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Chapter Text

The first time Tobio had seen Kei, he had only been a nobody before he was Tsukishima, and he had clutched the collar of the blonde's clothes while the latter cockily smirked down at his seething glare. Tobio had thought of a much better, fitting name for him back thenㅡasshole.

"H-hey-! I get that you're all pissed off or something but don't take it out on the ball, stupid...!"

Tobio slowly looks back at Hinata with a nasty scowl, and that was all it took for the smaller to jump in fright from where he stood, snapping his head towards the opposite direction and pointedly not looking at the setter. Tsk. Even saying 'practice' to describe what they were currently doing is a bit generous, with how Hinata kept poorly receiving despite the hours that had already passed.

"Oi. I can feel you judging me from that look on your face. What do you think you're looking at, huh?!" Hinata pointed at him with a stance that he probably thinks is threatening, legs sprawled out and slightly stretching, only it rather makes him smaller and non-threatening. "D-did your glare just turn even nastier...?! What the-"

"Shut up, you noisy dumbass." Tobio cuts him off, immediately ignoring the other's affronted squawk. "That asshole might have interrupted us, but I'm not letting him win." Reminded of Tsukishima's words and bastard-ery once again, his hold on the ball tightens. "I will join the team."

"Dude... seriously, I get the determination and all, and I definitely want to beat those two as well, but... you know that's mine, right? You know what, just hand it back to me, c'mon-"

To prove a point about what he feels about his unnecessary rambling, Tobio all but throws said ball directly at Hinata's face with irritated thunder shadowing his expression. He then ignores the ginger's scuffling on the grassy floor.

The following day, by some margin, they had won. Tobio ignores the excited and bubbly ramblings that Hinata forces onto him while jumping up and down, one that he guesses he will have to get used to from now on. His gaze drifts away from disinterest.

Tsukishima had been off to the side, earning what seemed to be a heavy slap on the back by Tanaka in which he visibly flinches from, trying to hide it with a push of his middle finger to fix his glasses into its proper place. It brings Tobio to another unfortunate thought that he also would need to at least tolerate the middle blocker's presence. Tch.

Tobio had the urge to sarcastically hum open-mouthedly to himself. But then his gaze clashes with rimmed-covered ones. He flinches in alarm the same beat that Tsukishima raises a brow at him, as if already mocking him from even daring to look his way.

"This guy's better than I thought..."

He's still an asshole, though. Scowling, Tobio harshly clicked his tongue and pointedly looked away, forcing himself to pay attention to Hinata's noisiness to ignore the gnawing stare that stayed on his back for a few moments before it finally left him alone, making him sigh a contained breath. Tobio wasn't even aware of doing it.

It was a gradual process. Time passes and Tobio's genuine anger towards Tsukishima simmers down, even just barely. The middle blocker's cruel words, he'll still never forget, but it is all but the push of volleyball that makes him put in effort, along with his senpai's. Tobio starts to understand that continuously clashing with Tsukishima will not make any difference. It'd only hinder things and make him remember unpleasant memories.

Regardless of his own efforts, however, Tsukishima continuously bites back with no saving grace, always calling him with those irritating nicknames. Tobio always wanted to hit him every time it happens.

And he slips up sometimes, same old yelling and back and forth with the middle blocker but he... Tsukishima makes it difficult for no reason.

"Once a volleyball idiot, always a volleyball idiot, huh?" Tsukishima uninterestedly mutters in the midst of their many matches with Nekoma in their summer camp. "If only you'll put the same effort for your classes."

Tobio is quick to take his turn to jab, clutching his hand into fists while sharply smiling at Tsukishima with his eyes in pleasant crescents. "What did you say, bastard?"

They're quickly stopped by their senpais' scolding. But as Tsukishima coughs humiliating fufu's the moment he looks away, wiping sweat under his bangs with a towel on his shoulder, Tobio doesn't relent and is still ready to punch the other even with the threat of it stopping the game.

Tsukishima's earlier statement still had the upper hand, unfortunately, as Tobio would never let Tsukishima be a reason for the game to be over, even if it had only been a casual match. A match is a match, Tobio simply thinks. It doesn't matter to him if Tsukishima doesn't share the same sentiment. He knows their views have always been different from one another from the start, anyway. Even if it's still damn annoying.

Eventually, it is the dynamic that stays between them as the months pass and as their matches turn serious. Even before said passing, though Tobio still thought of Tsukishima as an asshole, he doesn't deny that there's some strange, other side to him. One he doesn't know. One he thinks he might never be privy to.

That night, Tobio didn't mean to be some weird bystander on the side, him just being on his way to grab something from the vending machine before he slept. He was just in the right place to see Tsukishima and Yamaguchi conversing with one another. At least that's what Tobio thought was happening until Yamaguchi grabbed Tsukishima's collar with two fists. Tobio had to silence himself after he choked while sipping on his drink, brows furrowed.

The hell? This isn't any of my business... Tobio had quickly realized he didn't need to see anything else even further. Before he walked away, Tobio hears the strangely soft way Tsukishima pertained to Yamaguchi. He had to stop himself from bolting out of there, else he risked being caught because of the heavy footsteps.

Tobio doesn't mention it the following morning, continues not to as he sees the two guys peacefully conversing down the hill at the front steps of the gymnasium, after he had successfully won his competition with Hinata on who can run up the grassy hill the fastest. There is no pertaining of it whatsoever as the seasons change, and as him and Tsukishima start to actually properly train with each other so their match-ups could work.

It is not an easy feat, with their usual bickering and taking pleasure from getting under the other's nerve (courtesy mostly to Tsukishima), but they miraculously make it work somehow. It shows in their match with Aoba Johsai, and their ticket to Nationals had only pushed them even further.

"I told you to reach higher." Tobio pointedly stares at Tsukishima from his position in front of the net, the ball that the middle blocker had barely spiked towards the opposite side, bouncing with a sound after colliding with the wooden floors.

Tsukishima gives him a look. "And I told you I can't. I just can't seem to reach the King's standards, can we both agree?" He seeps in the mocking, as he always does.

Tobio's brow visibly twitches at the familiar jab, before scoffing. "Our practice would all just be useless, then. Let's end it now and I'll train on my own, if that's the case." He is about to turn away to make a point, but it's still not like him to settle with no change. It gnaws at his skin. "...Oi. Do you want us to win?" He directly looks at the silent Tsukishima right in the eyes.

Tsukishima seemed to flinch from something that showed in his expression, but as he slowly exhaled, resulting in his back being slightly hunched down, the blonde looks down to fiddle with his taped-up middle and ring finger. "And how is that relevant to this conversation? You can still leave if you want to, Your Majesty. I won't tease you about your graceful disappointment towards me."

The last two comments starts making Tobio's blood boil, but he forces himself to cool down, breathing heavily. He gives Tsukishima a throwaway glare. "What about you?" He grumbles.

Tsukishima stops fixing the tape around his fingers. He finally looks back at Tobio but he does not raise his head. "What about me."

Tobio clicked his tongue. "What do you want? By now, I thought you'd be-" He cuts himself off, not knowing where his sentence is completely going. His face twists from trying to make sense of it all. "What do you feel about volleyball?"

Tsukishima blinks at him for a few moments, once or thrice. Before his mouth twitches with an awkward perk at the edges. "If this is your way of playing truce with me, then I'm afraid to tell you that it's not working."

Tobio growls, before huffing, "No, you bastard! I-" He harshly sighs. "If you don't actually take this seriously then, yeah. That offer of leaving you here sounds more useful right now. But do you even-"

"Yes."

Being interrupted, Tobio grows silent. He looks at Tsukishima in confusion.

Tsukishima slowly raised his head, tucking his hands towards the pockets of his training shorts. "Yes, I want us to win, King. But that's different from doing something I can't do. There's no use in forcing out things that aren't plausible. And I already told you I have my own way when it comes to doing things."

"That's a lie."

Tsukishima snaps his head up. Tobio is still scowling at him. "Anything is possible if you train for it. You're an asshole but you can hit my tosses. You will hit my tosses. And I don't know what the hell is up with you but what I know is that it's only you that's holding yourself back and I don't get it because you're saying you want to win but you're not doing anything about it."

Tsukishima sarcastically smiled. "Watch your words, Your Highness. 'Not doing anything' is a big assumption of yours. In fact, you don't know me at all." He now fully faces Tobio, standing to his full height. "So I'm really not getting where you're going with all of this."

Tobio rolls his eyes, ignoring the underlining purpose to inflict hurt in Tsukishima's words. "Yes, you do. You can reach my tosses but for some weird reason, you're making yourself think otherwise. Aren't you supposed to be a genius?"

The smile on Tsukishima lessens and it morphs into a sharper edge. "Did you not hear what I said? Watch your words."

Uninterested, Tobio turns away to grab a new ball from their basket close to their water bottles and towels. "Yeah, right..." Getting a hold of one, he spins it on his palm while looking back at the still heated stare of Tsukishima. Not second guessing it, he suddenly throws the ball towards Tsukishima.

With a startled grunt, Tsukishima catches it with his hands on reflex, but not without immediately glaring at the unbothered Tobio. "What the hell?"

Tobio huffed, determined. "I'll make you reach it, watch me."

Tsukishima deadpans, now holding the ball with just one hand. "Cocky as always. I'm so happy to serve you, Your Majesty." And yet he all but quietly complies, forwarding the ball towards Tobio's positioned hands as the latter rolled his eyes.

No doubt, Tobio had been proven right in the end, as they both regained their position from their jump and eye at the ball dropping on Dateko's side of the court in the midst of their practice match with them. To point it out, fair and square, Tobio smirked at Tsukishima. "So you can fly."

Tsukishima only gave him an unimpressed glare, but Tobio's preening doesn't miss the look in the blonde's eyes as he pulled it away before their match resumed. It leaves him with the familiar fulfillment as a setter that successfully tossed to his spiker. It went much better than he expected, but it was still an expectation of his.

That was the start of their unreachable role when they are close in the new rotations of their match, another additional thrill for Tobio besides being at the center stage at National's. They win from Inarizaki, go through the longest matches of their lives with Nekoma by surprising everyone from the height of their combo, and-

"I hear Shoyo's aiming for Brazil."

Tobio doesn't choke around the pork bun he's munching on. He grunts in affirmation.

"Seriously?" Yamaguchi whines, still wiping sweat from his forehead. They are already finished with practice of the day and are all cooling off in the club room. "Why am I surprised... give it to Shoyo-kun to take over one world then another."

"Wouldn't that mean he'll have to learn Portuguese?" Tsukishima lightly scoffs, sitting with his legs sprawled while resting on a nearby wall, eyes closed and without his glasses. "Goodluck to him with that endeavor, then."

Tobio grabs another pork bun from the plastic bag around his wrist. "He's already getting lessons between classes. On the teachers' lounge." Ukai gave it to him after the others didn't want to claim the extra ones. It was something about being sort of a small celebration after surviving such a thrilling and impressive year for Karasuno, the coach said.

"Seriously?" Yamaguchi repeats with an impressive guffaw. "Willingly? Hinata? That same Hinata Shoyo?"

There's no distaste around Tobio's tongue. He just feels thoughtful. "He'd do anything for volleyball."

Yamaguchi hums at that a few beats later, as if finding something fascinating in his face. "Would you also be open in going overseas if it comes down to it, Kageyama-kun?"

Tobio blinks. He takes a cursory glance at Tsukishima just to see if the blonde was even listening, but he's startled to find uncovered eyes already looking at him. Tobio looks down, thinking about it. "...The only thing left after Japan is international. I wouldn't be opposed." He thinks of Kazuyo. He thinks of a failed entrance exam. He thinks of his already non-existent college life before it has even begun. He thinks of his parents' approval. He nods. "I'm not letting that idiot win against me."

Just thinking about being beaten by Hinata on going overseas first already makes his brows furrow, scowl starting to form.

Yamaguchi grimaces, though it edges towards a mix of exasperation and amazement all the same. "Wow. You... you two really will become rivals until you get old, huh." He blinks, watching Tobio curl the wrapping of his last pork bun into a ball before tossing it inside its plastic bag. Yamaguchi chuckles, before turning to Tsukishima. "What about you, Tsukki?"

"No, thank you." Tsukishima immediately declines with a snort. He guides his glasses from the ground back to his face with practiced ease. "Japan is enough for me."

"Hmm." Yamaguchi taps a finger on his chin. "I'll probably go to college, take a decent bachelor's and try to find my way from there." He laughs as he picks up his bag. "I can't believe we'll be graduating next year. Time's flying way too fast!"

"Classes literally just started two months ago." Tsukishima rolled his eyes, not waiting for any of them as he exits the clubroom with his discarded polo around his arm. "Worry about Interhigh first."

"Ah, that reminds me! Won't there also be new first years in Aoba Johsai? I wonder what new things they'll be showing us. And where's Shoyo-kun?"

"Hurried back home because Natsu fell down the stairs in school." Tobio breathes in the cold air of late spring, suddenly wanting to have his scarf with him.

"WHAT?!" Yamaguchi almost snaps his head in half and fell down the stairs form the club room himself from the visceral reaction. "Is she okay?!" He breathes in.

"Seemed like it from the phone call." Tobio gets a hold around Yamaguchi's arm to steady his footing. "Hinata quickly told me it was three flights of stairs before running off to his bike."

Yamaguchi looks down, and his expression softens even just a little around his worry. "Ah, thank you, Kageyama-kun. Natsu-chan, though..." He puts a concerned hand towards his cheek, continuing his descend and joined by Tobio who had finally let go of him. "I sure hope she didn't get hurt that badly."

Tobio combed through his freshly-washed hair, still a bit wet from minutes ago, "You can visit her to check."

Yamaguchi grins. "That's a great idea! Hey, Tsukki!" He calls out to Tsukishima who was already close to the school gates a few feet away from them. "Tsukki! Wait for us!"

Tobio doesn't quicken his steps and just watches Yamaguchi run to Tsukishima who already had his headphones around his ears. Though the setter notices that Tsukishima stopped just past the gate and didn't continue walking further even with Yamaguchi already talking beside him. Tobio thinks they might have waited for him and it was Yamaguchi's verbal idea. He leaves that thought on the back of his mind and catches up to the two best friends.

"One year of being teammates and we still haven't been in Shoyo-kun's house. Yours, too, Kageyama!" Yamaguchi leads the walk, seeming to be commencing the plan to visit the injured Natsu.

Tobio tilts his head, his house being brought up catching his attention as he grabbed a small carton of a dairy drink from his bag. "My house is not as big as Hinata's. And I only have Tekken to play with."

"Why are you comparing your house to Shoyo-kun's?" Yamaguchi looks at him as if he was being silly. The freckled-boy smiles in amusement. "We just want to visit and hang out with you, Kageyama. Mansion or rusty shack or otherwise."

"'We?'" Tsukishima offhandedly quips, seeming to have heard everything even while listening to music. Or whatever he's listening to. Tobio doesn't try to figure that out. Never really found a need to. He watches Yamaguchi elbow Tsukishima for it but the taller just grunted in response.

"I don't mean it as anything negative." Tobio's lips let go of the straw of his drink. "But. Okay."

"Great!" Yamaguchi claps once, clear satisfaction on his face. He then looks around and registers where they already are. "Ah. It seems this is where we'll be splitting up." He smiles at Kageyama. "Bye, Kageyama-kun! Have a good evening!"

Tobio looks around as well, before humming. "You too. See you tomorrow." He stiffly waves. He's not aware it looks that way.

He watches Yamaguchi pointedly slapping Tsukishima on the back with his unoccupied hand, the blonde grunting with tension in his figure before he sighed. He puts his headphones down to his neck. "See you." He echoes towards Tobio, no emotion betraying his monotonous tone.

Tobio raises a brow, feeling a familiar simmer of annoyance under his skin. Ultimately, he just snorts and turns around. He starts his path towards back home with only faraway birds and yellow halos from nightlamps accompanying him. It's the same as always.

Days after, on a Friday night, all the second years now with Yachi in tow are following Hinata up the hill leading to his house, his familiar bike beside him. "Ah, this is so exciting! You know, my mom's been wondering when I will invite you guys for dinner since our entrance ceremony! She probably already has a feast cooking right now."

They had taken a bus that was the only vehicle they could have ridden, with how far Hinata's house was from Karasuno. Hinata confessed that he didn't want them to go through his usual thirty-minute trek so he asked around for some time before confirming they could finally visit.

"That's so thoughtful of Hinata-san." Yachi claps once with a shy smile. "It's a shame I didn't see her then."

Hinata thoughtfully hums. "Yeah, well, she quickly left after dropping me off that day. She was going to Sendai to meet with her friends."

"Wasn't it to meet a cousin?" Tobio raised a brow, detecting the conflict of information. The woman told him himself when the mother and son duo saw him walking towards the gymnasium before the program started that morning.

"No way! No way!" Hinata disagreed, however. "It was definitely her friends! Besides, how would you know, Kageyama!?"

Tobio rolled his eyes before smacking the ginger's face, finding their proximity to be closer than what he had thought. It successfully made Hinata yell. "Chiaki-san told me herself, you dumbass. You were literally there." He hurried up, not wanting to have another useless argument from the spiker.

He still heard it, anyway, from how loud Hinata's voice was, as shameless as it is to yelling in the middle of the road. In the evening, at that. "Who are you calling a dumbass?!"

Tobio blocks out his voice as he yawns, not even trying to argue back. Even if he had caught his 8-hour sleep last night until he woke up at 5 AM, Tobio's body betrayed him today. He had already felt tired right after lunch break.

When he sees the familiar framing of trees around a one-floored house from the distance, Tobio almost caught himself sighing in relief, but a sudden weight around his back makes him stumble in his step, and he's already trying to get away even before hearing Hinata's cackling. "Fuck! Get away from me, you bastard-!"

"Catch me if you ca- WOAH!!"

Tobio catches both of their weights with his hand before he could face-plant on the ground, Hinata still clutching tightly around his jacket. He slowly tilts his head behind him with a mad look. "You moron."

An undignified squeak is all that's heard before Hinata jumps away and sprints towards the front lawn of his own house, already halfway towards the door.

"Ugh." Tobio glares at the small scratches on his palm, before dusting it off with the other, small rocks flickering away from the movement.

"Are you hurt, Kageyama-kun?" He feels Yachi's gentle touch on his wrist before he even heard her.

He doesn't flinch, surprisingly enough. He grunts. "I'm fine. But that bastard won't be once I get my hands on him." He glares at the left-opened front door of the Hinata house, the spiker's shoes already on the visible genkan.

Yamaguchi laughs from behind them. They continue their walk towards inside the house with Yachi in front. "I'm surprised you didn't just chase him inside to scuffle."

Tobio removes his shoes with practiced ease, then putting it beside Hinata's. "Excuse the intrusion." He looks back at Yamaguchi. "Chiaki-san doesn't like it when we fight inside the house."

"You've been here before?" Yamaguchi blinks, in the midst of removing his own shoes.

Tobio tilts his head. "I have. Just once." He turns to the doorway on the right before them leading to the living room, with a kotatsu already in front of the television and on the center of two double-seat couches. It's accompanied by plates and water-filled glasses.

Tobio looks around for Hinata, hears the spiker's voice on the kitchen and heads towards the direction. He ducks as to not bump his head on the doorway framing it, something that had happened on that first visit and earned him an irritating laugh from a familiar ginger.

Tobio is greeted by Chiaki's kind smile, holding a pot with smoke escaping its lid between her hands, Hinata himself searching something from the fridge behind her with little hums. "Tobio, dear, would you be a kind boy and put this on the table for me? Careful, it's hot." He gets a hold of the ceramic with a nod. "Don't rush it, though. Those potholders are a bit thin with how old they are now, sorry." She chuckles.

"It's nothing, Chiaki-san." Tobio shakes his head and nods at the smiling woman before heading out of the kitchen. Back in the living room, he sees Yamaguchi and the others standing awkwardly behind the couch. They immediately turn to him, then to what he was holding. "What are you doing just standing there? Sit." He nods to the kotatsu.

"But- we haven't even greeted Hinata-san yet..." Yachi nervously plays with her fingers.

"Oh, wow, that smells really good..." Yamaguchi whispers, eyeing the hotpot as Tobio puts it down the kotatsu, forgetting decorum for a split second.

"Where's Hinata?" Tsukishima bores on the side.

"In the kitchen, with Chiaki-san."

"Not anymore!" The boisterous laugh makes them turn their heads and finds Hinata hugging four soda cans before laying them down the kotatsu beside the plates and glassware. "Is Natsu still doing her homework?" He turns to his mother.

Chiaki exits the kitchen while wiping her hands with a washcloth before hanging it on a nearby hanger on the wall. "She is." She paints them all with a warm gaze. "Finally, I get to meet all of Shoyo's friends altogether! It's so lovely to meet you all."

"Thank you for having us, Hinata-san!" Yamaguchi beams, now visibly glancing back at the hotpot.

"T-thank you for having us!" Yachi stammers, blushing.

Tsukishima bows a little. "Thank you, Hinata-san."

"Oi! Kageyama! Why aren't you saying your greetings as well!" Hinata mocks, hands around his hips in front of Tobio who had already sat himself in front of the food and organizing the utensils for everyone.

"I already greeted her in the kitchen." Tobio huffs. "Maybe if you weren't so busy ogling the soda, you would have noticed."

"Why, you-"

"Shoyo-kun." Chiaki cuts off the tension with a scolding, pointed look at her son.

Hinata flinches, as if caught red handed. He sheepishly grinned. "Sorry!"

"Serves you right." Tobio rolls his eyes.

"Shut up! Who says you can talk to me like that in my own house?!"

"Aren't they a handful..." Chiaki is heard exasperatedly sighing to the other three. Two chuckle and one doesn't provide anything.

"Is that nii-san?" A young voice is heard from the hallway. Natsu's head pops up from the doorway of the living room and her mouth gapes from the faces she hadn't seen inside her home before. "Ah! Nii-san's friends! H-hello!" Her stance turns shy, stiffly bowing.

"Natsu!" Hinata walks to her. "Why are you walking on your own? I told you to call for me!"

Natsu pouts. "It doesn't hurt that much anymore. You're exaggerating..."

Yamaguchi winces at the sight of her bruises. "Those say otherwise."

Natsu whines, clutching on her older brother's shirt. "Okay, maybe I need help with my seat..."

"Aye, aye!" Hinata salutes, as if receiving a command, and hoists Natsu up to his shoulders. The child doesn't even yelping in surprise, evidently used to it already. Hinata lays her down two seats away from Tobio's.

Yachi coos at the display. "How cute! I wish I had a younger sibling..." She sighs to her hand cupping her own cheek.

"Ah, that reminds me. You're an only child, right, Yachi-san?" Yamaguchi comments as he follows everyone towards their own seats on the kotatsu, dragging Tsukishima on his sleeve with him. The blonde lets himself get pulled.

Yachi nods. "I am. And you are as well, right?"

"Yeah. But," Yamaguchi grins, eyeing Tsukishima beside him. "Akiteru-san already coddles me enough. All is well!"

"You wouldn't be saying that if you've known him since birth." Tsukishima removes his glasses, away from the smoke still emitting from the now opened hotpot that seemed to target him. Tobio almost snorts out-loud at the sight.

When everyone's seated, they all says their thanks before starting to grab their own portions. Yamaguchi laughs at what Tsukishima said. "And what if you were the older sibling like Shoyo-kun, then?"

It sends a distasteful grimace on Tsukishima's face. "No."

"Kageyama here's a younger sibling too. Guess you two have that in common, huh?" Hinata nudges Tobio on the side while chewing around a big mouthful.

Tobio glares at him. "You made me spill my soup." He eyes the droplet of liquid beside his soda can.

Yachi gasps. She detects herself that it was quite loud and coughs, covering her reddening face and avoiding everyone's eyes. Yamaguchi pats her back while she splutters. "K-Kageyama-kun has an older sibling...?"

"I do." Tobio simply nods, in the midst of scooping rice between his chopsticks. "Her name's Miwa. She just graduated last year from university."

"Kageyama, being coddled by an older sister..." Yamaguchi still has his mouth gaped around his raised chopsticks, the meat and vegetables between it close to falling off.

Hinata audibly gulps his drink before laughing at the scenario. "That's something that I would like to see, for sure! Grumpy-yama getting pinched on the cheeks by Miwa-san." He coos, waving his fingers in front of Tobio's face.

"Oi." Tobio pointedly snarls at the ginger beside him, slapping his wiggly hands away. The latter only sticks his tongue out. Tobio makes a look. "Nee-san doesn't pinch my cheeks." Then, he's thoughtful, looking down at the spoonful he grabbed of his soup. "Only sometimes."

"Oh my god." Yamaguchi's jaw full-on drops before he delightfully laughs, on the brink of being scandalized at what he had possibly just imagined. "This is a moment in history."

"You're exaggerating." Tsukishima's nose scrunches up, looking down at the meat Yamaguchi dropped. "You're making a mess, Yamaguchi."

"Oh!" Yamaguchi's head snaps down before tossing his head in every direction in panic, then ultimately landing on Chiaki who was watching everything with a smile on her lips. "I-I'm sorry, Hinata-san, do you have a tissue I can use?"

"Chiaki is fine, my dear." Chiaki smile softens a little before turning to Hinata who was already on his third bowl of rice. "Shoyo, can you grab some napkins in the kitchen?"

Hinata almost chokes again from how fast he gulped down what he was eating. "Ous!" He quickly stands up, flattens the kotatsu's mat on Natsu's side before heading towards the kitchen.

Yachi places her glass of water on the table before smiling. "It's kind of refreshing to see Hinata-kun acting the way he is at home like how he does in school."

Chiaki hums in interest. "And how does he act like? I asked Tobio-kun here last time but it had been late. Speaking of, did you get home safely that night, dear?"

Everyone turns to him, one just a glance, and he feels it a bit late. When Tobio looks up and sees all of them looking at him, he blinks. "What?" His mind registers what was being asked of him. "Uh, yes. I did. I just waited for nee-san to come home at ten before going to sleep that day since it was a weekend." Sensing the curious looks, Tobio takes a glance from Hinata who had come back from the kitchen with a napkin holder on his hand before pulling away. "Our parents work overseas in Singapore."

Yamaguchi mouths the last three words with a stunned look. He thanks Hinata for the tissue and scoops up the meat he dropped, wrapping the material around it and leaving it on the underside of his plate. He smiles at Tobio. "That's sweet of you, Kageyama-kun. Waiting for your nee-san like that."

Tobio blinks. Before slowly nodding in contemplation. "I guess." He takes another spoonful of his soup.

"Tobio's the sweetest!" Natsu perks up, energized from her finished meal. "He let me put flowers on his hair from our garden in the backyard once!"

"Flowers?!" Yachi ungracefully wheezed.

Hinata hums as he sits down, wondering what the current conversation was about. "What? What are we talking about?" A smile is still plastered on his lips.

"His Highness and flower crowns, apparently." Tsukishima helpfully fills him in.

"Ah..." Hinata's mouth'o's before he coughs out a familiar cackle. "Do you guys wanna see the pictures?" His expression turns mischievous, holding out his closed flip phone from his pocket.

"Bastard." Tobio gets a tight hold on his neck. "Don't you dare."

Hinata chokes. "Gh- Kag- ya- let go-" Even amidst the threat of him letting out the meal he just had, the spiker successfully unlocked his phone and tossed it towards a panicking Yachi who thankfully caught it before Tobio snatched the device away.

"Let me see!" Yamaguchi scoots closer to Yachi before choking on his spit from what he saw. "Oh. my. god."

Tobio feels embarrassment creeping up his neck. He knows what the photos they were currently staring in awe at looks like. Hinata gasps out the air he was blocked from breathing in, trying to pull on Tobio's grip now around his locks. "Hey! That actually hurts, Stingy-yama! Kaa-san! Look at what he's doing to me--!!!"

Chiaki sighs, helpless. "Tobio-kun. Let go of Shoyo's hair."

Tobio huffs before roughly letting go of Hinata, almost sending him face first to his plate, before he caught a hold on the sides of his crossed legs. Tobio looks down, not wanting to see his peers' reactions. "It really is not that interesting to look at." He kind of feels warmth on his cheeks.

"Are you kidding?" Yamaguchi chuckles, high-pitched and filled with glee. "Kageyama-kun, this can be a best-seller! Thousands of yens, even!"

A choked-off laugh leaves Tsukishima as he looked away. Tobio heard it anyway, even as the blonde disguised it with a pointed cough. "Definitively not in a magazine, that's for sure."

Tobio scowled at him. "What are you trying to say, bastard?"

"Nothing." Tsukishima cocks a brow, daring him.

They stare at each other for a moment, not hearing the others' voices, before Tobio was the first one who looked away. "Whatever." He muttered.

Is he really that awful-looking with flowers on his hair? Tobio tries to imagine Tsukishima with them in spite.

He's not knowledgeable in the names of flowers, but he knows roses and tulips, which were the ones that Natsu put on him in those pictures. Colors of them in red and pink would probably blend well with Tsukishima's blonde hair. Maybe even in the same color, or something with blue. It'd be a contrast with his golden curls, but he'd probably make it work.

Then, an image of Tsukishima looking at him with those same flowers around his hair makes Tobio go still. He shakes his head. Why am I even thinking about this...

When he recovers from the out-of-the-blue imagination, Tobio accidentally lays his gaze on Tsukishima who is still being shown his images by a grinning Yamaguchi. He grows witness to Tsukishima rolling his eyes and pushing the phone away by the back of his hand. Tobio looks away. He doesn't quite hear what Tsukishima said, still trying to calm the warmth on his skin seemingly out of nowhere.

His moment of embarrassment becomes nothing but a distant memory when they're already on their second day of the familiar Tokyo training camp. They had won their match with Aoba Johsai in the Interhigh Preliminaries but ultimately lost to Date Tech for Qualifiers. Now, the familiar echoes of cicadas in the summer air is what Tobio breathes in at the moment, instead of the smell of rubber and salonpas.

They have been given thirty minutes by their coaches to rest and wash up, and Tobio found himself resting under one of the tree outside, away from the afternoon sun. He had already bathed hours ago in the morning, so all he needed was wash the sweat away from his hair on a nearby faucet outside the gymnasium.

In the middle of making himself comfortable on the grass below, Tobio flinches from hearing a heavy thump from behind him. His brows furrow towards the other side of the tree trunk. "Who-"

"Shut up, King." Tsukishima's audibly tired, panting voice makes Tobio freeze. "Let me rest here after running away from Lev-san chasing me for more drills until we're called back again."

Tobio scoffs at the rudeness, his body still paused around the air, before slumping down himself and crossing his arms. "Are there no other trees available for you to rest on?" He thought he was going to get some alone time himself. Tsukishima really just had to ruin it.

He hears Tsukishima snort, though it's not as snarky as it usually is. It falls flat, making Tobio frown. "What? Have you marked this wonderful tree as your territory? This lowly one beg His Majesty's pardon, if that's the case."

"Ugh." Tobio groans. "Would you stop that? And didn't you say you're here to rest? You shut up and close your eyes, then."

"Whatever His Majesty commands."

Tobio grumbles, about to stand up and let the middle blocker finally take his fist on the face instead of his collar just like the first time, but he restrained himself. Instead, he clutches them into tight circles, hugging his legs. It's no use beating the other up. It's the same as always. Tsukishima rises the bait, Tobio bites around it viciously, thenㅡThen.

Then what? Tobio huffs a breath between his knees. The wind's too cold for his hot-headed thoughts. He lets go of them, at that thought.

A few minutes later, he hears footsteps and he slightly raises his head with only one eye visible. Tobio sees Yamaguchi looking left and right and when the freckled-boy sees him, he opens his mouth but Tobio puts a finger in front of his lips in a silencing motion. Yamaguchi quickly snaps his mouth shut.

Tobio lays his temple on his knee, pointing a thumb in Tsukishima's direction. "If you're looking for the blonde bastard. Says he's resting." He gruffly says with minimal volume, still on the edge of near-sleep from the time he had his eyes closed.

Yamaguchi's mouth forms an 'o' before he softly smiles. "Take care of him, okay?" He says without volume.

Tobio didn't get a chance to convey his confusion before Yamaguchi waved and turned away, returning down the hill. Tobio is left blankly blinking at the grass, before he glances behind him without moving. He sighed. He thinks that this, probably, is the most that him and Tsukishima have spent with one another in close proximity with just them two, if it even counts with a tree separating them. Tobio thinks it counts.

He looks up at the sky, bright and blue and accompanied by the rare dust of clouds. He looks elsewhere and most of them have gathered in that one spot. There, however, where that lone tree stood, the only thing Tobio sees is a blank canvas of bright cobalt.

It keeps his mind empty, sometimes with volleyball and dinner popping up. But, ultimately, he feels the minutes that have been given for a break are now being spent by him in a productive way. He's resting. He doesn't feel tired.

He didn't know when he had closed his eyes but when he registered where he was, Tobio sees Tsukishima leaning on the tree with his shoulder, staring down at him. "Cute. You even drool in your sleep." He says with the most bored tone one can ever do.

Prickling rage boils on Tobio's skin, and along with mortification, they all quickly snap him awake. "SHUP UP! How long were you even w-watching me...?! You creepy bastard!" He stumbles as he stands up, pointing an accusatory finger at Tsukishima.

Tsukishima stares at it before raising a brow with a smirk. "Long enough." Then he leaves Tobio. Just like that. Just like that.

He's so!!! HE'S SOOO......!!!!!! Tobio was close to exploding into smithereens. "TSU. KI. SHI. MAAAAAA!!!!!"

Later on, deep into the night, after getting scolded both by Tanaka and Yamaguchi at the ruckus they caused that ultimately snapped a string of the volleyball basket in half, Tobio finds himself grumbling under his breath after a coin he was about to slot inside the vending machine slipped from his fingers, ultimately rolling under the heavy contraption.

He's in the midst of trying to grab a spare one that could possibly be inside his pockets when he sees the annoyingly familiar figure of Tsukishima rounding up the corner, who seemed to notice him as well, with how the taller stood still when they made eye contact.

Tobio's gaze narrowed before looking away, instead pointing his attention back to important matters, which was the coin he's trying to get for a can of a cold latte. Where is it...

"Need a coin?" He looks up to find Tsukishima had stepped close, watching him scuffle with his shorts.

Ugh. That reaction always seemed to be easily triggered out of him whenever Tsukishima's around. Tobio huffs. "It slipped under the vending machine. But I know I have a spear." I just have to find it somewhere, damn it...

"Here."

Tobio freezes, turns his head while still having his hand down his pockets, and sees an unamused Tsukishima holding out a 100-yen coin. At least he looks that way, from the way the nightlights of the buildings around them laid a glare on his glasses, hiding his eyes. Tobio looks back at the coin again.

Begrudgingly, he reaches for it, trying to avoid their skin touching. "...Thanks." He tries not to show a reaction when they inevitably do, the cold surface of Tsukishima's fingertips a contrast to his warm ones. He checks the cost of his drink once again inside the vending machine before inserting the coins and pressing the button under the cold latte.

Cracking it open as he rests in front of the machine, Tobio gulps two big ones of the drink, sighing right after. He licks his lips, tasting the slight sweetness of the caffeine. Just the right balance, with the edge of being bitter. 

He knew there's no chance of sleeping even before he pushed himself up from his futon. Now there really won't be. Tobio looks down and shakes the cold drink in a gentle motion, hearing it stumble inside the metal-made material.

"Coffee in this hour?" Tsukishima's voice reminds him he isn't alone. Ugh. "And here I thought you're the epitome of a healthy magazine."

Tobio glares at him. "I do it rarely. It's been months." He looks a way, spite in his gaze. So he stares down at solid concrete. He's tired. He feels awake. He wants to lay down. He wants to do a hundred drills. Tobio wants to do something.

"Nightmares?"

Tobio admits he's surprised Tsukishima is even talking to him at all, willingly at that. He could have walked away moments ago, leave with familiar insults that he doesn't give Tobio the chance to snap back at, and ultimately having the final world. But there he was, on the wall beside the vending machine Tobio is leaning on, with his arms crossed. Tobio doesn't know what to make out of it.

He feels the coldness and the buzzing of caffeine making him relax. Tobio breathes out. He lets his shoulder's slightly slump down, away from his guard and tension. "No. I just- can't sleep." He lamely ends. He doesn't know what's wrong with him, where this restlessness came from. It's starting to make him on edge, and that doesn't help whatsoever with volleyball.

"Hm. Insomnia then."

Tobio's brows furrow at the somewhat familiar word. Ultimately, he sighs, taking another sip. "Maybe."

He doesn't know what expression Tsukishima has on, but he feels his gaze, though Tobio also doesn't know what that means. A year and a half of knowing him and Tobio doesn't really know Tsukishima at all. The dimmed atmosphere of the setting around them brings him back to the scene he had stumbled upon last year, with Yamaguchi yelling at Tsukishima. He still doesn't know what that was about. What he knows is that he could ask the blonde about it right now, at that moment, but they don't work like that.

How do they even work?

The lack of sleep is perhaps catching up on Tobio with how much he's thinking about anything he could think of in the impossible hour, drinking a latte, then Tsukishima a few feet away from it. It's way too confusing for him to process all in one evening. Tobio shakes his head at the thought of it all.

He sighs. "What are you still doing here?" He mutters, eyes closed. Tsukishima might not hear him.

Audible movement tells him otherwise. "I might get in trouble if I let our star setter pass out in the middle of the night outside."

Impossibly, Tobio huffs out a laugh between his lips. It's merely a breath, maybe even closer to a scoff. But he's tired, he's on edge, and drinking coffee after months of not doing it possibly has something to do with how silly he suddenly feels. Ah. This is why I stopped drinking it. I'm such an idiot.

"Not passing out." He breathes out, finally opening his eyes. He turns to Tsukishima who was already silently watching out. "I'm not letting myself fall asleep around you again. Else you're gonna be a bastard about it, one more time."

"Pity. And here I was, just about to tuck you into bed like the royal servant I am."

"Fuck you."

It's an olive branch, if how he sees it is the correct way. He still doesn't get the analogy but he also doesn't fully get why Tsukishima is doing this. Tobio can't find it in himself to walk away and go back to his futon, spending another sleepless night then pretending nothing was happening the morning after. Well, nothing would happen, he wouldn't sleep.

This is how they work. Tsukishima raises the bait, Tobio bites around it viciously, then it starts all over again. But does the other share the same sentiment? Being his teammate, he's supposed to be more clearer than their opponents, but just like the textbooks he had tried to study, the questions that almost made him not join the Tokyo camp all over again-

Tobio could never figure out Tsukishima. Their dynamic, it's familiar, but the person he shares that dynamic with? Tobio still doesn't know him at all.

They are all thoughts that didn't dwell on him the last year. Another unfamiliar thing. Another new revelation he has to figure out for himself. It leads Tobio to a point-blank conclusion. And he has no other choice but to leave it at that, a non-existent hypothesis laid out in the open fields.

For now, though, Tobio looks up at the sky, now dark and littered with stars compared to the brightness of hours ago, and finds himself resting inches away from Tsukishima's silent, unmoving figure, just like he had been at those same bright hours now gone by.

Months go further, and Tobio finds himself with a tight-stringed, strawberry-themed party hat wrapped around his head. He's trying really hard not to hit Hinata on the jaw. He's only stopping himself because he still needs the bastard up and going for the Qualifiers.

"BWAHAHAHAHA! Look at the contrast of Grumpy-yama and the pink colors!" Shoyo has long uncared about the pitiful way he fell off from the bleachers with how hard he'd been laughing and taking pictures of Tobio across his seat. It's been this way since they came inside the gymnasium.

"I can't believe I'm saying this..." Tadashi sighs, wiping non-existent tears on his eyes, wearing his own strawberry shortcake hat. "You look really cute, Tobio. You should wear pink more often." Then, he sighs affectionately again.

Tobio doesn't know when he got promoted from 'Kageyama-kun' to 'Tobio-kun' and 'Tobio-senpai' by everyone, but he doesn't have any complaints about it. He doesn't have any thoughts about it at all. He just- doesn't mind. Simple as that. He tries to share the same sentiment, though he still slips up sometimes, especially with their senpai's. Another one, however-

"Kei-kun's going to be so surprised." Hitoka warmly smiles, helping with the balloons. They had only brought minimal decorations for minimal cleanup, since they still have practice until lunch break.

"I don't have any pink clothes." Tobio grimaces at Tadashi's comment. He likes dark and neutral tones more than the others. Rarely does his parents also give him bright-colored clothing, sharing his taste in fashion. Miwa is the only menace in his wardrobe, bringing oranges and bright purples from her thrift adventures sometimes.

Shoyo loudly gasps for air from where he's still laying on the floor, clutching his heart. "Have- mercy on my-" Cough. "dear heart, Tadashi-"

Hitoka worriedly glances at the ginger, before seemingly deciding he will be fine. She appears thoughtful. "I think light pink on the edge of white will look good on you, Tobio-kun."

Tobio shakes his head, trying to un-feel the shame he feels. He's come to noticed everyone keeps teasing him now, even the first years when they get the courage to. Tobio feels mortified every time. But he doesn't really hate it. It's just embarrassing. And knowing how red he looks makes it worse.

"Ugh." Tobio grumbles. "What's taking that bastard so long." He massages the skin under the tight string of the hat. "Can you adjust this..."

"I told you. Akiteru-san's annoying him as much as possible, that's why he's running late. Though," Tadashi glances at the clock. "It's taking him a bit longer than usual. Maybe he got surprised back home as well. Wouldn't be something new."

"Ah- you can remove it for now if it's too uncomfortable, Tobio-kun." Hitoka holds out a helping hand, smiling kindly.

Tobio grunts, about to remove it, but profound curses is heard on the entrance of the gymnasium, quickly followed by a squeak from Tadashi. Tobio watches all of them crowd around the door, then startles when Shoyo grabs a handful of his shirt, on the edge of ripping it off of him, before being unceremoniously tossed beside Yamaguchi holding a small strawberry-vanilla flavored cake in front of the frozen Tsukishima.

Everyone pertains to him informally now, but when it comes to the figure being celebrated in this one day, Tobio is unchanging. 

When Shoyo unkindly slaps his back, Tobio is pushed to face Tsukishima who is still trying to process everything. Tobio frowns. "Happy birthday, bastard." He gruffly greets, in a way he knows.

"Oi! Did you really need that last bit?!"

He felt Shoyo smack him on the head, making him look down at his shoes for a moment, but when he looks up and he sees the twitch on the corners of Tsukishima's lips, an easy clue that he's about to burst out a coughing guffaw, Tobio groans. He rolls his eyes. He knows he looks like he's still glaring at Tsukishima, but it's the kindest he can ever be to the other. "Happy birthday."

Tadashi laughs, clapping a couple of times with the cake now held by Tsukishima himself. "Wonderful! Okay, now hug it out-"

"To hell with hugging-"

"Ew."

"What, bastard?!"

Tsukishima doesn't entertain him. He only throws him a leveled stare, testing him. He's been doing it for quite a while. Tobio doesn't know when it started, but it's an unfamiliar change. He crosses his arm, brushes off Shoyo's hold around his arm. Ugh. Tobio's nose crinkles, still glowering at Tsukishima.

"Gee, we get it. You hate each other even with the underlining whatever-y." Shoyo whines beside him, clearly up to something. "Now, can we have the cake, please?"

Tsukishima makes an undignified squawk unexpected of him while Tobio raises a confused brow at the ginger. "What the hell are you talking about."

Tadashi seemed to recover from his own form hysteria, Hitoka not at all, and the few first years are still respectfully looking away at a near distance, waiting for said cake. "Okay, okay. Let us all remind ourselves that we deserve to be near-adults-"

"Yamayama doesn't relate-"

"What the fu-"

Tadashi sighs, helpless, giving up. "Daichi-senpai. Chikara-senpai. Why would you leave me with such a big responsibility, even heavier than Nationals..." He looks up at the sky, as if being blessed by the visions of their upperclassmen.

Tobio tunes out the irritating whines Shoyo makes towards him and looks away, but he registers too late that that same direction was where Tsukishima still was. Caught red handed, Tsukishima swallows half a strawberry while still narrowly looking at Tobio. Tobio smirks.

"Sweet tooth."

"What about it." Tsukishima raises a bow. He shamelessly licks frosting from his finger.

Tobio's mouth curls up in disgust. "You just came from outside."

"Can't believe the King's such a clean-freak he's telling me off on my own birthday."

"Who says you can't tell someone off on their birthday-"

"Whoops."

Tobio all but stands frozen, stunned, as everyone turned dead silent, staring at him, tense. He feels stickiness akin to sweat slowly dripping down his cheek. In difference, it smells sweet, close to his nose, as sweet as the victory painting Tsukishima's cheshire grin before he walked away, licking off another layer of frosting on his finger.

Warmth rises on Tobio's skin like his clenched fists, veins popping out his forehead. "To hell with birthday rules. I'm killing that moron."

He did not kill the moron. In fact, he was teamed up with him just moments later. Something about birthday privileges and Tsukishima being allowed to use anyone he wants.

Even Ryu, whom Tobio expected to be fuming just like him, only boisterously laughed before complying with being the opposing middle blocker on the other team to challenge Tsukishima. Tobio wanted to take revenge and set to the bastard as poorly as possible, but his pride as a setter is not allowing him, making perfect tosses instead.

He looks down at his calloused hands and feels utterly betrayed for the first time in his life.

No matter, Tobio thinks that perhaps, maybe, the spite is worth it when Tsukishima's strangely good mood had him reaching spikes higher than what they have tried from time to time.

"Holy fucking shit!" Ryu's jaw drops before clutching his stomach to cackle. "That might be taller than the damn basketball hoops, at this point!"

"Don't be ridiculous." Tsukishima lands with practiced ease after spiking mere inches before the height of the poles framing the net. He steadies his crooked glasses from the flight with taped fingers. "You're exaggerating. It's pro-"

Tobio doesn't hear anything else as he looks down at his shaky hands once again right after following the ball that's now being grabbed by a running Hitoka. He feels the familiar buzz of success as a setter making him want to do a thousand serves from how jumpy he is. With a shaky grin, he looks up, celebratory words on the tip of his tongue, before he freezes and sees Tsukishima gaping down at him.

Ah. Right. Tobio finds it hard to close his mouth. His hand twitched from its position ready for another to collide with it, and he's about to pull away, to willingly get smacked by a thousand spikes by Shoyo on the head, when he hears Tsukishima snort and following it with a slap on Tobio's hand with the back of his own.

Adrenaline rushes through Tobio, and before Tsukishima could even step away, he grabs the blonde's wrist and traps his whole hand between it, yelling out questions one after another, not even stuttering. Did you train outside of practice for this? How many drills do you do? Is the cake a factor? How much sugar is needed? Why didn't you tell me you could do that? Let's do it again but with a back toss-

Amidst his verbosity, he watches Tsukishima gape, then baffled, then quietly stunned, before his lips twitch in that familiar way again, until it all erupts with a loud laugh. A laugh. With genuine volume. It's a sound that Tobio hasn't heard before. It stops his rambling. It empties his mind, makes him forget about the words he had known, words used in volleyball. Volleyball.

And yet it all goes back to that one sport.

"Would you-" Tsukishima chokes around his still heart-clenching laugh. "I-I-" He coughs, breathes in air, but there's still an astounded grin straining his lips. "Give a guy a breather, fuck-" Breathes in, and out, not pulling away from Tobio's grasp. He puts his unoccupied hand towards his chest. "You really just- I can't believe you're doing the same thing you did to Kozume-san to me-"

Tobio is reminded of who he was, where he was, and who he was talking to. He grumbles, brows furrowed. "Just answer me, damn it! This can make us place higher on Nationals-"

Finally regaining himself, Tsukishima pointedly sighs, patting Tobio's hold around him with gentleness Tobio didn't know he was ever capable of. Towards him, that is. "We have weeks before the Spring Tournament. Don't be absurd. And don't torment me with questions like that ever again."

Tobio scowls even further, but a pointed look from Tsukishima makes him hesitate. Tsukishima slyly smirks. "One at a time, King. One at a time."

Tobio's eyes narrow. Ugh. He turns away, off to find another volleyball for them to use. "Whatever." On his way, things turned oddly silent once again, and he looks around, noticing everyone either pointedly looking away, red on the face, or covering their mouths. Except Tsukishima who was attempting to choke Tadashi on the side for some reason.

Tobio raises a brow when he catches Shoyo's eye from where he had been grinning at him on the ball basket. "I never knew you'd be so shameless, Yamayama. A successful one, at that!"

"What the hell are you even talking about, you dumbass." Tobio rolled his eyes, slamming a volleyball on Shoyo's face, making the wing spiker loose his hold on the basket and falling on the floor with a yell. Tobio grabs another ball, easily spins it around a finger while walking, before tossing it to Hitachi who was guiding their practice on their side of the gym.

Tobio takes his past position and glares up at Tsukishima. "I'm making you do that again. Fuck your birthday privileges."

Tsukishima whistles, bored. "Not an unusual command from His Majesty. I wouldn't dare oppose."

Tobio gets ready for their junior's serve on Ryu's team. "Fuck you."

"Hm."

As always, there will always be a spiteful event that bites Tobio on the ass, and he can't dwell on new techniques, on new quicks, or even new ways to block. Oh, if only he could block out the numbers and words on the paper in front of him in class.

And as if life was taking pity on him, he hears the bell signaling the end of class when he was already on his way to close his textbooks. The practiced goodbye to their teacher and how he swiftly put his supplies inside his bag felt nothing but a blur, until he's just staring off into the corner of the classroom, not really thinking about anything.

"-ama-kun!"

Tobio moves his head away from where it was resting on the wooden mop around his hand. "Hm? Yes?"

He turns to see his classmate, Yasuhara, with a furrow on her brows. "Kageyama-kun, you can't be dozing off like that in the middle of cleaning. Alright. Here. Why don't you switch with me instead?"

The setter eyes the board eraser on her hand. He mentally shrugs. "Sure."

Yasuhara hums in contentment, gently tapping him on the arm. "Just don't tell anyone. Chin up!" And off she goes to mopping the corners Tobio probably forgot to clean himself.

He sighs, walking towards the board in front that's still filled with writing. I want to practice already... Tobio tries not to sigh harder just from his clear memory of the gymnasium. He's halfway through the writings when the sliding door of the classroom opens. Tobio turns his head and he frowns on queue. "What are you doing here?"

Tsukishima has his arms crossed, leaning on the doorway. "Would you just hurry up. I can't believe I have to wait for you."

Tobio's frown deepens. His hand on the eraser halts. "Who told you to wait for me?"

Tsukishima rolls his eyes. "Everyone's worried that a member of the volleyball freak duo hasn't arrived in the gym before me. I know. Impossible, right? Now hurry."

Ugh. "Then go there before me if bothers you so much, bastard." Tobio glares, now pointedly erasing the writings with force. "Fucking asshole..." He mutters under his breath. For once, he hopes the middle blocker hears it even with the distance.

A giggle from behind makes Tobio pause, then he remembers Yasuhara was still there.

She sheepishly chuckles as if reading his mind. Tobio turns, his hand still moving. "Sorry. I just really haven't heard you talking that way other than with Hinata-kun. I-I mean no offense, of course!"

"How mean of him, right?" Tsukishima seemed to take being ignored an offense, so he decided to move on his own and step beside Tobio in front of the board. Tobio grits his teeth in irritation, off to curse the blonde again when he sees him scoff, eyeing the board. "You missed a spot. How unusual of you with your perfection, Your Majesty."

Not even asking permission, he grabs Tobio's hand that was holding the eraser and starts using it himself on the writings close to the top edge of the board. With the stretch of his head, it's all but obvious, the lack of equality they have in terms of height, that is.

Tobio's brow twitches at even noticing. ...Too close. Tsukishima still had a hold around his wrist, still not finished with erasing on the other, and his shoulder bag is a heavy weight beside Tobio's arm.

The setter's eyes land on an unusually unbuttoned collar of the ever-sophisticated Class 4 student named Tsukishima Kei. It draws Tobio on his adam's apple, and, ultimately, a peak on his collarbone, past his vest and unmarked by a necklace or a mole. Heat rushes in waves on Tobio's cheeks, sudden and all-too-similar to a tsunami more than anything. Fuck, fuck, fuck-

"There." Tsukishima finally, finally, steps away and lets go of his wrist as well. He looks down at the mortified Tobio. He doesn't seem to notice. He always seemed to not notice anything- "I even have to do your cleaning duties for you now, Your Majesty? You've truly fallen off your throne."

Shut up, shut up, shUT UP...!!! "Ugh!" Tobio grits his teeth, pushing Tsukishima out of his way to exit the classroom. He doesn't even say goodbye to Yasuhara. Gods. Did Yasuhara see? Tobio shakes his head, feeling humiliated.

Tobio gasps when he bumps into someone.

"OW! Watch where- huh? Kageyama? Wow, you really are late, that's so embarrassing for you-"

Embarrassing. Tobio feels like he's gonna puke. His face twists. He even lets Shoyo get a hold of his face, even with how awkward it is with their height different. Height difference. Tobio wants to die.

"Kageyama!"

He flinches, vision unblurring. Tobio first sees the worried expression on Shoyo, unnaturally serious. "What's up with you? You look weird."

Tobio grits his teeth. "It's nothing."

Shoyo's eyes narrow. He clicks his tongue, unfamiliarly roughened. "Nothing, my ass. Let's go."

Tobio only looks down. He lets himself get pulled away. It's like he's fully separate from consciousness, even if his rationality says otherwise, glaring at it. Concrete turns to grass, then dirt, then grass again. Finally, they stop in front of a bench behind the school buildings.

Tobio hesitantly sits down. The wind of mid-afternoon makes the hairs around his neck stand up. He breathes in. He closes his eyes and focuses on the way Shoyo was turned away from him. He swallows, then sighs.

Shoyo glances at him. "Do you want to talk about it?"

Tobio looks away, towards the gym. He shuffles his foot and notices he has his shoelaces untied. The sky is as bright as the second day of their Tokyo camp. He still recalls it months later. He thinks of shared pennies. Of glares. Of first highs. Of quiet that lasted more than five minutes. Of a tight string around his neck. Of the walks home. Of glares under glasses. Of an unrecognizable laugh.

He thinks, and lets himself be, left himself get lost in its tides for the first time.

Tobio looks at Shoyo in the eyes. "I think I like Tsukishima."

Shoyo freezes. Then, ultimately, with a volume that threatens to reach across islands until Kyushu- "You WHAAAAAAAAT?!"

Tobio pulls away from Shoyo's hand and plugs his poor ears with his fingers. It's an honest attempt, even if being after the fact. "Fucking hell, tone it down will you." Tobio slightly groans.

As if remembering that he just witnessed Tobio go through the stages of grief, Shoyo gasps, like a bird. How ironic. "Fuck! Sorry! Are you okay, I didn't- I mean wAITTTTT!!!!! Stop distracting me from the fact that you just confessed you like-"

Tobio rolls his eyes, shutting up the ginger with a hand around his potty mouth. "Would you like the whole world hear about your wisdom, you asshole?"

Shoyo quacks, full-on quacks, and slaps his hand away. "You even SOUND like him now! Are you sure you're not down with a fever?! Maybe midterms is getting to you-"

Tobio clicks his tongue. "I'm serious. Can you stop fucking talking now." He narrows his gaze.

Shoyo makes a quick, zipping motion on his mouth. "Yep. Yes sir. Shutting up now." Then, he sheepishly smiled. Then froze. "Okay, but like, you're serious serious."

Tobio looks away. "I'm quitting."

"Oh, wow, you really are, hahahaha-" The spiker's laugh turns full-on manic, on the edge of insanity. "Wow. Is it really that bad to like Tsu-" From Tobio's glare, Shoyo smiles, realizing his mistake. "To like him?"

Tobio deadpans. "What do you think." His mortification already died down from how ridiculous Shoyo had been acting. Now, he wants to play volleyball again. They probably already wasted thirty minutes of practice and just thinking about it makes Tobio frown. "Let's go back. We're already late for warm-ups."

"Are you seriously just leaving me with that big of a bombshell-"

Outside of it all, brushing off all the facts and those he already knows like clockwork, Tobio finds out that it's not surprising he came to like Tsukishima. He still questions why he'd like someone who insults him all the time, however, but that thought is one that makes Tobio have a headache beside the others. He had only been embarrassed that he realized it in a public space, without giving him space, without Tsukishima giving him space, to get a hold of himself.

He had never tried bungee jumping, but maybe the feeling is close to that, from the videos Tobio had watched. Or that feeling of his stomach twisting when they all went to the amusement park while they were still in Tokyo and rode a dinosaur-themed drop tower. His mouth gaped between Shoyo's delighted laugh, Tadashi's blood-curling scream, Tsukishima's silent grunts of fright, and Hitoka's silence. It's a funny feeling. It didn't feel as terrifying as everyone seemed to make it out to be.

It's just different.

And, as if spiting him now, as he relishes in the new, Tsukishima also flutters with change. Maybe it's the transition of autumn to winter. Maybe it's the thill of Karasuno gaining a place in the Spring Tournament once again. Maybe it's because his parents are coming home in a few weeks for his birthday.

"December is your month, Tobio!" Kazuyo used to tell him. And maybe it is.

His. He never tried to use it outside volleyball. His toss. His spikers. His team. His school. They are all his. Outside of volleyball, it's unfamiliar territory, even with a tyrant like Kageyama Tobio. And yet,

"Tobio-kun?" Tobio turns away from his bottle and lays his attention to a smiling Hitoka. It's still shy and shaky around the edges, but she's improving in her confidence. "Would you like something specific for your birthday?"

All footsteps stopped inside the gymnasium. Tobio tilted his head. "My birthday?" He tries to think about it. He never thought about his birthday as a big event for a long time. He'll even practice on it if it wasn't in a weekday unless his family has something planned, which is rarely. This year, it's different, though. "I don't need anything."

Hitoka blinks up at him, before smiling kindly. "Tobio-kun, I'm not talking about what you need. I'm asking about what you would like. Do you like surprises?"

Tobio blinks back. "Well..." He feels unsure. He then catches himself and brushes it off. "I don't mind it. We have classes that day, anyway. And practice-"

"Oh my god, do you only think about practice, you big oaf!" Shoyo tosses himself towards Tobio's side. Tobio is made to catch him with a hand around his waist without no other choice. He stops himself from snapping the spiker's spine in half.

The setter rolls his eyes. "So what? The Spring Tournament is next month-"

"Tobio-kun." Tadashi steps close, laughing lightly. Why is everyone talking with that tone towards him? Tobio grumbles, feeling stuffy. "You're special to us. Of course we want to make your birthday enjoyable. Even if you think it's just one normal day to spend time playing volleyball."

Tobio feels his cheeks warm. He knows it's not from the cold air of mid-December. "...I'll be going on a ski trip with my family in Fujiyama the weekend before."

Shoyo wraps Tobio's arm around his shoulders himself. "Then we'll go to that restaurant Ukai-san took us to after practice on D-Day! Easy-peasy!"

Tobio looks down at him, Shoyo with an expecting grin. There are many restaurants that Ukai had already took them to so there aren't any concrete answers. Tobio looks up at the others waiting for his decision. The weight of it makes Tobio feel slightly awkward. "...Sure. That's fine."

Shoyo hollers, escaping away while waving his arms around the air, earning laughs from their juniors. Ryu appears out of nowhere and laughs while slapping Tobio on the back. He successfully caught himself before slipping from the heavy weight, still not used to it. "Finally turning seventeen, eh? It's about time! Your birthday takes way too long, Kageyama-kun!"

Tobio never really thought about it that way. He doesn't mind waiting. "I guess so..."

"Alright, alright!" Chikara claps in attention close to the gym doors. "Let's reserve the festivities later, 'kay? Finish your own drills and matches, everyone!"

A chorus of 'Ous!'s echoes around the room and Tobio immediately forgets about his birthday. He heads towards the nearby basket.

The following weekend, he tags along the itinerary Miwa planned for the four of them, wrapping their mother's bag around his own arm as she get a hold on his other. "Tobio, is school going well? I heard your finals are coming up."

Tobio flinches before he can stop it. His mother's expression softens ever-so slightly, patting his cheek. He leans his head even closer to it. "I'm trying to pass. And the Spring Tournament is near." It's been two years since she had accepted his want for a volleyball career instead of pursuing a bachelor's. It's also been a year since Tobio had seen his mother in front of him. He notices the whites of her hair are crawling up its ends higher than what he remembers. She feels real now.

His mother echoes 'trying' before laughing warmly. "Good thing you are trying, then. Did you place in the tournament?" He never updates his mother on the phone or in letters and returned postcards. His mother forbade it, always wanting to hear and see it from Tobio himself.

"We did. My team's strong." He slightly frowns at the loss of her gentle hand on his face, but she goes to cup his gloved hand, now sandwiching his arm as well.

"Still sad that you didn't pass in Shiratorizawa?" Her voice turns on the edge of caution. Tobio doesn't understand why she still finds the need to.

Tobio shakes his head. He won against Shiratorizawa. And he'll do it again. With his team. "I like Karasuno."

His mother sighs, relieved, guiding him to turn the same way his sister and father did as their sense of direction. "Good." She smiles fully. "Good! I'm glad, Tobio. Are you excited for the tournament, hm?"

"Excited?" Tobio blinks. He thinks about it, his mother watching him in amusement. Yet another expression that everyone keeps doing while looking at him as of recently. He looks back at her with a nod. "Other teams have new players as well. We'll have to adapt to them again."

"And you're already strategizing about it, too." She chuckles, then kisses his cheek. There's that warmth again. "What a smart boy I have as a son."

"Kaa-san..." Tobio looks around, starting to get embarrassed. Thankfully no vehicles or other pedestrians were coming their way.

"Hm?" She follows his line of sight before covering her mouth with the back of her hand, laughing. "Why are you getting all shy for? I haven't seen you in a while! Can a mother not kiss her son she hasn't seen in a while, now?" She teasingly scolds.

Tobio grimaces. "That's not what I meant."

"Why is Tobio red in the face?" Miwa interrupts them, a thick beanie hiding her curls. "You're teasing him to bits again, aren't you?" She snorts, gazing at their mother. "Come on, me and oyagi found the restaurant." She doesn't wait for them and just hurries inside the small restaurant door on their right. It looks to be an udon and ramen place with barbecue, from the posters it has outside.

"That child, when is she going to stop pertaining to her tou-san that way..." Their mother exasperatedly sighs. She gazes up at Tobio, with him being a head taller than her, smiling and patting his arm. "Come, Tobio. Let's not make them wait for long."

Tobio wordlessly follows his mother and when they step inside with their greetings, he feels himself sighs in relief at the warmth he didn't know he needed. It's a cozy place, with a traditional set-up. Staff seemed to give the food themselves towards numbered tables, and only two of them are currently occupied. Miwa and their father were already sitting with menus on the table behind the side of the counter, blocked off by a wall. Behind them, there's serving water and glass cups.

"Already ordering without us?" Their mother coos, before letting go of Tobio to sit beside her husband. "What are you planning to order, dear?"

"Ah, it's been almost a month without Japanese food even on the plane." The man seemed to already be full just from trying to choose what he'll eat. "I think I'll have tsukimi."

Miwa hums beside Tobio. "Their kitsune udon looks good." She turns to him. "Curry udon for you then, Tobio?"

"Ah, no." He places his menu down the table. "I'll have hakata ramen."

"Hakata?!"

Tobio startles at the chorus of his family. He looks around and notices that the other few customers glanced their way but didn't show any other reaction. "What? Why?" Did he say something weird?

Miwa snaps her mouth shut. "Nothing."

"Not curry this time?" Their father whispers to himself in wonder.

"You don't want udon, dear?" His mother blinks across him. "Maybe they have a curry-flavored ramen here-"

Tobio makes a sound in confusion. "It's not that I don't want udon or curry, I just want to try the hakata. A teammate said it's good."

"Oh..."

Now, they're just acting unusual. Tobio frowns. "I don't order curry all the time."

Miwa snorts. "Yes, you do."

"Who's the teammate that recommended it to you? That Hinata-kun of yours?"

"No. Tsukishima."

"Tsukishima?" Miwa echoes. "Huh."

"You know him, Miwa?" Their father questions.

"Isn't that the teammate that you keep mumbling about being always an asshole?" She raises a brow at Tobio.

"What?" Their mother frowns.

"What?" Tobio frowns. "Well- he is, but." He looks down, then looks away. "Only sometimes now."

"Only sometimes?" Their mother's face is slowly turning horrified. "Tobio, are you getting bullied by this Tsukishima?" She sternly asks, expecting a direct question.

"What? No!" Tobio gapes. He shakes his head. "He wouldn't. He just likes-" Likes what? Embarrassing you? Calling you your middle school nickname? Complaining about you all the time? Tobio winces at the thoughts. It won't help his case at all if he verbalizes them out. He looks back at his family. "I actually like him. He'll never bully me."

They're past that. They don't say it out loud but they're past those older days. Tobio's not lying when Tsukishima rarely acts like an asshole to him these days, as odd as it is. He still calls Tobio nicknames, but there's no genuine spite, no venom in his complaints. It's just- teasing. Banter. Maybe.

That's something they haven't established between each other yet. Verbally or otherwise. Kageyama still has to figure that one out.

Miwa whistles. "Like?"

"Miwa." Their mother glares at the young woman. Miwa only looks away with puckered lips. "Sweetie, what do you mean by 'like'?"

"It means what it means." Tobio says the same time as his father. When he looks at the older man in surprise, he only sees him grinning. Tobio faces his mother whose brows wrinkled even more at her husband's antics, slapping him on the shoulder. "Are there any other likes?"

"Well, Tobio, when a person likes another person-"

"Miwa!" Their mother clicks her tongue. "Tobio, you can like someone either romantically or platonically. Sometimes it's even a combination." She remains patient with him.

"Why are you telling him that. He's already seventeen." Miwa says with her hands raised for a waiter to take their order, a teasing look on her face. "The day after tomorrow." She helpfully adds.

"They can never be too old." Their father sighs.

"What are you talking about." Tobio deadpans, on the brink of exploding from his confusion as he glances between the three of them.

"Do you like this Tsukishima as a friend?" His mother finally says.

"We're not... friends." Tobio grimaces around the word. His mother notices and is about to quip in but he interrupts. "But I like him."

"...Okay." His mother blinks. He watches her breath in. "Okay." He watches her breathe out. "Okay! I-I-" She catches herself stuttering, before clearing her throat, ignoring her husband and daughter's matching chuckles. "And how do you feel about that, Tobio?"

"This feels like therapy all over again."

"Miwa, you are ruining the moment."

"What even is "the moment" right now, dear?"

"The "Your son's confessing about his affections towards another guy" moment, you idiot!"

"I don't mind it." Tobio says amidst the ruckus he hadn't been in for thirteen months. "He's annoying sometimes but..." He frowns, looking down at his chopsticks. "He does confusing things and it almost seems like he cares but he doesn't say it." He huffs. "It's complicated." He ultimately shakes his head again. Verbalizing his feelings about the middle blocker is harder than he thought. It's perhaps messier than his thoughts, even.

"Are you finally gonna have a facebook account and have that as your status?"

"Miwa, stop it!" A groan. "When is our food going to arrive..."

"Kaa-san, it's been five minutes." A laugh.

"Do you have a photo of Tsukishima, Tobio? 'To-san's curious."

"Kaito!"

"What?" The man laughs. "I'm genuinely curious."

"He's just trying to see if Kei-kun's a handsome guy." Miwa snorts.

"Kei's his name?" Their father seemed thoughtful. "That'll complicate things when marriage comes around. ...Well. I made it work."

"Marriage?" Tobio stills.

"Marriage?!" Their mother is close to screeching. "He's just turning seventeen, you stupid, stupid man!"

Their father looks at his wife with eyes along crinkled edges. "Tenka, we got married when we were twenty."

"That was back then! Stop encouraging him!"

"A year and a half and you're still calling him Tsukishima?" Miwa pats his head, saying thank you to the server who put her udon in front of her. It's the first one to arrive on their table. "You're still not close, huh?"

"It feels weird without his permission." Tobio inhales the aromatic smell of the kitsune udon. He can't wait for his ramen. A ramen that Tsukishima offhandedly said was one of those he likes when their conversation after practice was about this ongoing family trip. "I can't just call him that all of a sudden." He can't even say it cities away from the blonde. It feels inappropriate. Not allowed to be said by him yet. Yet.

Tobio will hold onto that word until he finally gains the right to say otherwise.

"How sweet." Miwa coos. "You really like him, huh?"

Tobio doesn't notice his own expression softening. But with the only people who had known him from the start, they do. And they watch it happen in shameless awe. "Yeah. I do. For some reason." He huffs.

The goodbyes leave him aching more than the last when their parents turn away to board their plane back to Singapore. His mother promised they'll try to go to Nationals with a tight hug, like she doesn't want to let go. Tobio will never blame them if they grow busy again. He understands. And there is no other feeling more than wanting to be with them again sooner. No anger and no resentment.

So he accepts Miwa's hug as they walk away, back to her car. He lets his older sister ruffle his hair and kiss him on the temple, a rare thing, something she only does when their parents are freshly gone or she catches Tobio kneeling in front of Kazuyo's altar in their house, before she too leaves for her work in Sendai the following morning. Then, Tobio's alone in their house once more.

One blink and the feeling of holding tightly to their father as they go down the snowy slope of the skiing resort they went to, his father's laugh when their sleigh almost topples them over towards another group of customers taking pictures, all of it is now not the present but a moment from yesterday. He was never one to take pictures, Miwa was. He knows she collected a lot of them on their two-day trip. He emails her to send them to him.

He had already changed into a thick sweater and matching sweatpants, their house's heater not strong enough to fight off the crippling cold of the already-there winter. Tobio opens his other inboxes and sees multiple from Shoyo, three from Tadashi, one from Hitoka, some from their senpai's and juniors, and none from Tsukishima.

Tobio tries not to wallow up in disappointment. He said it himself, to his family, at that. They're not friends, not really. It's complicated. It's confusing. He's still left to understand everything.

One day, he's going to finally understand. And that's enough, for now.

Tobio looks up at his new clock on the wall. 11:27 PM. 11. 27. 11 and 27. Numbers that had no significance in the past now makes Tobio hide his face on the couch pillow under him. He huffs a difficult breath. He'll sleep it off. Maybe that'll help.

The ringing on his phone makes him groan. He picks it up from the coffee table, answering without looking at the recipient. "Yes?" He hears how rough his voice sounds.

"Are you sick?!"

Tobio pushes the device away from his poor ears, blinking up at the Hinata Shoyo on its screen. He groans again. He pulls it close, a bit far now. "What do you want, dumbass. I literally just came back."

"Not even thankful for having such a great friend that's trying to check how you're doing after your trip! Hah?! You turn seventeen and this is how you're already acting!!"

Tobio ends the call. He slumps down the pillow again, letting his phone drop to the carpeted floor now.  Moments after, it rings. He groans louder. "What, you dumbass?"

"Hello to you too, wow." Tobio drops his phone. He stares down at it in horror. He suddenly feels more awake than he had been. "Hello? King?"

Damn that moron...

Tobio slowly picks up his phone, weary hands shaking and unrelaxed from how he laid on the sofa. "...What. Why did you suddenly call."

"A complete dismissal after such a greeting." Tsukishima sighs on the other line. Tobio shivers at the sound. He needs to turn up the heater, he knew it. "You're so harsh, Your Majesty."

Tobio sighs, slightly impatient. He likes Tsukishima but he hasn't slept in 18 hours and it's getting to him, no matter how much he wants to stay on the phone. He kind of, really, badly, wants to, now that he thinks about it more. But he's about to pass out. And passing out while on a call with Tsukishima is a much more terrifying thought than pleasant. "I'm tired. Tell me what you need already." Maybe, he can close his eyes. Tobio closes his eyes.

"Hinata was the one who told me to check up on you." Tsukishima snorts. Tobio relishes in the sound he hasn't heard for two days. "Something about you sounding like you're ill. That'd be a surprise."

Tobio might have hummed. "M'not." His attention's getting foggy by the second. "Nh... I'm going to fall asleep if you keep talking."

"Better end the call, then."

"Right." Tobio murmurs.

The last thing he hears is a static chuckle near his ears.

When he tightly holds onto one of the doors in the gymnasium, it making a loud sound from the sudden push, Tobio once again mentally thanks his still-existing body clock to have woken him up at 5:30 AM without an alarm. He thought he had set it up before sleeping, but he guesses he didn't.

He doesn't notice the gawking he's receiving nor his loud panting. He just knows he barely arrived on time for morning practice. He won. He might not have gone through his usual morning jog before going to school, but his run might as well have been that. Tobio thinks it definitely counts.

"Tobio-kun!"

He doesn't even register he has fallen down before he is faced with upside-down faces staring at him with different kinds of expressions. He frowns, finally recovering from his lack of breath. "W... What..."

"Did you wake up late?" Shoyo's jaw drops. "That's it! You're definitely sick! On your birthday, too!"

"Am not!" Tobio scowls. He sits up, the others moving away for him. He combs through his already sweaty hair he just washed thirty minutes ago in five minutes. "You... you literally called me at 11 PM! I told you I just arrived from the airport, you dumbass!" He smacks Shoyo on the neck. He still sounds breathy.

"Grh!"

"So you did wake up late?" Yuu laughs. "This is a new revelation! You can actually be late on your own!"

It's an indirect jab when him and Shoyo arrived a long while later after he just confessed he liked Tsukishima. Tobio tries not to splutter around the memory in front of everyone. "Just this once." He grunts. He goes to the bench, laying down his bag on it. "What's the big deal?" Everyone's still eyeing him like a hawk.

He sees Tadashi snickering in his peripheral. "Alright, everyone! On me!"

Tobio goes still from wiping excess sweat from his forehead as everyone starts singing the happy birthday song to him. Shoyo's holding a dark blue-frosted cake with a small crown on its top right, decorated with golden frosting that looked like curtains around the edges. There's also pearls in various sizes scattered around the base. Then, finally, that warmth again. It's become familiar now. Long after his first birthday surprise with their former senpai's.

"Happy birthday, Kageyama-san!"

"Happy birthday, Kageyama-senpai!"

"Come on! Blow it!"

Tobio's lips quiver, gazing nervously at the phones pointed at him before looking back at the candle displaying the numbers 1 and 7. He closes his eyes.

I want this team to continue even further.

He means it more than the last. Than the last. Than the other countless ones. More and more, year by year. It's a cycle he willingly wants to partake in, one he doesn't want to end.

Tobio's eyes finally flutter open, and he blows the flames of his candles out.

His.

"Wow, did you wish for the universe or what, Yamayama. That took so long!"

Tobio gets a hold of the ginger's hair and the cake's board, the latter more careful than the former but both being pushed close to one another. "Repeat that again?" He pleasantly smiles with his eyes in crescents, veins popping from his forehead.

"I'm sorry! Don't smash the cake! Don't smash the cake!"

Everyone laughs as Tobio lets go of Shoyo with a roll of his eyes, holding the cake himself. He eyes the fondant crown, taking a closer look. Then, a familiar substance dripping from his face.

"Oops?"

"H-Hinata-senpai, you're so dead..."

"Might want to run away now, while you're at it."

But, instead of complying with everyone's expectations, Tobio just wipes it off with a thumb, not hesitating to lick it. He blinks with a pleasant hum. "It's bubblegum flavored." He looks down at it in wonder. "Who chose it?" He looks up with the question.

"Tsukki did!" Tadashi quips.

"What?" Tsukishima snaps his head from where he had been picking up his glasses towards Tadashi.

"What?" Tobio's eyes slightly widen. He gazes at the blonde who was occupied with grabbing the running away Tadashi on the collar.

"Yep. He did!" Shoyo had stood up from where he had been unceremoniously thrown on the familiar floors of the gym, leaning his weight on Tobio's arm still holding the cake. "Hehe! Guess he knows his sweets real well, huh, Yamayama?"

There's twinkling in the ginger's eyes that is borderline up for trouble rather than up for winning a set. Tobio doesn't like it. His eyes narrow. "What the fuck?"

Shoyo sticking his tongue on the side and their other teammates' whistling and cackles doesn't help. Tobio's face twist in confusion, feeling like he's missing something. Then he's reminded of what he had just been told and takes a curious glace at Tsukishima. He seems to be finally done with strangling Tadashi, the latter even grinning behind him. Tobio looks at them up and down and notices Tsukishima was closer than he had been moments before.

Before he could speak, Tsukishima looked down with a sigh, as if already exhausted. There's his familiar glasses laying on the bridge of his nose. He steadies it with an already taped finger, Tobio notices. He doesn't hear the next words until the world slams it back to him.

"Happy birthday, King." It comes with Tsukishima awkwardly looking away mid-way, then looking at him again, letting it stay for the few deafening beats of Tobio's heart, before ultimately pulling away.

Tobio already misses it.

He already knows he's probably red as a tomato now. His mouth makes an upside-down smile as he swallows, taking another glance, and when he feels it's enough, it's enough, he looks down at his cake. "...Thanks." His. He hopes this moment is his.

His present. His own present. In his December. His birthday. Maybe it can all be his.

"Hooookay, come on, Yamayama, let's get you stretching for practice-" Shoyo pulls him down with a whisper while dragging him away. "You should try to calm down. You're red as a beetle..!!"

The last comment makes Tobio frown, immediately sobering up as he lets Hitoka get a hold of his cake to put it back inside its box, even with the finger-shaped smudge on its side. He starts stretching his arms again. "Isn't it supposed to be a ladybug, you dumbass?"

"Ah. Really?" Shoyo chortles. "Tomato-potatoes!"

"Now you're just pissing me off." Tobio glowers down at him from where he's stretching his legs.

Shoyo sticks his tongue out. "Be thankful you have birthday privileges or else I would have said something nasty by now!"

"To hell with birthday privileges." Tobio mutters.

The day goes on just like Tobio had thought, except more than last year, his teammates, especially the first years, keep asking him for advice like awaiting chicks in front of their father rooster. Something about spending his birthday to the utmost limits and forgetting about how intimidating he looks, Ryu says.

Does he really look like he's always scowling all the time? Tobio frowns at the familiar thought. Shoyo had been the first one to say how scary he looked face to face, and their senpai's never filtered their thoughts when it comes to him. Shoyo, he doesn't know the bastard is always up to somethingㅡbut Tobio knows their senpai's mean well when it comes down to it.

He still feels conscious about it, however. Especially when he doesn't mind his juniors talking to him about volleyball. And, along the way, as Tobio corrects Teramoto's spiking form, he realizes it makes him feel useful. It feels good for his words to be heard. Karasuno's been showing him that.

Tobio feels that warm feeling again from analyzing it all.

Late afternoon comes around and just like what Shoyo had said, Chikara called for an early end in practice. Inside a restaurant that they have visited two times in the past after matches, it's a familiar sight of figures clothed in Karasuno sweatshirts and packed shorts, orders of food being thrown around and making the captain exasperated and asking for one-by-one's, taking the waiter's job.

Shoyo had dragged Tobio beside him as always, now in the middle seat from everybody. Tobio doesn't comment on it.

"Ah! Sorry, we're late, everyone!" The sliding door opens and reveals a freshly showered Tadashi with Tsukishima trailing behind him. Tobio looks away, feeling awkward when Tsukishima notices his attention.

He thought the two best friends would sit at the end of the same row as him, but Shoyo waves frantically, as if he himself hasn't seen the two for decades, and makes Tobio scoot over. "Move, Yamayama!"

"The hell-"

At the brush of a shoulder carrying a familiar red bag, Tobio flinches and he snaps his head towards his left. He's greeted by an offhanded glance by Tsukishima, grabbing for that same bag to put it behind them. Tobio's mouth gapes, watching Tsukishima fiddle with his touch screen to skip towards another song, his headphones on and around his rimmed glasses.

As Tobio looks away, he fights both the urge to blush like a maiden and smack the living shit out of Shoyo, knowing he was the one behind all this. Though, moments after where they have finally been served their orders, Tobio wonders how Shoyo could have convinced Tsukishima to comply to the change of seating arrangements. Maybe Tadashi had a hand with it. They're always scheming these days, those two. Tobio's starting to suspect that Shoyo might have told Tadashi about his feelings.

Immediately, Tobio shakes his head at the thought. No way. Shoyo wouldn't do that to him. He might be stubborn but he knows when Tobio could really be pissed off or the right triggers for it. Wondering where Tobio even started to trust that Shoyo could know him that well, he's interrupted by the guy himself grabbing on his arm.

"Yamayama, how was your trip? You haven't told us about it yet!"

Tobio raises a brow at the sudden topic, but he just silently opens his phone and shows both Shoyo and the other onlookers the photos Miwa had sent him earlier in the afternoon.

"Wow. Kageyama-senpai looks so much like his mother..."

"What the hell, your sister is a whole hottie!"

"Tobio-kun... wearing a beanie with long bunny ears..."

With every question, Tobio squirms in his seat, his raised hand holding his phone slowly going down. Perhaps he might have been moving too much, because when he was about to finally pull his phone away from Shoyo's screaming, a hold on his hip makes Tobio freeze, his arms floating around the air.

Then, a murmur. "Stop squirming."

Tobio resists the urge to shiver, and to turn his neck to see what Tsukishima looked like. As if like it wasn't there in the first place, the hand on his clothed skin moves away.

Tobio had never sat so still in his life until that night.

The coldness of mid-late evening sobers Tobio up a bit, though he didn't have any alcoholic drinks, no matter how many times his senpai's (Ryu and Yuu) wanted for him to just take a little sip of root beer. When he breathes out, there's smoke in front of his lips, and he can feel the reddening on his nose worsening. He pulls his scarf tighter on his face, acting as a mask.

He hears the sliding door of the restaurant open beside him, and sees Shoyo with different bags hanging off of his hands and whole arm. Tobio's brows furrow. "I told you I'll be grabbing those myself later."

But Shoyo just shrugs him off. "Yeah, yeah!" He stretches, looking even smaller with all the gifts and his big puffer jacket, the hood heavy on his orange locks. He smiles brightly at Tobio. "Let's go!"

Tobio feels slight hesitation. He glances at the restaurant's doors, murmurs of conversation and laugher heard even from outside. They had already said their goodbye's, and they still have morning practice tomorrow.

The restaurant, Tobio easily realizes, is close to his house, only a few more blocks and then they're there. Tobio had never stayed outside this long on a school day, but it seems Shoyo is used to such a predicament, with how boisterous he still is while questioning Tobio about the Fujiyama trip.

He is then brought back by Shoyo's howl of a laugh. "I can't believe Kaito-san brought up marriage!" He wipes tears from his eyes, one hand long free from how Tobio basically snatched away some of the gifts for himself to hold. The spiker's grin turns sly. "So? What'cha think about it?"

Tobio splutters, skin fuming. "To hell thinking about it!"

Shoyo cackles. "Look how red you are! I didn't even mention any names!"

Tobio huffs with an eye-roll, trying to calm his beating heart, them turning to a long-familiar electricity post he'd seen for over a decade. "As if there is anyone else..."

With his easy admission, Shoyo's eyes widen, letting out a choke-off sound. Tobio doesn't know why he still gets so startled. It's been two months. "Wow, you... I can't believe there'd be a day you're talking so positively about Stingyshima, of all people..."

The heat crawls back up. "Shut up." He looks down, opening the gate of his house and leaving it open for Shoyo to step inside as well. "Is he really that bad..."

Shoyo snaps his head towards him with a scandalized gasp, kicking the gate closed with the jerking motion of his whole body at the visceral reaction. "ARE YOU SERIOUS?! You, the same guy who almost punched his ass off at first meeting..."

Tobio rolls his eyes again as they walk inside the front doors at Shoyo's groaning behind him as if he was about to faint. "That was a long time ago."

"Give a guy some slack!" Shoyo whines, removing his shoes and bee-lining towards the couch. He shamelessly lets himself fall down on his back. Tobio snorts at the sight. Bastard didn't even excuse his intrusion. "Out of everyone in our team, it really had to be Tsukki himself!"

Tobio winces at the nickname. "Don't call him that. He'll kill you." He starts moving the couch, with Shoyo still haphazardly laying down on it. "And would you move out of the damn way? You haven't even showered, you dumbass."

Shoyo looks at him with helpless eyes, as if he can't believe the version of Kageyama Tobio he's seeing for himself. "Are you even hearing yourself? You're actually starting to defend him now. How worse will you be if you guys actually get married... may the Gods bless me..."

Tobio stops pushing the couch and smacks a couch pillow on Shoyo's face. "Shut up! We are not getting married!"

"Yeah, right!" A scoff is heard beneath the pillow before Shoyo finally jumps away from the couch, kneeling down to push it with Tobio. "If ten years from now, I'm attending your wedding as the Best Man, I'll be laughing at your face!"

Tobio scowls in spite. "Who says I'm making you my Best Man! And again, me and Tsukishima are not getting married, you bastard!"

Shoyo ignores him with a snicker. "Who else, then? Yamaguchi-kun? He'll be Tsukishima's, obviously!"

This whole hypothetical wedding is starting to get on Tobio's nerves. It's taking him everything not to continue imagining himself in a white suit and Tsukishima in black.

...Maybe, they'll have their colors as the main palette for decorations. Yellows and navy streaks quickly fill Tobio's mind, the cushion colored in them with fine silk, streamers and ribbons in their wedding hall sprinkled with bouquets with different flowers and plants. A wedding councilor guiding them through their I do's, their families and friends, their teammates and juniors all watching them with smiles and tear-struck faces. Tsukishima holding his cheek, stepping closer...

Tobio feels himself almost go into cardiac arrest. He hears something rip as the echoing in his ear furthers.

"Holy shit, Yamayama, you just destroyed Kaito-san's beloved couch while you were daydreaming."

Tobio flinches from Shoyo's voice and true enough, when he looks down and notices his tight grip on the couch's rest, there's loose fabric there, pure cotton peeking from the hole. "Fuck."

Shoyo whistles. "Wise words. Now, would you like to tell me what you just imagined while your face was blowing up more than Mt. Fuji or what?"

Tobio slaps a hand on his face, gripping tightly. "Shut up."

"Grh- let- go-! Kageyama...!"

After a bit of tossing and turning, Tobio throws his head back on the couch, legs crossed and sitting on one of the two futons he had grabbed from the storage room, watching some ridiculous movie Shoyo had picked out for them to sleep to, with Shoyo munching on a bag of chips and hugging a pillow with his other hand.

Such arrangements had been a normal thing ever since Tobio first went to Shoyo's house after the entrance ceremony, with how it was 'unfair' he still hasn't been in Tobio's house before. Tobio never verbally declared his permission, but perhaps things are always just like that when it comes to Shoyo. He barges in Tobio's life, declares himself as the setter's life, then makes Tobio put up with them being teammates. He demands, and with his own, Tobio complies.

They know each other's wants, and Tobio sometimes wonders how they could easily do it. But when he thinks about it, there's not much to think about. Maybe it's from how similar they truly are. That same drive to win, to improve, and to start all over again.

It's like finding someone who already knows how you function before really knowing who you are, outside formalities and first impressions. Their first meeting was a mess, perhaps even laughable, but firsts are the start of something that could be fundamental in their lives.

And right now, Shoyo doesn't really look like he wants to be somewhere else so. That's that.

So when Shoyo leans his head on his shoulder, Tobio doesn't push him away. When Shoyo asks, "Did you have fun today?" with a sleepy smile on his face, Tobio doesn't lie.

He says, "I did."

It's short. His quips have always been short but straightforward. Just like his direct demands in games. Shoyo doesn't question it. Never seemed to. He only chuckles and accepts the response, closing his eyes. The bag of chips were already unfinished and tucked inside a trash can in the kitchen. A second movie is rolling in the TV but it's minutes before midnight and they both wake up at five.

"I'm glad, Kageyama. I'm glad."

The new year greets them with temple prayers, hot chocolate and coffee, and ultimately countless of practices. It's different from last year, however, with Tobio trying to keep his nerves in check and trying to remember the size and feeling of the Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium. He doesn't want to miss sets again, though it was understandable that he did, in the past. But he'd rather avoid it.

There is also no Sugawara-senpai to teach him new setting techniques, but Tobio sees himself doing the teaching for their junior who is also a setter. They're planning to put him in for a change of pace sometime when they're finally in a real match, but for now, he is teaching. Even after a couple of months, he's still not used to having someone younger than him on the team, even if he, too, was a senpai back in middle school.

"K-Kageyama-senpai, is this correct?"

Tobio hums as he looks over Ito's form for a third tempo set. Seeing the slight bend on the junior setter's elbow, Tobio gets a hold of Ito's arm, raising his eyes from the flinch he feels as he corrects the form. "Don't forget that how you angle your arm is also important. Either the ball might slip away from your own fingers or your spiker's."

He looks up to check if Ito was listening, and as if on cue, the younger nods fervently, albeit looking warm on the face and neck.

Tobio's brows furrow. "Are you okay? Feeling cold feet?"

Ito startles and shakes his head, erupting into a wavy but big smile. "Nothing, senpai! I'm okay!"

Tobio assesses him more for a few beats. He notices the junior starting to get nervous. Tobio grunts. "If you're sure. Would you like to test it out?"

Ito blinks. "Test it out? W-with you, senpai?"

Tobio tilts his head. "Who else? Everyone else is doing their own training." He casts a look around the gym and the others are also in pairs just like him and Ito, with the juniors being paired by the seniors so they can get to know how each other works better.

Ito sets a hand on the side of his face to scratch on it a little. "Ah, but I'm not that confident about it, yet..."

Tobio softly scoffs, not knowing his mouth is quirked upwards. "Don't worry. We're just trying it out." He looks down at his feet, making one go up to stretch it behind him. "I also need to catch up on spiking myself. You're not the only one benefitting from this, if that's what you're worried about."

Ito still looks hesitant, but there's that gleam of determination in his eyes, trying something he hasn't before. "Excuse my inexperience, senpai..."

Tobio hums again, in the back of his mind, but he gets ready for a jump, and lets Ito set for him without assistance, this time. Mid-way, Tobio slows for the tempo, and just as he was falling down, the ball collides with his palm and he sends it over the net, almost grazing it. He steadies his footing with an easy breath and turns to Ito.

Following the ball from the opposite side, Ito has an amazed look in his face, in which he settles to his own shaking hands, then finally Tobio. "K-Kageyama-senpai, that was...!"

"Was that alright?" Tobio steps closer. "You did good for a first time."

Ito absolutely beams, grinning until his face looked like it was on the edge of ripping. "That was so cool, senpai!!! I-I know it was a bit low but... but you still hit it!"

Tobio softly hums. "I practiced a lot with Sugawara-san myself, before he graduated. Don't rush yourself."

Ito smiles. "I know! I admire him a lot, as well. But, ah... tempos other than the fast ones really are hard to get used to..."

Feeling like he needs it, Tobio lightly pats the junior on the shoulder, startling him. "That's why we practice. And I'm different from our spikers. They jump and hit differently than I do."

Not taking it as a threat, surprisingly, Ito just nods and beams even more. "I'm thankful to be working with you, Kageyama-senpai! Please teach me more of your knowledge!"

Tobio's eyes slightly widen at the sudden declaration, blinking a couple of times. Before he feels his lips curve once more. "Of course. Now, would you like to try again? We'll use a water bottle, this time."

Hours turn into days, and suddenly, the gymnasium ceiling is once again higher, more than a few, and in glimpses, lights are the ones staring back at Tobio. It's a rush of instinct, all honed from his experience, and those same hours of practice before that very moment.

Serve. Set. Block. Receive. Spike. The sound of the piercing whistle from all the other courts in this one gymnasium is all but a background noise. Visions of actions and numbers flow past Tobio's mind as he jumps, and lands, and tries to catch another chance ball.

There's his team beside him, behind him, cheer squad screaming his name. Always there, they are always there. Tobio can't explain when he'd started describing it as something comforting. Comfort. "Are you comfortable?" His Asahi-senpai's past words makes him remember to breathe in. Again, another quick with Shoyo. It's 12-15, their favor. The game feels like it just started, but it's been minutes.

The other team calls for a timeout. He is patted on the back and is told a good job by Kinoshita. He is given a new towel by Hitoka. Yoshida, his middle blocker junior, is standing beside him, re-adjusting his headband that is pulling his bangs back amidst his sweat. Tobio nods at Takeda as the teacher beams at all of them with that familiar smile of his.

Maybe Tobio should be worried about how relaxed he is. Shoyo had already commented, more like teased, on it a couple of times already, saying it's now his turn to have a fever. It is their second match of the day and they can finally go back to their hotel. A small one, but it's an upgrade made by Teramoto's, their junior wing spiker, parents' donation.

Apart from it all, from him wondering about what they'll be having for dinner as a pass-by, Tobio thinks about the possible ways the enemy team will stop his sets again.

He thinks. And ends it with a small, unnoticed hum. It's seconds before the timeout is over. Tobio looks up to turn to Ukai. "Can we put Ito in when they stop Hinata two more times? I want to try something."

Said junior jumps from where he had been standing with the other reserves, catching his name out of nowhere when he had just been staring at the ground, zoning out. Now, he looks absolutely horrified. "S-S-SENPAI...?!?!"

Tobio just glances at him, before facing Ukai's own startled expression. "Can we?"

Ukai's mouth opens and closes for a moment, looking at Takeda who just smiled reassuringly though he doesn't fully know what Tobio's words indicated, then to the third years who just shrugged, along with Yuu's, "Could make a miracle!" little chirp. Ukai turns to Ito who was slowly melting from the attention. "Ito-kun, are you willing to play a couple sets?"

Ito looks like he's going to throw up. Tobio fully faces his junior. "I'm the one hitting your sets. Have faith in me."

"Wow, what a way to remove us spikers from your royal view..."

Tobio ignores Shoyo's blabber beside him and continues to wait for Ito. "Well?"

"Tobio-kun, I think-"

A shaky exhale. "Okay." Ito has his eyes tightly shut, holding his matching clenched fists. There's still doubt in his eyes as he looks as his blurry expression on the shiny gym floors. But when he finally returns Tobio's gaze, there's that determination. Tobio nods.

"Good. Watch carefully. We're doing a quick."

"Eh? Senpai, you-"

There is buzzing that signals the end of the timeout and Tobio sends a jittery Ito one last glance before he stands in his place in their new rotation. Just like what he had expected, the enemies successfully received and blocked off his and Shoyo's attacks, now used to it.

Tobio turns to see Shoyo staring up at him. Then, there's a finger pointed towards him. "Don't miss me too much, Yamayama." The spiker mocks.

Tobio rolls his eyes at the other's lameness. "As if."

Shoyo quickly switches with Ito from the sound of the whistle, and as the junior stands behind him, Tobio turns around. "Are you nervous?"

Ito grimaces. "A bit. Is it that obvious?"

Yes. Tobio doesn't mention it. His kouhai doesn't need that right now. When he pats Ito's back, he's pleased to find that the younger is used to it by now that he doesn't flinch from the contact. Tobio cocks his head. "Remember what I taught you."

Ito breathes out. "I will, Kageyama-senpai."

Finding that enough, Tobio finally nods and turns towards the other side of the net. He hears a middle blocker smile, "I wonder what you have planned now with your squeamish kouhai."

Tobio's eye glints, before he tilts his head. "You'll see."

Here, Tobio fully intends to be the one doing the spiking and Ito doing the setting, nothing else. He knows Ito is more comfortable and experienced with fast sets so he doesn't hesitate to push himself from the ground, even before Ito had put on a stance of someone setting as he switched spots with Ryunosuke.

They had done this in practice before, and it took a few more tries to work. Along with it, Tobio finds that he is near Shoyo's speed whenever they do their quick. That's when Tobio knew that Ito should get a chance to be put in at least more than once. He's a valuable asset.

Tobio doesn't mind anything else beside the now familiar feeling of Ito's set. It comes with nervousness, but edged with ambition, then finally, complete trust in Tobio himself. Ito trusts that Tobio will gain a point for them. Tobio almost shakes his head again. He'll remind Ito again the nature of being a setter having ownership to his own points.

For that split second, though, he will not disappoint Ito, and their teammates, and the enemy. Tobio doesn't find doubt within himself, since he doesn't doubt Ito, and so he sends the ball flying over the tight gap between the enemies' middle blockers and watches it fall right on the white line framing the opposite team's court. It's in.

Their affronted scoffs and glares falls unnoticed, when Tobio feels himself get enveloped by a bone-crashing hug, then immediately, two hands clapping his still-hanging ones paired with absolute joy painting Ito's face. "S-SENPAI, THAT WAS AMAZING...!!! I DIDN'T KNOW THAT WAS POSSIBLE!!!" A deep breath that sounds more like a gasp, then a gleeful laugh. "We actually did it! You were right!"

Tobio feels Ryunosuke punching both him and Ito and the arm, scolding them for not telling the team they could do that, but the only thing Tobio could focus on was the glow in Ito's eyes. He recalls his smile can be scary, said by his teammates, and infuriatingly by Shoyo, but that's the only thing Tobio thinks is what's plastered on his lips right now.

He watches Ito's grin form into a stunned expression. Tobio always seems to always want to hum because of this kouhai of is. He thinks of asking Sugawara, and maybe Oikawa too, later if this is what they had always felt. "I told you, you can do it." He never felt this way in middle school.

Ito's mouth quivers, and he looks like he's about to bawl right there in the middle of the gymnasium. "Y-you did... Kageyama-senpai...!!!!"

Seeing the junior attempting to hug Tobio again, Yuu pulls on the collar of his jersey. "Alright, alright! Stop with the gratitude and feels and do that again for us so we can win, 'kay?!"

They do it again in third tempo, and Tobio rewards Ito's expectant beam with a clap of their hands. When they switch things up, and makes Ryunosuke do his signature cross spike, it's unfortunately received by the enemy's libero and is sent back by their ace. And when Shoyo and Ito switch, after Ito gets a proud pat on the head by Ukai when he sits beside the coach, Ito catches Tobio's gaze and nods.

Assessing that he was fine, Tobio looks away and goes to his position. He feels a nudge on his side. "Didn't know you'd be so sweet to our kouhais, Yamayama! You're even letting yourself be hugged!" Shoyo coos with wiggling fingers as the opposite team positions themselves.

"Wouldn't you like to know." Tobio snorts. "You don't know the concept of personal space."

He hears a cough in front of them, and Tobio levels his gaze towards Tsukishima's numbered back, his hands intertwined on his neck. Shoyo notices as well. "What's so funny, Stingyshima?!"

A scoff. "Nothing." Then, Tsukishima turns his head back, eyeing both of them then finally Tobio. The setter tries not to squirm under that gaze. "I just never knew me and His Majesty would ever reach the same conclusion."

When he finally turns away, Tobio finally feels like he could breathe again. He hears Shoyo's grumbling about curses between Tsukishima's name along with the signal of the set. He shakes his head. "The match is starting."

Shoyo hmph's. "I'll get that asshole, later... And you, as well!"

"Yeah, sure." Tobio deadpans, and feels himself moving along with the ball after Tadashi jumped for a serve behind them.

Mornings after, they face familiar faces accompanied by unfamiliar ones, but Karasuno relentsㅡnothing new, there. Tobio once again watches Shoyo casually conversing with Atsumu between the net. He wonders what their conversation is even about, with Atsumu's lazy smile and Shoyo plastering a grin that looks to be confused around the edges.

Then, Osamu grabs Atsumu by the collar towards his proper position, the blonde complaining along the way. Tobio stands beside Shoyo in front of the net. "What was that about."

"Why, you jealous?" Shoyo's slyly smiles with his eyes in crescents as if waiting for it. "Don't worry, Yamayama, I'll be your spiker for hundreds of years!" He sing-songs.

Tobio throws him a deadpan glare. "No. Don't be weird about it." Hundreds of years? That's way too short.

Shoyo sticks his tongue out. "I can hear you thinking, you know!"

Tobio's scowls. "No, you don't. Look in front, the game's starting."

"So demanding..."

It should be unexpected, because it was. Tobio knows they deserve the opposite. They have used the months and weeks efficiently, and there were misses, but they could have brought it back. And yet-

Tobio feels nothing when Ryunosuke slaps the life out of him. He lets his senpai do what he wants. When he looks at the upperclassman's face, there are tears free-falling on its surface like an endless waterfall, but there's a firm expression accompanying it. "Don't forget what you've done today, Tobio."

It's the first time Ryunosuke had called him Tobio. It won't be the last time he'll see him cry, with that firm grip around his shoulders. It's just like his senpai to not blame Tobio on the missed sets he had done. Strangely enough, Tobio finds denial deep inside himself.

We could have reached further.

An echo of past words. His own words. Partnered with a sob of a different senpai. Of candles lit up. Of practices and practices and matches. Tobio doesn't feel any exhaustion, but he suddenly feels the weight of his senpai's leaving one by one.

When they bow with Inarizaki, Tobio feels himself breathe out. As he shakes hands with Atsumu, he has that smirk on his face. "I'll be waiting for you in First Division, you hear me, Tobio-kun?"

Tobio breathes in. He imagines being in the same team as Atsumu. He imagines playing against Atsumu. It's only been a month since they had last seen each other from the youth training camp, and he finds himself familiar with the sight of the blonde setter already. "I won't disappoint you, Atsumu-senpai."

Atsumu blinks at him for a moment, before throwing his head back with a delighted laugh. He grins, wickedly and on the edge of being mean. "Of course, you won't. I'm going to kick you out of the setter rankings, after all!"

Tobio is not aware that he, too, has that gleam in his eyes. The thrill is in his fingertips, the same ones he refines and uses for sets. "I'll hold you to that."

Just like that, he leaves Atsumu flabbergasted, off to being scolded by his twin beside him, and continues to shake hands with the other Inarizaki players. With one last check of his things, Tobio follows his teammates towards the exits of the gymnasium.

It had only been two days since they had stepped foot inside of it. Tobio looks up to those fluorescent lights once again. Echoes of different school cheers mix in that one hall of thousands of people. He maps out everything one last time, like he had missed something, like he hasn't assessed everything already.

As expected, there had been no three sets of people sharing the same last name as him on Karasuno's crowd, but Tobio is not disappointed. Next year, it might be possible. Next year.

They will try again. They will succeed, and with that success, Tobio is a member, someone part of it. He doesn't feel the weight of exhaustion, only his name, his number, and 'Karasuno' printed on his jersey and jacket. The weight has settled long enough, and Tobio will carry it even furtherㅡuntil the very end.

Tobio looks down at his roughened hands. "Next year."

He thinks he might file his nails again when they go back to their motel. Then, new additions to his journal.

At the sight of the third years with their diplomas, Tobio finds that it's something that he needs to get used to seeing now, along with the fact that next year, he'd be the one in their place. With a click of a camera, Tobio is shaken out of his epiphany and grows witness to the scene of their senpais exchanging bouquets that Hitoka and the other second years had bought for them.

Hitoka herself is sobbing, not minding that the arrangements she had done herself are getting ruined by the tossing. Tadashi is continuously given pieces of tissues by Tsukishima, wiping off his waterworks in determination. Shoyo is laughing with their kouhai's that are drowning in their own feelings beside Okane, their libero junior who's taking the third years' countless photos, courtesy of the ever-flashy Yuu and Ryuu duo.

Tobio wonders where their other senpais are and remembers they are busy with their own college lives no matter how much they would have liked to come. He feels himself growing older as the moments pass. It's a slow motion, nothing that can be called agitating or one that throws him on a wreck. It's just change.

Just change. Tobio hums at the thought.

A laugh from Chikara pulls his attention back to reality. "Ah, I'm going to miss all of you!" He turns to Tadashi with a teasing but soft smile. "Good luck, Tadashi-kun, okay?"

It's enough for Tadashi to erupt into more countless of tears, snot and all. Throughout it, Chikara continues to half-hug him with comforting chuckles and soft pats.

"Dramatic, isn't it?"

It took Tobio everything to not flinch when he sees Tsukishima standing behind him in his peripheral vision, making himself the other witness. Alas, another thing to get used to from now on, else he'd blow his cover. Another part of him wonders when Tsukishima started to willingly have a conversation with him, even if it's about poking fun at their teammates.

Tobio crosses his arm, watches Tadashi wipe his snot off with the countless balls of tissues he was holding. "It's normal for a kouhai to cry for a senpai that's graduating." Though my past juniors never did that for me in middle school.

He's shaken out of that thought when Tsukishima hums. He nods his head towards Tobio with a look before pulling it away as he says, "And yet here you are."

A raised brow. "Here I am... what?"

A snort. "You're not crying."

Tobio remembers keys being stolen. A three on three match. A fast receive with fluttering clothes. Comforting laughs. A rare pat on his head, then a casual one on his back. Closed fists with a yell of victory. Sounds of amazement and slurred congratulations. The smell of food, and walks to the convenience store. Yells of drills, of squeaking shoes and balls. Calls of water breaks, then the end, until a small casual speech for tomorrow.

"Don't forget what you've done today, Tobio."

"Just because I'm not crying doesn't mean I think of our senpai's any less." Tobio now stares back at Tsukishima's unwavering gaze. "They gave us a spot in National's again. We could have reached further with them, but we didn't. And whatever my reaction, it doesn't change any of that."

Tsukishima gapes, though it may be just his lips parting enough. But, he lets out a breath. A scoff, a huff, it may be both, but Tobio is not prepared for what's next, "You continue to surprise me, King."

Tobio feels himself blinking more than a couple of times. "I do?" He already feels stupid even before the words have left his lips. So much for not blowing the cover...

Tsukishima seems to find his current expression amusing. "You do."

Tobio was just trying to form a reply amidst the malfunction his brain was going through when he hears Kazuhito yelling out, "Guys! Let's take a photo with all of us!"

As if on cue, Tobio feels himself getting pulled away by a now-unoccupied Shoyo on the arm, making him squat on the first row. He glares up at the ginger.

"Hehe!" Shoyo just helpfully says while doing a peace-sign. "Look at the camera, Kageyama!"

Tobio's eyes narrow but complies. He sees Hisashi talking to a random student, holding Okane's camera. There's some confusion at first about who is where but after much fuss and an exasperated sigh from Chikara, the camera is one click away for them.

Shoyo's booming voice behind him makes Tobio sit upward. "Say, Karasuno, fight!"

What a corny dumbass. Tobio snorts. He settles with holding out his own peace sign, looking at the camera.

"Karasuno, fight!"