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Quitting would be easier than this.
Kyoutani is not really sure if he’s allowed to enter the boys’ volleyball club room and start changing into his practice clothes. He’s not sure if he’s invited to practice anymore after their failure at Spring Interhigh. Not that it was entirely his fault, but.
The third years well and truly have no reason to come to practice anymore. So anyone on the team who might’ve had a problem with him (sans one particular individual) would be gone. At the same time, Oikawa, the only person who had actually wanted Kyoutani on the team, would be gone, too.
Stuck in a weird standstill and desperately wanting someone to just specifically invite him to play with them, Kyoutani pushes open the clubroom door. He’s met with a little over half the team in various states of undress. He gets a few glances when he enters, but nobody seems to pay him much mind. Breathing out some of his tension, he makes his way to the back of the room to start changing.
Fortunately, the farmost corner is unoccupied. Unfortunately, the space right next to it is not. In it, Yahaba Shigeru is tugging a t-shirt over his head and stuffing his neatly-pressed school uniform into his bag.
Kyoutani considers turning around and going back home.
He’s not unused to people disliking him. He’s not even unused to people telling him as much. He is unused to Yahaba Shigeru; loudmouthed and bratty and always telling Kyoutani how to behave, as if he’s the sole disciplinarian at a one-man reformatory and personally charged with straightening Kyoutani out. Kyoutani is not interested in being straightened out, and certainly not by Yahaba Shigeru.
He is interested in playing volleyball, though, so he drops his stuff down next to Yahaba and starts changing. Because he belongs there.
Yahaba gives him a sidelong glance.
“Hi.”
“Hey,” he grunts back.
And that’s the extent of their locker room interaction.
The slight confidence he had gained by not being immediately kicked out of the clubroom vanishes when Kyoutani finishes putting his bag away. It feels strange to just amble into the gym with the rest of the crowd. He feels exposed.
Yahaba finishes changing just after him and turns toward the door; presumably to start walking to the gym. Kyoutani makes a split-second decision to follow. Trailing only a couple steps behind him like a shadow, Kyoutani follows the boy out of the clubroom and through the big double-doors that lead to the practice gym. He doesn’t like Yahaba, and Yahaba certainly doesn’t like him, but, well…
At least he actually talks directly to him. Most of the first- and second-years are either too scared to approach him or too uptight about the way he acts to tolerate his presence. Yahaba might scowl at him and nag him and shove him around, but that’s at least something. Plus, he doesn’t really know anyone else or their names. Nothing personal.
Kyoutani follows way too close behind to be casual, but Yahaba only gives him a weird look and keeps walking. He does some captainly errands before practice officially starts, like making sure the first-years are setting up the net properly and the water cooler is full. Kyoutani shadows him the entire time, like a shitty bodyguard.
He feels more and more awkward the longer he follows Yahaba around, but he’s in too deep to stop now. If he did, where would he even go? Probably some corner. Maybe the corner would be preferable. Just as he starts debating the right time to break off from Yahaba’s side, Coach Mizoguchi blows the whistle for practice to start.
Yahaba is a good captain, Kyoutani thinks. He already has the authoritative demeanor down, and everyone on the team likes him, so they have no problem listening to him as he directs them through stretching and warm-ups. The only downside is that now he’s technically allowed to tell Kyoutani what to do instead of just bossing him around for no good reason. Knowing Yahaba, it’s not long before he realizes this and it sends him on a power trip.
As Yahaba explains the details of the one-on-one practice exercise they’re going to be doing, Kyoutani’s stomach starts to sink. Everyone else probably already has a partner they pair up with for drills. From what he’s seen, almost everyone has a best friend on the team. Kindaichi and Kunimi are never seen without the other. Yahaba and Watari do everything together.
He starts to sweat as some residual grade-school fear of getting picked last for dodgeball starts to surface. He scowls. He never even felt that shit in elementary school. He was the best at dodgeball. Always picked first.
Why is he so fucking lame now?
Yahaba finishes explaining and dismisses everyone to find a spot in the gym to do the exercise, and Kyoutani feels a sudden spike of anxiety. He really doesn’t wanna get paired with some shitty first-year benchwarmer who can’t send the ball back properly. Just as he’s about to kidnap Kindaichi and drag him to the furthest corner, Yahaba presses a hand to his back and steers him to a spot near the door.
“What about Watari?” Kyoutani sputters.
“What about Watari?” Yahaba asks, still pushing him.
“Uh, nevermind,” he mutters, relenting and letting himself be abducted.
At least Yahaba knows how to hit the ball. He’s actually pretty good at volleyball, not that Kyoutani would ever admit that out loud. Yahaba grabs a couple balls for them and gets ready to set one toward Kyoutani.
“You don’t have to watch the first years or something? Make sure they’re not fucking up your exercise?”
Kyoutani is really not sure why he keeps trying to discourage Yahaba from partnering with him. Yahaba is the only person he actually wants to do drills with. Damn his stupid mouth. Fortunately, Yahaba seems undeterred.
“Nah, the coaches have got it. I wanted to practice with you, anyway.”
Cool, cool, okay. Yahaba wants to practice with him. Specifically.
“Why?” he blurts out before he can stop himself.
“You’re my ace this year. We gotta learn to work together,” he says matter-of-factly, finally sending the ball toward Kyoutani.
Right. Volleyball. Teamwork and cooperation and shit. At least Yahaba’s not dogging on him for following him around for 20 minutes before practice like a lost puppy. Kyoutani hits the ball back, full-force, and Yahaba digs it effortlessly. If his setter finally wants to get along and his position as ace is already secured, Kyoutani starts to think this year might actually turn out to be fun.