Skater Boy | h.harem

【5】

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Today was the day of their practice match against Aoba Johsai. The team had practiced hard, with Kageyama and Hinata practicing the hardest to perfect their new quick. "I'm-I'm so nervous..." Hinata stuttered, holding his stomach tightly.

The whole team noticed how tense he was, even a few days before their match. Anything they said would only scare the poor ginger and make him stumble over his words. As everyone gathered to the bus, they noticed one of their members missing.

"Oh God, where's Hinata?" Daichi questioned, looking toward the gate of the school. "He's five minutes late. At this point, we won't make it there in time for the match," Suga said, tapping his chin worriedly. 

"That dumbass," Kageyama grumbled, glaring at the school entrance. Finally, said ginger skated through the gate at lightning-fast speed, his breathing ragged. "I'm-I'm sorry... I'm... late..." he panted, placing his hands on his head.

"Hinata... What the hell's wrong with your leg!?" The raven-head screamed, pointing to the blood slowly trickling from Hinata's knee. "Oh, I, um... fell. Ahahaha~"

"I hope you can still play, Hinata," Daichi said as he went over to take a better look. "Ah, w-wait, yes! I can still play!" Forgetting about his skates, the ginger took a flustered step back, his skates clacking together and making him fall backward.

"Huh?"

"Hinata!" At the last second, Daichi managed to throw an arm around the ginger's waist and pull him upright. "Phew~ Let's get on the bus before anything else happens," Sugawara sighed, following Daichi, who was very carefully leading Hinata to the bus door.

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The one to snag a seat beside the ginger was Tanaka, who smirked victoriously at his jealous teammates. Hinata removed his skated and shakily tied them around his gym bag strap before digging his shoes out.

He was oddly quiet, which was extremely unsettling.

"Hey, Hinata, are you gonna be okay? You want some pocky?" Tanaka held the pocky out to Hinata, but the ginger hunched over, panting. 

"Sorry, I didn't... sleep well... last night..." His small body jolted a bit as he suddenly sat up, reaching toward the window. "Um... can we... open the... hrgh..!"

"Oh my God! No way! Stop the bus!" Tanaka screamed, his face full of terror. 

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By the time they arrived at Seijou and got off the bus, Hinata immediately bowed his head and apologized profusely to his senpai.

"It's all cool, Hinata. Forget me though, are you okay? I can get you some water or something." Tanaka put a supporting hand on Hinata's shoulder as he sat on the ground to exchange his shoes for his skates.

"I-I think I'm just gonna go cool my head a bit and warm up. I don't want to trouble you anymore. I'm so sorry, Tanaka-Senpai. I'll make it up to you, promise!" After wrapping Tanaka in a hug, the little ginger waved and began skating away.

"Be at the gym in 20 minutes, okay!?" Shouted Sugawara, cupping his mouth with his hands. "O-Okay!"

"Jeez, I hope he gets better. If he's like that during the game, I'm sure it won't lead to anything good."

"But the way he fidgets around like that is really cute."

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Hinata was determined to skate as fast as he physically could to get as much fresh air as possible. He could always trust his skates to calm him, but it's not like he could wear them during a volleyball match.

Sighing, he leaped over a blue-painted bench and turned a corner. Judging from the way he was going, he was skating around the school. I hope I don't drag the team down. What if I fail them? They'll toss me to the bench for sure, and Kageyama will never send me another toss.

That thought made his legs stop moving, his body straightening out as he let the leftover momentum push him forward. How do I get rid of these stupid nerves? "Woah, watch it!" Someone shouted as Hinata bumped into them.

Thankfully, he was able to catch himself before he hit the ground. Phew, I can't go injuring my other knee. "I-I'm so sorry!" He said, straightening himself and bowing. "Holy Christ, Kunimi, check it," the person said, elbowing his friend.

"Hmm? Oh, hello," the supposed 'Kunimi' said, eyeing Hinata up and down. "You're with Karasuno? We just bumped into them a minute ago," the black-haired male continued, throwing his thumb behind him.

"Mngh~ I-I gotta... go. Sorry," Hinata quickly stepped to the side, craving the calmness skating brought him. "W-Wait a sec! You don't look too good. Why don't you let us take you to the campus nurse?"

The ginger slowly looked from the hand holding his wrist to the arm it was connected to, then finally, the male's face. "Oh, your hair looks like a turnip!" Kunimi slapped a hand over his mouth, attempting to hold in his laughter.

"You play volleyball, right? I guess I'll see you later then!" Waving, Hinata quickly skated away, his nerves a little smoother than they once were.

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Hinata has failed.

He's all over the place. Hitting balls that are way out of his area, crashing into his teammates, and tripping over his feet are only a few examples. It was terrible. "It's okay! We'll get them- Oh, God..." Daichi muttered, seeing Hinata on the serving line.

Once the referee blew the whistle, Hinata jolted and frantically slapped the ball, watching in utter horror as it hit Kageyama right in the head. With that, the set ended with Seijou at the advantage. 

There was a good minute where everything was quiet in the gym before Tanaka and Tsukishima decided to interrupt it.

"Pfft~! Haha! Your head okay, bro!?"

"Nice catch! With your head!"

"Stop egging Kageyama on you two!" Sugawara shouted at them from the sidelines. When Kageyama began making his way toward Hinata shaking figure, Sugawara got on standby in case something were to happen. 

The raven's hair covered his eyes, making it impossible to tell what he was thinking.

Now I've done it, Hinata cried in his head, his eyes watering. He was going to get benched for sure. His worst fears were going to come true. "W-W-Wait a minute! Kageyama-San, we can talk this out!" Fearfully, he held his hands out in front of him.

"Hey," Kageyama muttered, yet to show his face.

"Y-Yes, sir?" Hinata stiffened, preparing for the worst punishment of his life. "What the hell are you so nervous about? Are you scared of them because they're big? Because this is your first game?"

The ginger shook violently, not able to answer. He watched as Kageyama finally showed his face, bringing his hand to the back of his head and slapping it continuously. "What's scarier than nailing me in the head with a volleyball? Well?"

"N-Nothing comes to mind at this moment."

Before Hinata could say anything else, Kageyama pulled the front of his jersey, molding their bodies together. "I could tell you a thing or two..." The pissed raven-head brought his mouth to Hinata's ear, and the rest was unheard by everyone other than Hinata.

The teams could only watch Hinata's face flush red. After saying what he needed to, Kageyama pulled away, smirking. "So, you got a proper distraction from your whining and you did what scares you the most! Now..." 

Hinata quickly straightened himself, biting his lip softly. "... quit your sniveling and get back out there and get back to normal, runt!"

"Huh? You mean, even that wasn't a big enough screw-up..?"

"What are you talking about?"

If that wasn't enough for me to get benched, then I could probably do anything and be in the clear. I can do this! 

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