Wings of Steel

Part 4~Kiyoko

Shoyo stayed staring at the door, his eyes wide in shock, the piece of paper gripped tightly in his hand. "Wait a second... Why am I getting punished?! I was trying to stop this idiot from doing stuff. It's not my fault his insane!"

"I'm not insane!"

"Like hell you are! You threw the ball at my head and then did it when I wasn't even looking! It's like you wanted to kill me, and trust me, I've seen my fair share of people coming to murder me." Shoyo crossed his arms, nodding proudly.

"That's a weird thing to be proud of." Kageyama tutted, pushing Shoyo back as he started screaming at the door, begging to play, even willing to get along with Shoyo for it.

Slowly, the door was pushed open, Diachi peering through the gap. "Are you sure you mean that?"

"If I had to cooperate with that guy in a match, I'd rather receive, spike and toss all by myself."

Shoyo pushed himself up, sighing as Daichi laughed. "I can't believe you just told me your true feelings. But I think that's a good thing. Still, in volleyball, you can't drop the ball, you can't hold the ball, and one player can't touch the ball twice. How do you plan to play by yourself?" And with that, he slid the doors closed.

Shoyo bit his lip, suppressing the snort. "Well, that was the dumbest thing you could have said. Are you actually that stupid?"

Kageyama growled as Shoyo pulled out his phone, pressing the buttons as he walked away.

"Are you really giving up that easily?!" Kageyama sniffed, huffing in annoyance. "You are weak."

"I'm not weak. But I'll practice somewhere else if we can't practice there." Shoyo waved behind him, leaving Kageyama to watch the gym.

~~~

Kiyoko paused, glancing at the corner. The strange small ginger jumped around, receiving the ball over and over again. He paused, grinning before jumping up, spiking the ball against the wall, and landing messily as he muttered a curse, grabbing his knee.

"Are you okay?" Kiyoko stepped closer as Shoyo chuckled.

"Yep. All good. You're Kiyoko, right? You're the volleyball manager."

Kiyoko nodded, glancing at Shoyo's leg. "You're Hinata Shoyo. The vice told me to ensure nothing happened with you."

Shoyo paused, jolting with a look of horror. "Really?! What did he say?"

Kiyoko hummed, lifting her head slightly. "He said you had a habit of injuring your leg, and it caused a problem during your last year's match, almost getting your club disbanded."

"Yeah, that's fair." Shoyo chuckled as he bounced up, climbing on the small wall nearby. "What can I do for you, Kiyoko?"

"Why are you practising alone out here?"

"I got banned because a guy picked a fight with me." Shoyo laughed, smiling as he did. "Until the guy stops screaming at me, I'll practice alone."

"You're not upset about being rejected?"

Shoyo shook his head, picking up his volleyball. "Over the summer, I was practically on lockdown, so I found ways of practising without anyone or equipment. It sucks not being on a team, but I've waited three years. I can wait a bit longer." Shoyo charged forward, jumping high as he served to the wall, returning to his practice as Kiyoko turned away.

~~~

Shoyo sighed as he stopped by the gate, taking time to read his messages. He smiled quietly at the new photo that Suda had sent him. Kuro had become the captain, and they had met their latest first years though the one that stood out the most was a too-tall silver-haired giant.

Just seeing him already rubbed Shoyo the wrong way. No one had the right to be that tall!

"There he is!"

Shoyo jumped as Kageyama pointed at him angrily.

"Great, what did I do this time?" Turning away, Shoyo grabbed his bike, swinging his leg onto the other side and pushing away.

"Hey! Get back here!"

"You'll never catch me alive!"

"Hey!" Kageyama chased after Shoyo, but Shoyo was gone. "Damn it, now what?!" Twitching his forehead in annoyance, Kageyama cursed and turned away, leaving Shoyo alone.

~~~

Shoyo spent the next few days avoiding the pissed-off Kageyama. At the end of every lesson, Kageyama would track him down and chase after him. Each time Shoyo would start practice, Kageyama would find him and cause him to run away, disrupting the very practice he was trying to do.

Sighing, Shoyo collapsed down, leaning back. "At least I'm getting my cardio in. My leg is killing me, though." With a heavy sigh, Shoyo pushed himself up, hearing the rhythmic thumping of the volleyball court. "I need a drink."

Stepping closer, Shoyo knocked on the door.

"Sorry to bother you, but do you know where the closest water fountain is?" Shoyo paused, stepping back when he noticed everyone was staring at him.

"So, you've stopped ignoring us, then?" Tanaka raised his head, a dark glint in his eyes.

"Ignoring you? I've not been ignoring you?"

Tanaka growled, lifting his head as he cracked his fingers. "Is that so? Then why do you run away whenever we try to approach you?!"

Shoyo blinked, tapping his chin. "I don't remember running from you."

"Are you kidding?! Kageyama and I tried to talk to you multiple times, but don't say you forgot!"

"Oh, you were with Kageyama. Sorry, guess I didn't notice you." Shoyo chuckled, scratching the back of his head.

Tanaka scoffed, turning away. "I guess you don't want to know that you've got a game to-" Tanaka didn't get a chance to finish when Shoyo jumped forward, his eyes sparkling.

"I've got a game?! With you guys?! Like a proper game!" With every sentence, Shoyo stepped forward, pushing Tanaka back.

"Well, it's for your position in the club. You'll be playing with Kageyama and me against the other first years. If you fail, you'll be banned from the club- are you even listening?!"

Shoyo was, in fact, not listening. His eyes were sparkling brighter, blocking out all the bad stuff that Tanaka was saying. "When?!"

"Saturday."

Shoyo squealed in excitement, jumping up and down. "I'll show you how amazing an asset I'll be to your team! Where's Kageyama? We should practice." Before Tanaka could deny him, he dragged Tanaka out of the gym.

"Do you think we should stop them?" Suga glanced at Daichi, who shrugged.

"Not my problem."

Shoyo skipped down the road, a grin on his face as he began talking about all the training they would have to do together. Tanaka paled at the thought, begging Daichi for help.

Daichi paused, glancing at Suga, who slowly closed the gym door.