Rigid Crow

Ready to Move On

"Hey, Kageyama!" Nishinoya greets me as I open the door to the gymnasium with a grin on his face and a skip in his step. "Are you ready for the best practice ever? I even practiced rolling thunder 3.0! Shōyō's going to be so impressed when he comes back!"
"You're that confident, huh?" I ask, actually a bit amused as I step into the gym towards Nishinoya.
"Of course! Also gotta make this the best practice for the third years, you know?"
"Yeah, I know." After losing our last game, we're now out of the tournament. Today is the third years's last day on our team. The school year's just about over, so today will be our last practice until the start of the new school year. Today may be the last day I see Suga-san, Sawamura, and Asahi in a long time. Yet Noya still keeps on such a cheerful demeanor. Though this is true, I know volleyball won't be the same for him without Asahi.
"What food did you bring for the party?" Noya-senpai asks. "You know, practice is only half as long today. Then we can stuff our faces and do whatever we want!"
"I bought some chips," I hold the bag out so show him. "I know that's kinda boring, but-"
"Boring? Nah, it's fine!" He grabs the bag from he and beckons me to follow him to the back room. Is that where we're having the party? I enter the room to find an array of party food in a spread across the table. An arrangement of cookies, cupcakes, fruits, pretzels, sodas, and potato chips are stocked high on the table.
     The entire team is already in the room, chatting away. Suga, Dai-san, and Asahi are all wearing party hats. Nishinoya pulls a camera out of his sports bag and begins to take random pictures of everything going on in the room in a rapid sequence.
     "What in the world are you doing?" Tsukishima asks Noya in an annoyed tone as the camera flashes in his unamused face.
     "Taking plenty of pictures for Shōyō! Also, Asahi suggested making a team scrapbook!" Nishinoya points out with a smirk.
     "Yuu!" Asahi yelps, blushing. "You promised not to say anything about it!"
     Sugawara laughs and replies, "Don't worry, Asahi. It's not such a bad idea."
"Alright, everyone, listen up!" Coach Ukai barks. "Food is for after practice, so don't stuff yourselves beforehand! Let's all go to the gym and finish up the season well. Get a move on!"
     "Hai!" the team shouts in agreement, beginning to travel in a pack to the gym.
The next hour consists of scrimmages and drills. Nishinoya shows off his new rolling thunder (which is the exact same as the other two). We all want to receive Yamaguchi's jump floats, and we get good practice with that. I get the chance to practice my attack with Suga's set again. I just love the shock plastered across the other teams's faces when we pull that off.
Soon enough, it's time to go eat and celebrate. Though we were devastated yesterday when we lost the tournament, now is not the time to dwell on that. It's time to move on... even when that means losing our third years.
"Oi, Kageyama!" A voice snaps me out of my short trance. "Earth to Kageyama!"
"Hey, stop that!" Suga is rapping on my head. Suga simply laughs in return.
     "Sorry! Ready to have some fun? Everyone else already left for the training room."
     "Oh, yeah," I respond quickly. "I was just... thinking."
     "About what?" Suga inquires as we walk together in the direction of the partying.
     "It's nothing really." Suga raises an eyebrow at me in disbelief. "It's just... are you really ready to move on?"
     "To be honest..." Suga starts, "no, I'm not ready at all." He sighs and looks at the floor. "I don't really want to leave. It's been three years. I've made my best friends here, and now I'm going to lose them. I don't want it to be time to let you all go."
"Is..." I think for a moment, "is there anything we can do?"
Suga smiles at me gently. "Arigatō, Kageyama, but I don't think so. Let's just... enjoy the party, okay?" He flashes another, brighter smile and begins walking in the direction of the training room again while I follow.
The rest of the evening is devoted to us gorging ourselves on food and having the best time together as we possibly can. Though I try to enjoy myself to the fullest with my friends, nostalgia tugs at me in my chest. I will never be with this same group of guys again. The third years will leave and go on with their lives. We'll get new first years and they will be a part of our team. Yachi will be our manager full-time. Ennoshita-san will be our captain. I won't be able to rely on Suga when I just can't keep going anymore. Hinata may never play with us again...
A small somebody suddenly jumps onto my back, and I almost lose my balance with a shout. "Hinata!" I yell in annoyance out of habit.
I realize my mistake as soon as it slips out of my mouth. The entire room, previously full of cheerful chatter, goes dead silent, and everyone looks at me, and, as it seems, Nishinoya, who has jumped onto my back.
Noya hops down silently, his face red with embarrassment. I feel my face getting hot as well. Nobody has said a word, yet all the eyes in the room are on me.
Nishinoya quietly mumbles to me, "Sumimasen. You looked a bit miserable, so... Gomen-ne."
"You don't... have to be sorry," I murmur back. Is it really such a big deal? It's just habit that I said that. I know it was awkward... but does it have to be this awkward? I've hit a touchy subject I don't know how to get out of.
     "Oh, uh..." Daichi tries to dig us out of the situation. "Sorry about that, I guess we just... man, this is kinda weird," he says awkwardly. "Sorry, we shouldn't have reacted so shocked. Let's just not worry about it, okay?" The others mumble similar things in agreement, but it seems there's still tension left in the room.
     "Um, hey!" Tekeda-sensei tries to grab everyone's attention, changing the subject. "I'd like to take a picture of everyone together before we leave. Why don't we do that now? The camera's got a timer, so we can all be in it."
     "Great idea, sensei," Ukai agrees, then begins barking instructions for us to huddle together, shorter in the front, taller in the back. Nishinoya is the only one to go to the front willingly. I'm proud to say that my height has landed me a place in the back. The tension in the room has vanished just as quickly as it started. However, this sinking feeling of loneliness in my gut just keeps growing. Does anyone else feel it?
Does anyone at all?