Sunshine...?

5

You stretched, letting out a groan. "Shoyo, are you ok?" You look at your friend, who has yet to say a word since this morning's practice. You knew he focused on making sure his receives got better, but you didn't know what to do since he hadn't said a word. You were already surprised that he didn't do any spiking practice, so you wanted to make sure your friend was alright.

Hinata nods. "Yeah, I guess my arms are a little sore from practice. You're actually way stronger than you look." He chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck. "I never expected that kind of strength from you, but I'm kinda happy about it. With you spiking the ball at me, I'm bound to get better with my receives quickly. You don't need to worry about me so much. Trust me, I'm fine."

You let out a breath, but smile at him all the same. "Alright. I just want to make sure you're not hurt or something. I don't know what I'd do if you got hurt and ended up being unable to play volleyball. Also, I know we already ate our lunches, but do you really want to spend your extra time practicing your receives?" You look at him, and the other boy that had joined you two.

Sugawara chuckles. "Hey, if someone loves something this much, there's no stopping them from doing it. I think it's actually pretty good that Hinata wants to keep working on getting better. It just shows the passion he really has for volleyball. I wish I had been at the full practice you guys had, instead of coming in during the last couple of minutes."

You shake your head, hitting the ball over to your friend. "I'm just surprised that you figured out what was going on so quickly. And you're also spending your time to help us, even though you could be using it to sleep or do something else. I appreciate you for offering your help. Thanks for working with Shoyo as well. It makes me feel better to know there are so many nice people in the volleyball club. I'm glad that Shoyo will be able to play with such great people."

Hinata quickly received the next hit that came his way, sending it over to Sugawara, who passed it back to him. "Yeah, thanks a lot, Suga-san. I need all the help I can get."

Sugawara shrugged his shoulders. "Don't mention it. I'm also the current starting setter on the team right now. I can send you some tosses, if you feel like doing some spikes."

You spike the ball to your friend once more, your facial features softer than your hits. "That works in your favor, Shoyo. You can finally work with other setters, so you can really improve with your spikes. We can take a quick break from receives, if you'd like to hit a couple of tosses. I think both me and Sugawara-senpai are willing to set to you for a bit."

Hinata jumped up, catching the ball in his hands instead of receiving it. "Really?! Can you two set for me for a little bit? Just give me a few tosses each, then I'll get back to receives with however much extra time we have of break."

You and Sugawara looked at each other, then nodded. Without saying a word, you and the third year reached a mutual agreement. You two set for Hinata for a few minutes, before he insisted that his receives will be better this time around.

***

"Sorry, Hitoka, but I won't be able to walk home with you for a little while. I need to help my friend get better with volleyball after school." You spoke to your classmate during one of your quick breaks, since it was too short to go practice with Hinata. "He really needs to get better, but we don't have much time."

Yachi waves her hand in front of her. "Don't worry about it. I can walk by myself, no problem. Good luck with your friend though. I hope he gets better and performs well."

You grin. "He will. I know him like the back of my hand. There's nothing that can hold Shoyo back from being the best at everything he tries. Except maybe academics. He's not so good with studying, so I'll be helping him often." You chuckle, rubbing the back of your head. You knew your friend well enough to know that schoolwork was something he wasn't good at, even when he tried his hardest. He always seemed to need help, but you were more than willing to help whenever you could.

The blonde girl seemed to understand, a wide smile spreading on her face. "You're a really good friend, Y/n. Have you ever considered joining the club your friend wants to be a part of?"

"Kind of. I don't know if I'm ready to join any time soon. I want to wait until later on in the year before deciding to join any clubs. Hey, maybe we can join a club together by summer break. We can do something together and get to know each other better. Wouldn't that be cool?"

She nods, giggling. "I'll join a club with you. Anywhere you go, I think I'd be willing to follow. I just need some time to get myself together and figure things out. The moment you decide what club you want to join, come to me so we can talk about it. I want to learn whatever I can before joining any clubs?"

You give her a thumbs up. "You got it."

***

"See you tomorrow, Hitoka!" You wave to your friend before heading off to Hinata's classroom. You get close, when the person you were looking for walks right into you. "Sorry - oh, there you are, Shoyo. Are you ready to practice tonight?"

Hinata smiles, nodding his head. "Of course! Oh, we need to find Kageyama. He's going to be pushing me hard during the evenings. Though, you don't have to stay if you have homework or something. It's ok. You really don't have to help out all the time."

You shrug, walking through the halls with him. "I want to help you, though." You spot the setter you two are looking for. "Kageyama! Are you ready to work together tonight?"

Kageyama looks in your direction, slowly walking over to you two. "Yeah. You're joining us again, L/n?"

You nod. "I'll help us much as possible. I'm rooting for you guys to win your match. You don't think the team will mind if I watch it, do you?"

Hinata shrugs, taking the volleyball out of his bag once all three of you are outside. "I don't know. You can always ask Suga-san or Tanaka-san. They can probably find out if it'll be ok for you to sit in on the match. I don't really see a problem with you being there, but who knows how the rest of the team will feel." He bounces the ball on his arms lightly, just making it go up a little.

Kageyama snatches the ball from the shorter boy. "We don't need to think about any of that. Right now, you need to work on your receives!" He started by spiking the ball at Hinata, not really holding back with his strength.

You sat on a nearby bench, watching as they worked on receives. You hoped things would be good.

Hinata was trying not to let the pain show on his face. If they find out something is wrong, they won't treat me normally. I need to hide it. My pain isn't important. My life isn't important. Just work on being useful for Kageyama. That's all I need to do right now. If I keep being useless, there's no point in me staying alive.