Skater Boy | h.harem

【17】

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"This is Hinata. He's the middle blocker on the volleyball team." Sugawara then turned to the ginger, who was staring deeply into Asahi's eyes with his mouth agape. "This is Asahi. He's the wing spiker for Karasuno. Well, up until this year. Why don't we take this somewhere else?"

Asahi sweatdropped at the piercing gaze of Hinata's as they made their way to the back of the school by the gym. "You have really pretty eyes," the ginger finally spoke. Asahi jumped at the gentle voice. "W-What?"

"You're eyes." For reference, Hinata pointed to his own. "They're really pretty. They remind me of someone I... know." A blush spread over the gentle giant's face. "Is-Is that so? Well, um, thanks then..."

Only a soft hum came from Hinata's mouth as he continued to stare at Asahi while holding Sugawara's hand. "Oi, boke, you're making him uncomfortable! Stop staring at him!" Kageyama shouted, taking a hold of both sides of the ginger's cheeks and turning his head away from Asahi.

"Oh, gosh! I'm so sorry, Asahi-Senpai! I didn't realize I was staring so much." Once Kageyama let go of Hinata, the ginger reached up on his tiptoes and pat the giant's head, flustering him again.

They were standing by the gym as all of this went down, so they went ahead and sat down, pulling their Bentos from their bags. "Sugawara-Senpai, say 'ah~'" Hinata held his chopsticks with what seemed to be meat on the end up to the senpai, waiting for him to bite down.

"Um, wait, Hinata, you-you should eat your own food..." Sweatdropping (though his cheeks were red), Sugawara took a gentle hold of Hinata's hand and lowered it down. Hinata looked hurt and confused.

Was there something wrong with the food he made? Natsu loved his packed lunches though. He looked at his food with an odd face, then bit into it to see if it tasted all right. It was the same as always- delicious. At least, in his opinion it was.

"What's wrong with it?" The ginger asked once he swallowed it, tilting his head in confusion. Sighing, Sugawara ran his hand through Hinata's hair, listening to him softly purr and lean into the touch. He smiled.

"I'm sure there's nothing wrong with it. I just think you could use the energy, so, please, eat it, okay?" Nodding, Hinata scooted closer to Sugawara until he was practically glued to his side.

Instead of trying to talk to the ginger about personal space, Sugawara just shook his head playfully, looking up at the glaring Kageyama and the anxious Asahi. "It's a long story," he said to his classmate, throwing an arm around Hinata's shoulders.

"Anyway, have you thought about joining the volleyball team again, Asahi? We could really use you, you know. We're supposed to have a training camp soon," the silver-haired male used one hand to eat, and the other to play with Hinata's hair, who resembled a puppy to them.

"... You knows I don't want to, Sugawara. Not after what happened with... Date Tech." Hinata seemed to come to attention at the name. "Is that the school in the town away from here? The ones who are good at blocking?"

"Yeah, Asahi couldn't get a single spike in. It was crazy, and it scared him a little. He's scared to play against others," Sugawara helpfully inputted, closing his now-empty bento. "Oh, a wall. A tall, tall wall that you can't get over. Is that how you feel, Asahi-Senpai?"

"Exactly! Ah, um, yeah, that's how I feel." The gentle giant awkwardly coughed into his fist.

"I've felt like that before. I trained so hard, but I was shut down by Tsukishima instantly. It wasn't every time, but height can get you far in volleyball." Hinata scooted away from Sugawara (much to his despair) and sat beside Kageyama, taking hold of his sleeve and pointing at him.

He nearly choked on his food.

"But since I have this guy, I can get over any wall in my way! He's really awesome!" The praise echoed in Kageyama's head and he flushed red, falling when Hinata let go of his sleeve. "Please come back, Asahi-Senpai! I promise you won't get stuck at that wall anymore!"

Hinata put his hands together and bowed, waiting for Asahi's response. "Mmh~" Asahi contemplated, looking between Hinata and Sugawara, who was busy trying to revive Kageyama. "I'll... I'll come to the practice tomorrow morning, so please lift your head."

Practically shooting up, Hinata hollered in excitement, thanking him repeatedly.

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2 days had passed since Asahi had officially joined the volleyball team and made amends with Nishinoya. Hinata had yet to stop following them (not that they minded), and they were worried about his emotional stability.

Whenever they asked him about it, he'd be confused and point out some trait that was similar to his little sister's. It also didn't help that one of them caught him outside in the dead of night nearly every night.

Then, he'd arrive at the school two or three hours early before early practice and sleep. For God's sake, even Tsukishima was at a loss of what to do, and the coach tried to talk to the ginger about it but failed since it didn't affect practice.

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"Hey, Hinata, can we talk to you for a moment?" The coach called out to the little ginger practicing serves against the wall. He jogged over, a curious look on his face. "What is it, Coach?"

Scratching the back of his head awkwardly, he left no choice but for Daichi to take the step forward. "Hinata, where have you been going at night?" His eyes widened in surprise, but he spoke no answer.

"What-What do you mean?" He stuttered, dropping the volleyball in his hands. "Well, we've been seeing you around town at night, as you know, and we were just curious," Sugawara added, trying to ease Hinata's nervousness.

"Um, I... I don't really, well, I don't like... staying at home by myself..." He was avoiding the question. "You didn't answer us, Shrimpy. Where are you going at night?" Tsukishima added, annoyance audible in his voice.

"... The cafe Yamara owns. I thought... I thought that I might be lucky enough to run into Natsu, but she doesn't live there. I don't know where she lives..." Tears pricked the corner of his eyes, but he didn't show it, only lowering his gaze to the floor.

Even though the presence of his team and friends helped him, they could never truly replace his sister.

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