Abracadabra

Chapter 1: The Cause and the Effect

Chapter 1

The Cause:

Nishinoya Yuu was currently being haunted by his conscience. He felt as if his soul was burning in hell although he was still alive. His heart felt ripped apart mercilessly by wolves and his brain ached like it was shrinking into nothing. It was as if he was dying and living at the same time. He was suffering from a certain type of torture which he had put upon himself.

That was how great his crime against Hinata Shoyo had been.

So what happened, really? What kind of crime would someone as kind and caring as Nishinoya could have done? What felonious deed could he have possibly committed against someone as innocent as Hinata?

It all began last Friday evening somewhere in Miyagi prefecture, when Karasuno Highschool Men's Volleyball Club finished their daily practice.

"Here, everyone. My treat."

"Waaah! Pork buns!"

"Thank you very much!"

"Tsukki, here's one for you!"

"Ah. Thanks."

"Oi, Hinata! Why are you eating ahead of everyone?!"

"Don't you first year boys know how to RESPECT YOUR SENIORS?!"

"Tanaka-san, you're too loud..."

"Uh...Suga...Daichi looks angry now..."

Nishinoya could only laugh while watching his team mates fool around outside the coach's Foothill Store. And why not? All of the senpais were there: Azumane Asahi, Sawamura Daichi, Sugawara Koushi, and Tanaka Ryuunosuke. Then there were the freshmen: Kageyama Tobio, Tsukishima Kei, Yamaguchi Tadashi, and the shorty Hinata Shoyo.

Shorty. Insult intended.

"Noya-senpai!" the petite, orange-haired spitfire of a kouhai approached the team's Guardian Deity, unintentionally implying the (not-so-huge) gap between their heights.

"The snack tastes good! Can I have yours?"

A vein pulsed in Nishinoya's forehead. Somehow the first-year shrimp has been blessed with a few centimeters' length of bone, hence Hinata was taller than him. The libero suddenly recalled the moment when Hinata had actually mistaken him for a ghost of a kid at the training camp.

"No way in hell." Noya ate his pork bun as quickly as possible.

It was strange that height issues got into Noya's nerves that evening. Even weirder was the fact that he was irritated at the thought of Hinata, his kouhai, being taller than him, a senpai. Nishinoya was not the kind of guy who fussed about such trifle things. He had always ignored his size before. He was, after all, an exceptionally-skilled libero. Everyone acknowledges him once they see his moves – like the Rolling Thunder. As well as its newer version, the Rolling Thunder – Again.

Nishinoya naturally noticed his strange behavior himself. Hence he mulled about it as they all began to walk home.

"NOYA-SENPAI!" Hinata, who was an enthusiastic idiot, ran to his side, interrupting the shorter boy's thinking.

"What?" Nishinoya grunted uncharacteristically.

Hinata either did not notice the change in the other boy's tone, or he simply ignored it. "Our practices have gone well, nee? I think we're ready for the next match!"

Of course, I know that, Nishinoya thought without responding.

"Those guys are gonna get surprised when someone as small as you beat their attacks!"