The Sun with A False Eternity

Telling the Team

  "Kageyama, did you hear me?" The classroom was stuffy and Kageyama was, once again, having a hard time paying attention to anything his teacher was saying.

"No ma'am," he focused his eyes on his desk.

He heard his teacher sigh in exasperation, "please try to pay attention." Kageyama nodded and apologized, and answered the question she had asked him to. He went right back to staring out the window afterward, contemplating on what lay ahead. He wondered how the team would take the news.

What news? He asked himself. It's not like anything is really wrong with Hinata, he's right. It's not like some big, newsworthy story. It'll probably take less than a minute, Coach Ukai won't even call a meeting for it. Maybe it was just an attempt to calm his nerves, but in that moment he believed it. He had always been prone to overreacting, and he knew that's what this was.

The moment the bell rang he practically leaped out of his seat, scaring the kid who sat behind him. He apologized curtly before roughly slinging his bag over his shoulder and setting out for the gym. He met up with Yamaguchi and Tsukishima in the hallway, and they joined him as he headed over. That annoyed Tsukishima, Kageyama noted when he saw the look on the tall middle blocker's face.

Yamaguchi paid no mind to his friend and instead turned to Kageyama. "Hey, where was Hinata yesterday? He wasn't at practice and he sat out this morning, what's going on?" the other first-year questioned the setter with a concerned look on his face as they walked.
"You'll find out in a minute," Kageyama answered shortly. He swore not to say anything, and he knew he would probably make it more dramatic than Hinata wanted. He didn't like being one of the only ones to know though, and he was kind of relieved that it wouldn't be a secret anymore. That only made Yamaguchi look more concerned, however, but Tsukishima whispered something in his ear that made him relax again. Kageyama walked away before he could even begin to imagine what Tsukishima had said. He rushed to get changed and head to the gym, where Hinata was once again there. This time he was chatting with Takeda. He wasn't as animated as usual, but he still seemed excited to be there.

Kageyana walked over to the court and sat down to stretch, absentmindedly focusing his gaze on Hinata. He couldn't wait for his partner to be back on the court. He secretly agreed with Hinata's earlier statement, it seemed like it was ages since they had played together, even though it had only been a few days.

I hated him at first, Kageyama pondered, remembering their first-ever game. They met in front of the bathroom, Hinata nothing but a scrawny kid with dreams bigger than he could ever even hope of achieving, and Kageyama, himself, strong but afraid, facing the betrayal and loss of his teammates, but still having way too much ambition regardless. It was an unfair match-up. Kageyama knew that right away. But that didn't stop him from giving the match everything he had, and as a result, he thought he made one of the biggest rivals he would ever have.

So it certainly came as a surprise when Hinata walked through the doors of the Karasuno high school. Kageyama had been prepared to bring Karasuno back and beat Hinata once again, but all those plans vanished into the air the second he made eye contact with the other teen.

They had gone through a lot together since then, from practice games to homework, from lazy Sunday afternoons to intense games, texting conversations, sitting under the tree on the hill, to invading Coach Ukai's shop. Kageyama didn't want to admit it, he was afraid of being vulnerable. But deep down he knew that Hinata was his closest friend, he might even venture to say his best friend. He didn't know who he'd be without Hinata, and he was determined to keep the other boy in his life as long as their career paths would allow. They were a team, and he didn't want anything to change that.

Kageyama snapped out of his reminiscing to the sound of Coach Ukai's voice calling the team around.

I guess I was wrong, he is calling a meeting, Kageyama got to his feet despite not stretching at all. He could feel his nerves rising again and he took a few deep breaths to steady them before running up to join the group gathering in the back of the gym. Hinata was standing off to the side awkwardly, his distress at being the concern apparent on his face. The whole team was there now, attention focused on the coach and Takeda.

"What is it Coach?" Sugawara asked in confusion.

"We just need to have a quick talk is all," Coach Ukai addressed the group, his tone more serious than usual. Everyone snapped to focus, as something was going on. Kageyama watched as Coach Ukai looked at Hinata, and an unspoken question passed between them. After a second, Hinata stepped forward.

"Uh, I suppose you've all been wondering why I sat out practice this morning," the middle blocker looked unusually nervous, and he appeared to not be able to decide which foot to rest his weight on. The young teen paused for a few seconds before continuing; "It's nothing big, some people are just being cautious, but I've had a few health issues lately and the doctor told me to lay off the physical exercise for a bit while they double-check."

He said it so seriously that even Kageyama began to believe it. Hinata would be back soon, they just needed to focus on training for the October Spring Interhigh qualifiers.

"Oh alright, thanks for letting us know," Ennoshita was the first one to respond after a few moments of silence. "I understand, make sure you rest up okay?" A few other people chimed in with words of encouragement or condolences before the team split up and headed off to practice. Hinata stayed on the sidelines to watch, and Kageyama caught a glimpse of the longing look on his face before he turned away and headed off to the court.

He knew he wasn't going to help Hinata by just sitting around and waiting, it would help for him to simply be on the top of his game, so that when his friend returned to the court, Kageyama would be able to make up for any physical abilities that he may lack from sitting out. Though in the back of his mind Kageyama knew that Hinata was probably keeping up some training regimen at home, even though the doctor had probably told him not to. If he was smart he'd just rest up so that he could be in the next competition, but Hinata wasn't the smartest. Kageyama sighed to himself at the thought.

There were multiple things he was planning on working on with Hinata, but all that had been put on hold. The most important thing was for Hinata to get better. Kageyama picked up a ball and twisted it around in his hands a few times, trying to decide what to work on first. Right at that moment, they had some free time to work on whatever skills they wanted to, and most people split up to work in groups of two or three. Typically Kageyama and Hinata would work together on serves and receives, but since the setter was alone he decided to just practice his serves. He spent a good five minutes launching volleyballs across the room, trying to nail each one to a direct spot. He was mostly successful, with only a couple of them landing slightly off. He ran to pick them up, collecting them in the center before scooping as many as he could carry and walking them back to the cart he got them from.

As he was walking back he caught a glimpse of Sugawara in the corner. Kageyama turned to see the pinch setter crouching down, talking to Hinata in a seemingly hushed voice. Daichi stood beside him, observing and nodding his head now and then.

I can't wait for things return to normal. He thought, turning his gaze away from the sight.

Practice went essentially the same as it had that morning, except for a few less stray glances to Hinata's area. The small ginger had been hanging out with the managers and would alternate between ranting excitedly to Yachi and shouting encouraging things out to the players on the court. He was a great teammate on and off the court, and his energy still radiated throughout the room even though he wasn't participating in any of the drills. Kageyama felt at peace during practice that day, something his life had been lacking the past couple of days. So when Hinata came up to him for a high-five after practice finished, he accepted it with a small smile. He felt his palms tingle when they broke away, and he found himself wishing they could do it again. Kageyama went home that night excited to head back to practice the next day.