Through the Boundaries ~ Kageyama Tobio

21

Saerin walked through the hallway, trying to push past the unease that lingered from her last encounter with Kenji. She thought things would be fine now, that he'd finally get the hint and leave her alone. But as she felt his presence closing in behind her once again, her heart sank.

"Saerin, wait up," Kenji called from behind her.

She sighed, quickening her pace, but he was relentless. Before she could reach the next classroom, Kenji stepped in front of her, blocking her path.

"Kenji, I told you to leave me alone," she said, her voice steady but laced with frustration.

He smirked, leaning against the wall with an air of smugness. "Oh, come on." He teased.

Saerin's eyes narrowed, and she clenched her fists. "I don't. And I'm not going to say it again. Leave me alone."

But Kenji didn't seem fazed. Instead, he took a step closer, his eyes flicking over her body in a way that made her skin crawl. "You've got some nerve acting like you're too good for me. I mean, I get it... with a body like that, a face like that, you probably have a lot of options."

That was it. Saerin's stomach twisted in disgust, her face flushing with anger. Before she could respond, however, someone else stepped in.

"Say that again."

Kageyama's voice was low, dangerous, and it sent a chill down Saerin's spine. He stormed over, his eyes locked on Kenji with a fury that was barely contained. Without hesitation, Kageyama shoved Kenji back, his hands balled into fists.

Kenji stumbled but quickly regained his balance, glaring at Kageyama. "What's your problem, man? This has nothing to do with you."

"It has everything to do with me," Kageyama snapped, stepping closer to Kenji. "You don't talk about her like that. Ever."

Kenji scoffed, clearly trying to play it off, but the tension between them was crackling. "She's not your girlfriend, so what do you care?"

The words hit Kageyama like a trigger, and before anyone could stop him, he lunged at Kenji, throwing a punch that landed squarely across his jaw.

"She has to be my girlfriend for me to care about assholes like you being weirdos? And what if she is my girlfriend? Then this is justified right?" He said as he had him pinned on the ground before punching him again.

Saerin gasped, her heart pounding as she watched the fight break out in front of her. The two of them wrestling on the ground in a flurry of fists and anger. Kenji managed to throw a punch of his own, striking Kageyama across the cheek, but Kageyama didn't even flinch.

"Stop it you two." Saerin shouted, as she tried to pull Kageyama away, but he was too caught up in his rage to listen.

Just as things were about to spiral even further out of control, two familiar voices cut through the chaos.

"Kageyama, stop!"

Nishinoya and Tanaka sprinted down the hallway, diving into the brawl. Together, they managed to yank Kageyama off of Kenji, holding him back as he struggled to break free. Kenji was breathing heavily, wiping blood from his lip as he glared up at Kageyama.

"This isn't over," Kenji spat, but Nishinoya shot him a glare that shut him up.

Tanaka kept a tight grip on Kageyama, his voice firm. "Dude, you need to chill. He's not worth it."

Saerin stood there, breathless, her mind spinning. She should've been furious with Kageyama, but all she felt was an overwhelming sense of gratitude. Kenji's comments had been vile, and seeing Kageyama defend her like that... it made her feel safe, like he was the only person who truly cared.

But there were consequences. Both Kageyama and Kenji were suspended for two days after the fight. It wasn't long before word spread, and Saerin couldn't help but feel responsible.

That night, after everything had settled down, Saerin sat in her room, staring at her phone. She couldn't stop thinking about Kageyama—about how he'd stood up for her, even if things had gotten messy. She didn't want to leave things as they were.

Finally, she picked up her phone and dialed his number.

The line rang twice before he picked up, his voice gruff on the other end. "Hey."

"Hey... are you busy?" she asked, her voice softer than usual.

There was a pause, and then Kageyama replied, "No, not really. Why?"

"Can I come over?"

Another beat of silence, and she could hear him shifting on the other end. "Yeah, if you want. I'm home alone, anyway."

Fifteen minutes later, Saerin stood outside his front door, holding a small bag of supplies. When Kageyama opened the door, she could immediately tell that he hadn't been taking care of himself. His cheek was bruised, and there were still cuts on his hands from the fight.

"You haven't been taking care of your wounds, have you?" she asked, stepping inside.

Kageyama shrugged, clearly uncomfortable with the attention. "It's not that bad."

"Sit down," she ordered, pulling out the ointment and bandages from her bag. "You're not getting off that easy."

He sighed but obeyed, sitting on the edge of his bed as Saerin knelt in front of him. She carefully cleaned the cuts on his hands, her touch gentle but firm as she applied ointment to his cuts.

"Why didn't you take care of this?" she muttered, more to herself than to him.

Kageyama watched her, his usual stoic expression softening. "Didn't think it mattered."

"It matters," she said quietly, wrapping a bandage around his hand. "You can't just ignore this stuff."

He didn't respond, but as she continued to tend to his injuries, Saerin could feel the tension between them easing. It was a quiet, tender moment, one that made her heart swell with appreciation for him.

When she was done, she looked up at him and smiled softly. "I'm grateful for you, you know that?"

Kageyama's eyes flicked away, as if he didn't know how to handle her words. "It's nothing."

"No, it's not nothing," she insisted, her voice gentle. "You really care, Kageyama. And that means a lot to me."

He didn't say anything, but the way his shoulders relaxed told her he appreciated what she said. As he stood up from the bed, Saerin rose to her feet as well, and before either of them could think too much about it, they fell into a long, warm hug.

Kageyama held her tightly, and for the first time in days, everything felt right again. He didn't want to let her go. Neither of them said a word, but they didn't need to. The closeness between them spoke volumes.

After a moment, Saerin pulled back and smiled up at him. "Let's go get ice cream."

They headed out, and after grabbing ice cream from a nearby shop, they returned to Kageyama's house. As they sat on the couch, watching a movie, Saerin leaned her head on his shoulder. Slowly but surely, her eyelids grew heavier, and before she knew it, she had fallen asleep against him.

Kageyama looked down at her, his heart swelling with contentment. He couldn't remember the last time he'd felt this at peace.

But there was still something missing.

He couldn't let this go on without making it official. He had to let her know how he really felt, once and for all.