-other here!’ Hinata said cheerfully as he gave his phone over.
“Me too.” Tenma said even though it wasn’t just sheer luck, it didn’t matter, he was still just as happy if it had been.
A few minutes passed as they traded contacts and kept talking, and then the rest of their team-mates made their way out of the room, their lives came calling back and forcing them apart.
But, that wasn’t the right word anymore was it?
As Tenma watched them walk off, arm around the other as it had been before, he suddenly felt the world was a little lighter. He knew they were friends now, and to know he was such an inspiration to the two greatest players he’d ever known also cleared up that state of haze he had before.
If they were walking off to their futures, to the next game ahead of them, the least he can do is huddle down and focus on his own creativity. Suddenly new flashes of ideas came to be as he thought about those two, and Tenma seriously hoped they wouldn't mind being somewhat of an inspiration as they read the pages of the manga.