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Tobio knows he isn’t the smartest man on the planet. It’s a fact that’s been pointed out to him many times by many people. It’s long stopped bothering him, mainly because those people have never really taken the time to get to know him, and, he’s acutely aware that his talents lay elsewhere. And what he *is* good at, he is really good at. Besides, he can count the number of people whose opinion of him matters on one hand.
He’s not entirely surprised, then, to find that he’s managed to loose his way.
It was supposed to be a simple team-building exercise: find your way back to the Adler’s team campsite before the other pairs. But in typical fashion, Hoshiumi had something aggravating and Tobio, unable to control the competitive hamster in his brain, had sprinted off in an attempt to beat his own partner back to the tents.
This part of the forest doesn’t look particularly familiar. It’s far too open, more like a glade than the densely-treed hiking trail they started on. Spots of sunlight shine through gaps in the tree canopy, dotting the grass under his feet in brighter green. The bright colors reflect off and color his white training kit a softer shade of green and gold. He can admit that it’s at least pretty here, even if his brow is scrunched at the thought of Hoshiumi gloating about winning.
The air feels thicker here, too, almost like walking through a fog. Which is strange because the way forward is clear and bright. Tobio plods on ahead, determined. He notices clusters of yellow and blue flowers growing strategically where the sunlight pours through the trees. He quirks a small smile at the thought that the flowers are the exact colors of Mikasa volleyballs. Only, unlike the sharp smell of salonpas of the court, they seem to be pouring out some sticky-sweet smell that has his eyelids feeling heavy.
At the risk of losing to the Adler’s #1 squawking seagull, Tobio sits inside a ring of flowers to catch his breath. He’s an Olympic athlete, brought to breathlessness by a few stupid flowers. He scrunches a handful of grass in his hands and yanks the blades out of the ground. Just a moment and he’ll be back on his way to the campsite. He just needs a second to rest his eyes.
Tobio wakes, wide-eyed, with a start when he feels a finger prod at his cheek.
He’s met with big brown eyes, framed by soft lashes, mere centimeters from his own face. He shuffles backwards on his butt, until he feels the sturdy trunk of a tree hit his back.
“Woah, your eyes are really blue!” The person in front of him shouts, uncaring of how their voice echos throughout the forest.
Tobio gets a better view of their face from his new vantage point, backed against a tree. Freckles and a light flush dot a small round face, surrounded by a wild nest of bright orange hair. His eyes stick on the pointy-tipped ears peeking out from said hair, far larger than would seem normal for a person that size. And well, they *are* short. Or at least shorter than the volleyball players Tobio is used to seeing all day every day.
The figure cocks their head to the side and scowls, a cute little pout forming on soft pink lips.
”Well, aren’t you going to introduce yourself? It’s pretty rude to fall asleep on someone’s doorstep without at least telling them your name first.”
“Huh.” Tobio eloquently replies, “You have weird ears.”
“How rude!” The small person screeches, sticking an accusatory finger straight at Tobio. “You have weird ears. All humans do. I don’t know how you can sense anything with those things.”
Again, Tobio knows he isn’t the smartest. But even he catches it.
”What do you mean human? Everyone is a human, idiot.”
“Well I'm not a human, idiot.” The annoying person snarks back. They cross their arms in a huff over their chest, clad in a brown cotton vest over a flowy green tunic.
“Then what are you?” He finds himself asking, a little unsure if he actually wants to know.
“I’m Shouyou!” The figure does a little spin to puncture their reply, causing the hem of the tunic to swirl around their bare thighs. They’re nice thighs. Tobio shakes his head to dislodge the weird thought and feels his face get slightly warm.
”That’s not anything, idiot. Either you’re a human or I’m still asleep.”
”Wow. You’re even dumber than you look." The Shouyou says, scratching their head in confusion. “You do know that you sat inside a Faering, right?”
”Don’t call me dumb, stupid. You’re making up words on purpose.” Tobio pushes himself off the ground and stands to glower over Shouyou, feeling smug about the difference in height.
“Ugghhh humans are so slow. You stepped inside a Fae ring.” The Shouyou waves his hands dramatically in the air as if to magically make Tobio understand what they’re saying.
He scowls again, some of those words starting to click-clack into place in his mind. Miwa-neesan used to have picture books with little sprites and flowers all over the cover. But those were stories, not real life, and Tobio feels very real at the moment. He thinks of picture books and the cutie-cure anime his sister would watch, filled with flying pixie-like characters. He can’t stuff the curiosity down into his stomach, however.
“What, like a fairy? You don’t have wings.”
“Don’t say fairy! It’s rude! We prefer Fae. And the wings are some thing humans made up. Humans are always making up stupid stuff about us,” Shouyou stomps the ground and stands on his tip-toes to look Tobio in the eye, “Besides, you’re not in a position to be making fun of anyone. You’re in my Faering, which means I’m the only one who can let you out.”
All of the cute cheekiness has drained from the Fae’s face, leaving behind an intensity that sends shivers down Tobio’s spine.
"W-what?"
"Faering magic transports you out of the human world and into the Fae-realm. Only a Fae can send you back." Shouyou shrugs his shoulders.
“But…But then I can’t play volleyball.” Tobio can feel himself start to panic, the reality of his situation starting to sink in. Some stupid pixie is going to keep him from the sport he loves and the best thing that’s ever happened to him—playing professionally. His breathing becomes shallower and shallower until he feels a warm hand rest on his shoulder.
“Hey, it’s okay, I’m not going to like, trap you forever or anything like that. I know some Fae wouldn’t hesitate to do that, but I’ve always been a nice guy.”
Tobio swallows the lump in his throat and sinks back down to the ground, back against the tree, the little Fae going with him, sitting on his knees in an imitation of a seiza.
”I need to go. I need to get back to my team. To volleyball.” Tobio croaks around his slowly dissipating panic.
”What’s volleyball?” A curious flash dances across the Fae’s brown eyes. The question causes Tobio’s head to snap upward from where it had been hanging between his knees.
“Volleyball is everything.” He says with grave seriousness. Something like mischief decorates Shouyou’s face before he breaks out into a wild grin.
“Then that will be the price of releasing you from my Faering. You have to teach me volleyball. Normally we ask for people’s names as the price for freedom, but I’d rather know what this volleyball is all about.”
”Is that why you wanted me to introduce myself?” Tobio asks flatly.
“Don’t worry about that, show me volleyball and I’ll call us even.” He stares at the Fae for what feels like forever, taking in the angle of his jaw and the determined set to his brown eyes. And Tobio can’t help but smile, because if there’s something he loves just as much as playing volleyball, it’s seeing others love the sport too.
“Okay,” Tobio stands with confidence. This, he knows. With volleyball, he doesn’t need to be the smartest, he just needs to be the best. And he is. “We need a ball.” He realizes.
"I got it!" The Fae smiles bright as the sun and stands up straight. He lifts his freckled hands up and cups them gently around the still air of the forest. Slowly, a pale orange glow emanates from his hands and manifests into a small brown leather ball. "See, my magic isn't just good for tricking people." He smirks.
"You idiot, that thing is the size of a golf ball. Volleyballs are...bigger, they're--" Tobio wildly gestures the approximate size of a volleyball with his hands, "this big, and they feel light but firm, you shouldn't be able to squeeze it but it shouldn't be hard as a rock either." He realizes he's practically shouting at this point.
"Well, excuuuuse me! I've never seen a volleyball before and you're being pretty mean for someone who's supposed to be showing me what this is all about." The Fae pouts and throws his small leather creation directly at Tobio's gut. It lands with a soft poof and disintegrates into yellow flower petals.
"Look, volleyball is serious. You have to take it seriously, idiot." Tobio frames his hands into a roughly volleyball-shaped form and beckons Shouyou to try again.
Shouyou huffs but re-positions himself and begins forming another ball of orange light, bigger this time. He bites his lower lip and makes a small sound of concentration, the light beginning to swirl and grow until it fits in his hands much like a volleyball would. Shouyou presses his palms together to test the give of the shape, and it seems to remain solid under the pressure. He flits his eyes over to Tobio, as if to ask for confirmation, and he gives the Fae a nod. This time, the ball really does a good job of imitating a volleyball. Shouyou hands it to Tobio, and he looks it over closely: testing it's weight and sturdiness with practiced setter's hands.
"It will have to do."
"So," Shouyou starts. "is volleyball like, some super-important human ritual I don't know about? Is it like a solstice festival? We Fae take those pretty seriously, too."
"What? No, volleyball is a sport." Tobio snaps. This, apparently, leaves the Fae slack-jawed and indignant.
"You made it sound like a life-or-death situation! How can a sport be so important? You know what, I'll just take your name instead."
"NO! Just, I'll show you. It might not sound important to you, but it's...it's everything. It's connecting with your team, it's pushing yourself to be better, it's standing on your own two feet, it's leaning on others. It's everything." Tobio hadn't realized he had started shouting again, this time with his eyes screwed shut and his hands clenched into white-knuckled fists.
A sense of understanding seems to wash over Shouyou as his keen eyes give Tobio an assessing once-over. He sighs and tosses the leather ball up into the air and catches it deftly with one hand.
"Okay. I'll take it. Show me everything, then."