Akaashi's 18th (and the events that followed...)

48. House of Memories

This chapter is, of course, based on the Panic! At The Disco song 'House of Memories', which you are welcome to listen to this on repeat whilst reading this chapter :)

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Kageyama set the next ball to Bokuto, much to Hinata's disappointment - although, the blockers had fallen for his decoy skills, and had ran towards him, clearly assuming that Kageyama would try to repeat the attack. Hinata was just as shocked. The old Kageyama would have definitely risen to Atsumu's jeers and teasing prods, setting to Hinata a second time purely to prove that he could win no matter what. Now, the setter seemed far more methodical and calm, biding his time and planning ahead carefully. His talent combined with his forward-thinking made him far scarier than the Grand King. Like a Super Grand King.

Unfortunately, Hinata was not as patient as Kageyama. "C'mon Bakageyama, set to me again!"

"Boke! Wait for your time!"

Hinata grumbled under his breath. The next time Kageyama set to him, he still felt that the toss was a little off. Whilst it wasn't as bad as when he had completely missed Hinata's hand, it still felt slightly laboured - far from the effortless tosses he had become used to in his teenage years.

"Higher, Bakageyama!" Hinata pouted. "And can you give it more spin?" It was the third time he had criticised Kageyama's tosses, and the setter's patience was beginning to wear thin.

"Boke! I don't practice with you every day, do I?"

By this point, the other members on both teams had figured out that the duo had some sort of past with each other. "Why is Hinata-kun acting like some sort of spoiled volleyball-prince?" Hirugami-san asked under his breath, turning to Atsumu. "He's being so demanding of Kageyama-kun - I would never have the courage to speak to my setter like that."

"Nani?" Hinata asked, and the captain of the Adlers winced as he realised he had been overheard.

"Gomen, Hinata-kun, I didn't mean to offend you."

"Huh? I wasn't offended at all." Hinata cocked his head, and a chill settled over the court, both teams falling silent. "You asked why I was being demanding?" Hirugami-san nodded, and Hinata chuckled. "It's because I know I only get the best tosses from Kageyama-kun, and he'll always work hard to give them to me."

"You trust him that much to just respond to your every wish?" Hirugami-san raised an eyebrow.

"Heh," Hinata laughed, walking back to his place for the next point. "Trust was how I learned to play volleyball."

Fairly quickly into the first set, Hinata found that his rhythm with Kageyama was returning. As Atsumu said - they were some of the best players in Japan. Despite that, it didn't take them long to begin their bickering once more. Nor their challenging. "Hinata! I know you can jump higher than that!"

Hinata turned around, having missed the last shot, which had been too high for a first-tempo shot. "Not my fault your toss was off!"

"Boke! It wasn't off - don't be stupid!"

Hinata rolled his eyes. Urgh, Kageyama had to be so pushy. Even so, Hinata still had to force down a smile rising in his cheeks, and he let his head fall to stare at the ground, concealing his expression.

For the rest of the set, Hinata and Kageyama's attacks were still slightly out of sync. However, Hinata knew why, and it wasn't necessarily a bad reason. As he jumped, he had been hovering in the air for longer, demonstrating to Kageyama how well he could stay and fight in the air, which meant their timing fell out of balance. On the other hand, Kageyama just kept tossing to Hinata higher and higher, and although it was barely a centimetre each time, it nonetheless threw Hinata's jumps off. Hinata knew it was confusing to many members of the team, yet a few - including captain Hirugami-san and the two teams' coaches - had realised what was going on.

Hinata was thriving. Although most were unaware, both him and Kageyama had been inadvertently trying to improve each others' skills - Kageyama by forcing Hinata to jump higher, and Hinata by helping Kageyama to realise what sort of tosses he wanted.

Due to this learning curve, however, they lost the first set.

"Nevermind!" Bokuto called encouragingly, as they gulped down litres of water in their short break. "We're strong enough to take back the second set!"

And they did. By the end of the second set, both Hinata and Kageyama were back in motion, their movements harmonising far better than in the first set - possibly even better than in high school, and certainly executed with a higher skill level.

"I can't believe you two haven't played since high school!" Atsumu smirked. "It's almost as if you've both been practicing with each other in secret." He raised an eyebrow at them both. Hinata laughed, but stopped when he picked up on Kageyama's fiery expression.

"Don't mind, Kageyama," he said, thumping the setter on the back.

They managed to take another point as Hinata smashed the ball down onto the opposite side of the court, pride gushing through him as he destroyed the blockers in front of him. Nevertheless, something still felt... off, as they took the second set, and then still throughout the third.

His feet began to itch, and his thighs bounced up and down as he squatted, ready to dig the next serve. It was match point, and his team was going to win. His gaze fell on the back of Kageyama's head, who was at the front for this rotation. As if he had signalled to him, Kageyama turned for a split second, and their eyes locked.

C'mon, Bakageyama - when are we going to do it?! Hinata screamed with his eyes. Time had been running out, and he still hadn't felt the full satisfaction of the game yet.

Now, came the reply, before the eye contact broke, and Hinata was left only to guess what was happening next.

Fortunately, the ball was hurled towards their libero, who expertly digged it, passing to Kageyama. At that moment, Hinata knew what was coming, and he had already begun his run up, flitting off to one side of the court before switching his game to the other side. Decoy run, check!

His entire legs strained with the weight he exerted onto the ground as he pushed himself up, as high as was possible. High, minus-tempo jump, check!

He took off into the air, arm swinging backwards as the ball soared towards him - just high enough for him to get a full swing, just slow enough for him to synthesise all of the information on the entire court, and fast enough so that only he could react quickly enough to deliver the final blow.

In that moment of flight, everything appeared to freeze. A light shone on the empty area of the court. The blockers' hands were too close for a straight-shot. But a cross-shot...? The ball came into view, spinning in front of his face, and in that second of hesitation, Hinata realised what the bird of prey in him had been searching for. "Bakageyama..." he muttered under his breath, before his palm collided with the ball, feeling the full force behind it. It thumped against their opponents' floor with a cavernous echo.

"Yeah!" Hinata yelled, and for the second time that day he felt the adrenaline pumping around his body with victorious enthusiasm. This time, however, he felt almost complete, his hunger for volleyball satiated for the time being.

He turned to Kageyama, and his expression mirrored everything Hinata imagined his to be like at that moment. His setter's eyes watered, and he tugged Hinata into a one-armed hug, grabbing onto a handful of his jersey and balling it into his fist. Hinata gasped slightly as a tear slowly made its way down his cheek.

They had succeeded in building a house of memories during their highschool years, so strong that it had remained unshattered even after all this time. It seemed that both of their volleyball fantasies had become their legacies, and Hinata's heart leapt as he knew he still had that promised place in Kageyama's house of memories.

"We'll both stay on the court," Kageyama said with a grin. "Forever."

"Of course, Bakageyama!" Hinata laughed, releasing all the muscle tension from the game in a breathless sigh. "I'll always be there to hit your tosses," he said, smirking as he continued. "Remember, as long as you're with me, you're invincible."

(Word count: 1401)
(Total word count: 64,433)