Haikyuu One-Shots

Always There (Hajime Iwaizumi)

If someone were to ask me to name the one person I couldn't live without...

"Hey Iwa-chan!"

My head snapped upwards, bringing her into view. I'd known her for years, since we were kids. Though it wasn't until my first year of high school that I'd started to see her the way I do now. But even though I'd have liked to be closer to her, there was always one thing keeping us apart.

I could name that one person without hesitation.

He came up behind her, pulling her close to him and ruffling her hair. She'd always hated that, but it had never stopped him before. "Toru!" she cried out, squirming and struggling to get out of his grip.

"Oikawa, don't annoy your sister," I scolded my best friend, hitting him.

Like always, he pouted and crossed his arms across his chest. I knew exactly what would come next. "So mean, Iwa-chan!"

It seemed like every day started out just like this. Even if I acted like it annoyed me, I wouldn't give up moments like this for anything in the world. I'd even suffer through Oikawa if it meant that these little moments would last forever.

She's the only one...

As I stood near the school's entrance waiting, something soft was wrapped gently around my neck from behind. I turned to see the one person I'd been waiting to see. "What are you doing?"

"We can't have our ace getting sick," she said, smiling up at me.

Because it was Monday, there was no practice. Because Oikawa was going to be busy with his nephew, he'd asked me to walk his sister home. He was always really protective of her, over-protective really, but I didn't mind because it gave me rare moments like this where I could be alone with her. "But you're the one who might get sick."

"I'll be alright. I don't wear my scarf anyway." Smiling. She always seems like she's smiling when I'm with her. Maybe she cares for me. Yeah, right... but it can't hurt to dream, right? After all, she always seems to be looking out for me. "Besides, Toru will throw a fit if you get sick."

"Oikawa will throw a fit if I let you get sick."

... the only one who's always been there.

Normally I never paid any attention to Oikawa's fangirls, but for some reason, I felt like I should keep an eye on them today. With Oikawa being sick, he wasn't here to keep them busy, which was practically begging for trouble. And after hearing them threatening someone, I realized that it was a good thing I did.

Standing there, surrounded by his fangirls, was his sister. They were asking why she was so close with Oikawa and threatening her, telling her to stay away from him. Since she'd only just started her first year here, no one really knew of her connection to the setter. No one outside of the males in the school who were threatened that if they ever so much as thought about touching her, they were as good as dead.

"Leave her alone," I said, trying to sound as scary as I could as I approached the group. Glaring at them, they backed away from her. "If Oikawa finds out that you were picking on his little sister, he'd never forgive you for it."

When times were great and I couldn't be happier...

Seeing my latest grade on our most recent test made me smile. It was a subject that I was always bad at, so knowing that I'd gotten every answer right had really made my day. Not even Oikawa could have gotten me down after that.

But the very second I saw her and she gave me that heart-melting smile of hers, my excitement over the grade had greatly paled in comparison to the happiness I felt as she congratulated me on my mark. "That's great, Iwa-chan!"

... and in times when I felt like I couldn't go on.

"Iwa-chan!" her cheerful voice called out to me. I turned around to see her smiling at me. "You were great out there!"

We'd just lost to Shiratorizawa again, but still, she looked happy. "But we lost..."

"So what?" Seeing her cheerful face smiling up at me, I just couldn't help but begin to feel better. And if the past was any clue, then I had a feeling her next words would make me feel even better. "As long as you do your best, that's all that really matters."

You could say that I love her...

"Hey Oikawa," I asked my best friend. There was something I needed to know after hearing a rumor floating around the school about a certain someone and one of the more questionable second years. "Is your sister dating anyone?"

"Of course not! I won't allow anyone to touch my baby sis." Oikawa looked almost horrified at the mere thought. Guess that meant that he hadn't heard that little rumor. Though hearing that it wasn't true was a huge relief. "Why? You're not interested, are you?"

Oikawa's words came out as an accusation and not a question."Of course not," I lied. Knowing the way he was, I could never admit my feelings for her.

"Good, because I won't let you have her."

... and I really do.

She's beautiful, making it so much harder for me to keep my distance. I know I can't have her, but that just makes me want her even more. Oikawa would slaughter me if he knew what I was thinking right now...

Walking her home, I stopped and grabbed her carefully by the arm. She stared up at me confused. I know I should stop, but I can't stand it anymore. "Iwa-chan?"

That sweet voice of hers pushes me over the edge. I pulled her close, her chest pressed tight against mine. There are only mere centimeters between my lips and hers. "Your brother is going to murder me for this..." I whispered before closing that small distance between us.

I love her more than anything in the world...

Oikawa refused to speak to me after he'd found out what I'd done. As much as I loved the quiet, I hated the fact that he'd also decided to suddenly act like I didn't even exist, even going so far as to refuse to toss to me during practice.

So I kissed his 'precious baby sister,' big deal. It's not like I didn't care about her. In all honesty, I was crazy about her. I want to be with her, even if my best friend didn't like it.

After two weeks of that, I finally snapped. "It doesn't matter if you like it or not; it happened so deal with it!" I shouted at my best friend, hitting him in the head. "I don't care if you hate me for the rest of your life; it's not going to change how I feel about her. It doesn't matter if you don't approve of it because I love her and if she returns those feelings then I won't keep my distance from her!"

Normally I'd never admit my feelings so openly, but I'd had enough. It killed me to have to see her all the time and be forced to stay away. That was something Oikawa would never understand. "I won't allow it!" Oikawa knew better than to get into a physical fight with me, so he settled a verbal one. "I'm not going to just sit back and let someone take advantage of her or break her heart!"

"Do you really think I'd do something like that?" His words pissed me off, so I hit him again for his stupidity. Oikawa has known me since we were kids; he knew that I wasn't that kind of guy. "Do you really think I'd ever do anything to hurt her? I've been in love with her for years now! I would never ever hurt her!"

Oikawa stared at me in shock. He knew me well enough to know that I was telling the truth. When did I ever lie to him anyway? Even if he didn't want anything to happen to his little sister, he couldn't deny that I was more than capable of protecting her and treating her right. Why else would he have had me look after her when he couldn't be around?

Suddenly, a voice sounded nearby, forcing both of us to turn around and look. "I love you too, Iwa-chan." Seeing her standing there with that sweet smile of hers made all my anger at Oikawa melt away. All I could do was take her in my arms and hold her tightly. Whether Oikawa accepted it or not, I didn't care as long as I had her.

... and I'll never let her go.