OBSERVERS - TSUKISHIMA KEI

THIRTY ONE - PHONE CALLS

Amaku didn't know what was going on. All she saw was Hitoka sprinting and calling out for her, snapping herself out of the daze she was in as she walked out of the clubroom, craving her own bed after the weekend in Tokyo.

"Hinata and Kageyama!" She panted. "In the gym!"

Seeing her frantic expression, she wasted no time in heading to the door as fast as she could, the sounds of yelling and fighting growing louder.

   When she finally got to the door, she found the two at each other's throats, shoving and pushing each other. Hinata had Kageyama's collar in his hand while Kageyama was attempting to shove him into the ground.

Amaku didn't say anything, grabbing Hinata and pushing him away, Kageyama's elbow ramming into her lip as she did. She could taste blood, but the thought didn't cross her mind. She hardly heard their argument, but it didn't take much to figure it out.

Nekoma had stopped their quick attack. Hinata knew if the special move he had was taken away, he wouldn't stay on the court for long. Kageyama's job was to set the ball to the person who he thought had the best chance of scoring. If Hinata lost that quick attack, he wouldn't set to him.

"Shit, I didn't mean to-" Kageyama started to say when he saw Amaku's face.

"Go home." She cut him off. "The both of you need to cool the hell off."

The two of them hung their heads, scattered cuts on both of their arms and faces. "Hinata, walk Hitoka home." Amaku instructed, pulling out a first aid kit from her backpack and handing him a few bandaids. She mumbled a quick "get home safe" to the both of them before turning to the other guilt ridden boy in the gym.

   She waited for the gym door to slide shut, taking a deep breath and organizing her thoughts.

"When I was seven, my dad died." Her words made his head snap up. "Volleyball was a big part of his life, and I wanted to make him proud. I told him one day, I'd be on a professional volleyball team and wear his number. After he died, every time I stepped onto the court, rage was fueling me. I would lock onto my opponents, I would beat them before the game even started. And it was never enough. I could tell you exactly what play someone was thinking about but I couldn't tell you the first thing about any of my teammates. I didn't care."

"Your team isn't just people next to you. It doesn't matter why you're playing, they're still your teammates." She continued. "This is going to be the lamest thing I've ever said, but these people are your family. They look after you. They care about you. And you do too. That's something you can't learn or teach, it's either there or it's not. Hinata is your best friend. I'm not sure you realize that."

Kageyama stood there for a moment, taking her lecture in. "I've never had one of those." He says.

"One of what?"

"A best friend." He admits.

"It takes some time to get used to." Amaku says. "But it's a good thing to get used to. You deserve it, you know."

After cleaning up the gym, the two started to walk home together. She had already texted Tsukishima and Yamaguchi to head on home without her, rolling her eyes at how Tsukishima just liked the message meanwhile Yamaguchi asked if something happened.

"I'm sorry about your dad." he says as they began walking. Kageyama didn't think he'd ever apologized to someone before, but he didn't know what else to say. He was sorry, he knew what it was like. "My grandpa was like that for me."

"Don't be sorry, you sound like Hitoka." Amaku dismissed. "Everyone has something."

"I think I'm going to visit Oikawa next week." Kageyama said suddenly. "I think his help would be a good idea."

"Do you want me to go with you?" Amaku asks, hesitantly.

"You don't have to." He replies. "I just thought you should know."

✧☆✧

While Hinata was training with Coach Ukai's grandfather (the original Coach Ukai), Kageyama called Amaku as he was walking to the school to see if he could get some reps in. He relaid his meeting with Oikawa to her, asking for her input. Their conversation was cut short when he told her he was getting another phone call, but he was able to explain the beginning of their conversation.

When he told her that Oikawa had essentially just insulted him repeatedly, Amaku's fingers furiously typing to the caption's contact, calling him before she even realized what she was doing.

He picked up on the first ring.

"You asshole, would it kill you to be helpful for two minutes?!" She yelled into the phone.

"Aw, I've missed this!"

"I'm serious, Oikawa." Amaku said sharply. "Do you know how much it took for him to see you? You know how much he looked up to you."

"Ouch, you've never called me that before." She could hear his pout through the phone. "I didn't just call him a coward, I gave him some advice."

"Why don't I believe you?" She replied.

"Probably because you haven't seen me in over a year."

"And whose fault is that?" Amaku said curtly.

There was a brief silence over the call, and she almost hung up the phone before Oikawa could respond.

"I'm so sorry, Amaku." His tone was sincere, it was mature sounding and honest. She hadn't realized how much he'd grown up. "There hasn't been a day that's gone by where I don't regret what I said to you."

"Look, I appreciate it, I do." She took a deep breathe. "But a lot has gone on and changed, and I don't think I can forget about it just like that."

"Sure, yea-okay." He says quickly.

"We'll see you on the way to nationals." Amaku almost smiled.

"Keep dreaming."

She hung up the phone first, collapsing onto her bed before inviting Hitoka over, in desperate need of a break from everyone.