Chapter Text
Hinata never had a big passion for videogames. His whole life was entirely focused on volleyball and he spent most of his free time doing other athletic activities, such as running and sometimes even hiking. He loved staying active and making sure he was always in shape to play and give it his best.
But, of course, he wasn’t entirely clueless about them. He had a Switch and sometimes played games on it with his sister, Natsu. He enjoyed titles like Minecraft and Mario kart, but his favorite game ever was Nintendo switch sports. (..of course volleyball was the entire center of his existence). Other than that though, he didn’t care much about them. When he was in middle school, his friends would spend hours discussing the latest releases, while he simply listened and nodded, not having any particular opinions about them. Izumi was a big fan of the Zelda saga and spent hours discussing strategies and lore with Koji. Hinata barely knew who Link was.
One time Koji had brought his Gameboy to school to flex his Pokémon team in the emerald version of the game. When he showed it to Hinata, that red head of his couldn’t believe it. He really liked Pokémon, but he had never realized there were games about them. He just occasionally watched some episodes when they were airing them on TV and owned some of the trading cards.
“Oh my god!!! There are games about them?!!” He had shouted to his friends. They couldn’t believe he was being genuine. It’s safe to say that the three of them had a lot of catching up to do on that day.
So, when Kenma brought up this new game he was fairly enjoying while they were texting each other, he barely knew what to say. Not because he didn’t care about what Kenma liked, but because videogames were simply a totally different world for Hinata. A world he didn’t care too much about.
Hinata : Hey Kenma!!! How is practice going?? What are you doing? I grew a millimeter this month. Can you believe it?!!!
Kenma : Hi. Everything’s fine. I’m playing this new game, it’s funny. [attached img. of the game title screen for Tomodachi Life : living the dream.]
Hinata rarely heard Kenma say something was funny, even if it was videogame related. He usually just said it was fine, or that he was enjoying it. This was new! Hinata figured it meant Kenma was loving it a lot. So, he asked him more about it.
Hinata : Wow!! That’s cool. What is it about!!?? Tell me more!!!
He had sent back, eager to start a conversation about this game Kenma was really happy about.
Kenma had replied soon after Hinata’s messsage was sent. He always had his phone close by.
Kenma : You can make your own characters and watch them interact with each other. So far I made myself and Kuroo.
[attached img. of a strange looking character resembling Kenma’s appearance, actually, very well.]
Hinata was weirdly exited when he saw that character, looking a lot like Kenma.
Hinata : WOW!! So is that supposed to be you?? What do you mean by ‘watching them interact’??
Kenma : You can make all the characters you want, customize them as you please and watch them while they form bonds with each other. They can have friendships, fall in love, fight.. It’s pretty cool.
He was getting actually really interested.
Hinata : So does that mean that you can even make me? Or Kageyama? Or Pikachu from Pokémon?!
Kenma : Well, I suppose it could be hard to recreate Pikachu perfectly but yes, I can technically do that.
Hinata : THAT’S SOOO COOL!! What is it called again? Can you send more pictures of funny moments!!
The two of them spent a ridiculous amount of time texting each other about this. Kenma sent pictures of his and Kuroo’s MIIs chatting and got eventually persuaded into making Hinata into his island. Kenma also got forced to make their MIIs bond by talking about volleyball (of course..) but Hinata was really disappointed in himself when his own character didn’t enjoy Kenma’s character company.
Hinata : Aw man! I hate my weird lookalike. Why doesn’t he like you?! :(
Kenma : It’s random. You can’t force two characters to like each other. Their relationship can improve though, so we could end up being friends after all. Just give it some time.
They kept texting all evening. Hinata discovered that you could draw stuff and give it to the MIIs, that they had favorite foods and specific traits.
Eventually, it got too late for Hinata. He yawned as he sent a goodnight text to Kenma and put his phone on his bedside table. He reached for his lamp and after a little bit of struggling, he turned it off.
Being short doesn’t only apply to volleyball.. He frowned as he closed his eyes. Another day spent wishing he was a little bit taller. Well, the taller, the better, but even just a few more centimeters would’ve made him feel better about himself. As he rolled in his bed, he thought about that funny game and how it would make a perfect gift for his little sister. Maybe he could get it for her. He could already see her creating her favorite characters and going crazy when they fell in love. He smiled to himself. It was going to be her birthday soon, anyways. He had to get her something and this was the perfect option.
The next day, as he biked towards school, he stopped by the electronics shop in town. The same one that shaped his whole life, actually. He smiled to himself as he remembered the day his passion for volleyball clicked in. That day, on a television screen, he saw the little giant of Karasuno fly so high and so fast it was hard to follow his movements. His little body darted from side to side on the court, his motions explosive in a way that expressed so much vitality for such a small body. His jumps were jaw dropping and as little Hinata stared astonished at that display, everything suddenly became obvious: he wanted to spend the rest of his life doing exactly that, he wanted to be the one on the court, achieving that impressive vertical despite his small size. His body wasn’t going to limit his potential.
He owned a lot to that place. And as he parked his bike outside the shop and made his way onto the small building, he couldn’t help but feel a little bit of nostalgia towards the moment where it all began.
He browsed the shelves, heading to the videogame section. As his eyes scanned all the titles for other consoles, such as the Xbox and the PlayStation, he wondered why someone could possibly ever need all these options. What the frick was ‘Fart Killer’ anyway?! He shrugged and kept looking.
After finally reaching the Nintendo section, his gaze met the game he hadn't even realized he wanted so badly. Tomodachi life : living the dream.
Hinata felt like an explorer, lost in a deep wild jungle, finally reaching his long-desired treasure. But just as his hands were about to grab it, fingers shaking in nervousness and anticipation, a trap fell upon him. His heart skipped a beat as the price tag came into focus. God was it expensive… how could something so small be sold at the astonishing price of €60?! He sighed. He had saved up enough money, and he loved his sister very much even if he would’ve never admitted it, so even though that meant no new ball for a while, he figured it was okay. Plus, that game seemed very funny from what Kenma had shown him, so maybe he could play it sometime too.
After school and volleyball practice, he biked back home. He pedaled faster than usual, impatient to give the game to his sister. He really wanted to see her reaction. As the city lights died behind him and nature started taking control over the old cracked up concrete, trees and small streams making up a new, fresher scenery, he pulled out his phone from his pocket. He struggled to type out a message, his attention torn between driving his bike and spelling out the words correctly. He figured hitting a tree would’ve been worse than making a few typos.
Hinata : Hey Kenmq!! Llok whgat I gott.
[attached img. of his hands holding out the game.]
Kenma, as usual, was almost immediate in his answer.
Kenma : Why are you texting me while driving a bike? It’s dangerous.
Hinata wrestled with his phone and the very small keyboard on it as he typed out an answer.
Hinata : Dont wory I wotn fall im used to this. What di you yhink of my new prrchase
Kenma : I’m too busy trying to decipher your words to have an opinion about that.
Kenma : Why have you decided to buy it? I thought all your thoughts were reserved for volleyball.
Hinata : ITs for my sistyer its her bierhday soob.
Kenma : Text me later please.
Hinata sighed and thought Kenma was right. This was difficult and it was slowing him down significantly. He put his phone away, adrenaline taking over as he quickened his pace, air barely getting to his lungs as the feeling of speed blurred his mind almost completely.
When he finally got home, it was late. As they often did, him and Kageyama had stayed late to train their quick attack. Hinata snuck in trying to minimize his noise as best as he could, to avoid waking his family up. They were all asleep.
His mom had left his dinner on a stove to keep warm. As he started devouring the meal, he grabbed his phone again to finally continue his conversation with Kenma.
Hinata : Hey Kenma!! I’m finally home. I got the game!!
Kenma : I saw that. Are you going to play it too?
Hinata : Mmmh, I don’t think so. But I might test it out.. you know, to see if it works all right!
Kenma : You just want an excuse to play it.
Then, on a separate message, he sent :
Kenma : You know, you can have multiple accounts on a switch. You can both play it without touching each other’s save files.
That statement left Hinata puzzled, but he ignored it and got his switch. As he booted it up, excitement swam through him. He inserted the cartridge in the small port of the console and opened the game. He was immediately greeted by a lively music and was then introduced to the controls. The tutorial began.
“We’ll call ‘em MIIs for short. They can look like real people – even people you know. And you get to create them!”
The game stated. A smirk appeared on Hinata’s face as he realized the amount of freedom he had. He could recreate Kageyama and draw a poop on his face! And name him Bakageyama!!!
He got through the tutorial and created himself as his first MII. He wasn’t entirely sure he got his own characteristics right, but that would have to do for now.
Barely looking at the keyboard and at what he was typing, he sent out another message to Kenma.
Hinata : I think I got through the tutorial!!
But the text he received didn’t match his enthusiasm.
Kenma : Weren’t you only supposed to test it?
Kenma was actually laughing from the other side of the phone. He knew Hinata wouldn’t have stopped.
Hinata felt a little guilty. Kenma was right, this was a gift for his sister after all. But he was having so much fun… and the game had barely just started! He still had to make Kageyama!! He figured Kenma would’ve had a solution for his problem, that thing about save files he mentioned earlier maybe. And even if he didn’t… he and Natsu could share an island. He knew she wouldn’t have gotten mad at him!
So, he ignored Kenma’s message and brought the switch with him to his room.
He crashed onto the bed, his sore muscles finally getting a little bit of rest after jumping and cycling up and down mountains all day. Curling up on his side, he stared at the small display of the portable console.
He fed his MII an apple and when he levelled up, he gave him the hyped-up greeting quirk after sadly realizing the only ball present was a football. Then, finally, it was time to make a second MII.
He had no doubt in his small body. He was going to make Kageyama.
After at least 20 minutes he had scrolled trough all the catalogues. There were different hairstyles, eyes, noses… but nothing really matched Kageyama’s features. If he was an artist, he probably could’ve drawn him and made him look really similar, but his artistic skills were out of discussion. The only thing he was going to draw were things to bother Kageyama and his MII. But first, he had to make him. Without second thought and completely forgetting about what hour it was, full moon up in the sky and owls hooting in the distance, his fingers typed out a message to the directly concerned individual.
Hinata : hey I’m making you in a videogame help me customize your character!!
Only after pressing send did he realize it was almost midnight and that Kageyama was definitely passed out by now. He shivered in fear already knowing he probably was going to get killed during practice the next morning for disrupting his sleep. As his anxiety settled heavy on his stomach like a ball, he put his phone face down and stared at the ceiling for a full minute. Kageyama was really scary when he was mad, and hinata had learnt the strength of his punches the hard way…
His thinking session was suddenly interrupted by the harsh sound of a notification coming from his phone. A loud ping emitted from it and Hinata took a deep breath before checking it out.
Kageyama : what? what game? and don’t play games this late.
Completely ignoring the last half of the message Hinata replied very excitedly.
Hinata : Yayy you’re awake!! So the game is called tomodachi life and I just got it for my sis but I’m testing it out before giving it to her and I want to make you as a character living on this island help me out
He started rambling.
Kageyama : slow down. It’s late, go to sleep.
Hinata : [attached img. of a blank character in the customization page of the game.]
Hinata : here it is, I need to customize it to make it look like you. But I can’t seem to get your ugly face right.
He teased, giggling as he typed out the message.
Kageyama : go to sleep!
Hinata : you’re no fun!! I need to make you on this thing! I’ll make you ugly if you don’t help me out!!!
Kageyama : bring that thing to practice tomorrow.
After that, he went offline. Hinata sighed, he really wanted to make kageyama on his new game before going to sleep. But he put his delusion to the side for the night and went to sleep as well.
The next morning, before leaving on his bike, he packed his bag for the day. He probably forgot half of his school books, but he definitely didn’t forget his switch. He put it in its own case and accurately placed it inside his shoulder bag, careful not to squish it with notebooks.
The day went by slowly, with Hinata staring dreamily at the window and the small part of world it framed. The trees moved in a slow dance with the wind and the sound of his teacher’s voice was just an annoying noise in the back of his head. He just wanted to get this lesson done so he could leave, play volleyball, practice his quick jump with kageyama and then make his character on his new game. He moved his feet up and down in a steady rhythm, unable to keep himself completely still, until the bell rang and he could finally leave.
He ran through the hallways, teachers yelling at him to slow down, and after flying across the exit doors he was soon hit by a pleasant, humid breeze. He stopped himself and breathed in, allowing his body to get ten seconds of rest time before taking off again towards the gym, leaving a trail of dust behind him as if he was a character straight out of a cartoon.
Finally, he could do what he was born for : play volleyball. As always, he gave it his best during training, ending the day with a successful session of practice. With his team he felt at home, hearts all beating in unison as if they shared the same body when they played together.
Everyone had already started leaving when he finally freed his switch from his backpack and showed it proudly to kageyama. They sat next to each other, backs pressed against the wall, as they passed the console to one another. Hinata excitedly explained the mechanics of the game to kageyama and then they were all set up to start making his own mii.
“look, this kinda looks like your hair!” shouted Hinata as he pointed towards a very ugly hairstyle.
“The fuck you talking about, no it does not.”
“Hey!! Stop swearing!”
“Don’t care. We’re not 8 year olds anymore. Oh wait, that looks more like it.”
Kageyama selected a hairstyle and a smug smile appeared quickly on his face. Hinata sighed and shrugged.
“This does.. weirdly look like you.” He admitted as his face moved closer to the screen, inspecting the choice made by Kageyama.
“Well yeah. It’s my own hair we’re talking about. Get out of the way, I can't see a thing!”
“Something’s missing.” Hinata quickly snatched the console from Kageyama and turned his back to him, fiddling something on it.
“What the hell are you doing? Let me see!”
“No!! It’s a surprise.”
Kageyama unsuccessfully tried peeking multiple times before giving up and throwing himself on the wall, staring disappointedly at his shoes. They were consumed by the countless hours of practice, the material tearing up where the sole began. He probably had to buy a new pair soon. He made a mental note of it.
Not long went by until something started poking at his shoulder. Before he even had the time to look around, Hinata shoved the console onto his lap.
He knew it. Hinata had drawn a giant poop on his face.
“You asshole! Delete that!!”
He grabbed the switch and tried removing it but soon realized he didn’t know the controls. He gave up. Hinata kept laughing, rolling on the floor as he did so.
“Fuck you. It’s not even funny. Your humor’s the same as a little kid.”
But the red head didn’t stop, and his laugh was so contagious Kageyama soon found himself chuckling along as well. Their high pitched laughter matched one another’s and filled the empty gym. It was just them and Kageyama’s MII, staring indifferently at them as the huge dump sat unbothered on the top of his head.
They eventually calmed down, and got back to their usual fighty selves.
“I’m telling you it makes no sense for us to live next to each other! We’d be awful neighbors!”
“Well yeah but these are just our look alikes! they could end up being best buddies!! Plus it’s just us on a big empty island in the middle of nowhere!! You don’t want our MIIs to be lonely, right?”
“You’ll move us as soon as you start to be annoying. Promise it.”
“Why are you assuming I’m the one who’s going to be annoying?!”
“Well that’s usually how it goes..”
Hinata punched Kageyama’s side. The other boy yelped.
“Hey!”
“Shut up! That’s not true! And just watch, I’m going to force them to talk.”
“See? That’s exactly what I meant! Let them meet by themselves.”
“That’d never happen. My MII would never talk to yours if he could avoid it. I have to force them!”
Hinata grabbed his own MII and dragged it to Kageyama’s, letting it fall beside him.
“Shh now!”
“I wasn’t even talking, you dumbass!!”
They both attentively watched as their MIIs had their first interaction.
A big text that said ‘What’s up with Hinata?’ appeared and then the screen went black.
They could see themselves in the reflection, both sweaty and focused on the game.
A cut scene started playing.
“What’s happening?” Asked Kageyama.
“I don’t know! Let’s just see.”
The cut scene showed Hinata’s MII walking by, then suddenly turning his head towards the other. Romantic music started playing and glitter floated everywhere next to Kageyama’s head.
“What’s going on? Why are they showing your MII like that? As if he’s pretty? He still has a giant poop on his head!!” He started laughing.
The scene kept going, showing the red haired MII completely shocked, or stunned, mouth open and all.
Eventually Kageyama’s MII left and Hinata’s started talking.
“What kind eyes…”
“KIND EYES?? YOU?!” Hinata shouted.
“What the hell is happening?”
“Kageyama… even his name is lovely..”
“IS YOUR CHARACTER FALLING IN LOVE WITH MINE??”
“WHAT?! That’s disgusting!!”
“Oh, Kageyama… I think I’m in love!”
“HOW DID THAT EVEN HAPPEN??”
“I DON’T KNOW??”
Then, the game gave them two choices.
‘You’re imagining things’ or ‘It must be love!’.
“Press the first one. NOW!” Kageyama yelled.
“YEAH YEAH GIVE ME A SEC!”
Kageyama panicked and tried stealing the console from Hinata’s hands, grabbing it, but Hinata didn’t let go and as the two of them fought to get the console, his thumb accidentally landed on the A button, confirming the second choice.