small girl | haikyuu

2: Junior

2: Junior

"... do, I, uh, do I know you...?"

Thunder crackled in the background.

"..."

"..."

"Pfft- HAHAHAHAHAHA!" The only one who found this situation amusing was the third wheel.

.

.

.

.

Fourth-grade Hinata Shoyo bounced on the balls of his feet. "Hey! Hey! Why are you guys throwing erasers at him?!"

"Duh. He's so tall and weird, like a monster!"

"His hair is like a bird's nest! It's so messy and he doesn't brush his hair!"

"Anyways, shorty, this is none of your business. This is a sixth grader's business, okay?"

Shoyo puffed his cheeks. Taking a deep breath, he yelled at the top of his lungs, "SENSEI, THEY'RE BEING BULLIES!" The sixth grade bullies panicked and just like normal children, they ran away before an adult could arrive.

The tiny orange turned towards his senpai, crouching down beside the curled up child. "Senpai, senpai, they're gone! I chased them away!" Hinata Shoyo was as bright as the sun. One who had always seen the dark could hardly look straight at him.

"... ya didn't have to butt in my business, ya know?"

"Hmph. How can I just let someone bully someone else?" The indignant orange huffed, before releasing a deep breath. "I was so scared though! What if those bullies didn't run away?" After all, Shoyo heard that the teachers were in the multipurpose room for an emergency meeting.

Even if he cried again and again for them, no teacher would come to their rescue. Fortunately, the bullies were scared away!

"..." The senpai wanted to scold this tiny orange who was less than half his height. But this junior's sparkly eyes and proud expression made the senpai swallow back the words that threatened to be said. "Don't do something like this next time. What if you get hurt?"

"Then, I'll just tell my mom!"

"... you're not afraid to get hurt?

"Of course it's scary to get hurt, but at least I helped someone, right?"

"..." This orange made the senpai wonder if this tiny orange would be alright on his own in the future. What did he mean it was alright to get hurt if it meant helping someone?

No one should be that selfless.

...

The next time the orange saw that tall senpai, it was after he bought a popsicle in the convenience store as the heat of summer break beat down on them.

The little orange had gone straight to the park with the few kids in their neighborhood, playing tag and screaming like dying pigs when they got caught. He would laugh at them and try to provoke the 'it' person but he would always manage to escape at the skin of his teeth.

Though definitely smaller than other kids his age, the orange was as swift as the wind!

Not until he bumped into a pole.

Wait, there's no clang clang in my head, he thought in confusion. It took him a moment to realize that someone seemed to be carrying him by the collar of his shirt.