In the Headlights

Chapter One

Chapter One

"Are we nearly there yet?"

Hinata received an annoyed grunt as a reply as Kageyama had given up on answering the same question he'd been asked seventeen times prior. The redhead puffed out his cheeks and turned to look out of the window at the passing trees. Coach Ukai had decided to take the Karasuno volleyball club to a one-off training camp. And when he said 'camp' he actually meant it. They'd be spending two weeks sleeping in tents in the middle of nowhere, training their bodies by hiking and swimming and learning to work together more by making fires and cooking. Said coach was quite proud of himself for thinking of such an unusual training idea and was pleased that it seemed to have peaked the team's interest and lift their spirits.

The bus they were travelling on chugged up yet another steep bank through the deep forest, spluttering and wheezing as Ukai changed into a lower gear in the hopes of making it to their destination. Three hours had passed since they'd last seen another human and that had only been an old farmer in a tractor. The blonde coach prayed that they didn't break down as he knew that neither he nor Takeda had any mechanical knowledge whatsoever.

"Whoa!" Tanaka suddenly yelled, startling Kageyama awake in the seat in front of him, "We're really high up!"

Beside the first year setter, Hinata squashed his face up against the window and followed Tanaka's awed gaze, as did Nishinoya in the back. Tanaka wasn't wrong, the gaps between the trees revealed a gaping chasm a good few hundred feet beneath the road. Pebbled disturbed by the bus bounced over the edge and tumbled violently down the slope, gaining momentum as they fell. If Ukai made a wrong move they'd be in free-fall for years! Well, at least that's what Hinata imagined.

Opposite where he and Kageyama sat, Tsukishima side-eyed Yamaguchi in the seat beside him as his freckled friend gulped loudly at the sight. Tadashi had never been a fan of heights and his knuckles turned white as he gripped the headrest in front of him. Daichi, who was occupying that seat, turned and smiled,

"Don't worry Yamaguchi, I'm sure we're in safe hands with Coach."

"Yeah," Sugawara's smiling face suddenly popped up beside Daichi, "I'm glad Tanaka's sister changed her mind about driving us!"

Yamaguchi shivered at the thought of the blonde lady zooming through the winding roads like a maniac and relaxed back into his seat, images of certain death quickly fading from his mind.

On the back seats, Asahi was nodding off as Nishinoya knelt on the seat to chat with Tanaka in front of him. They were complaining about Shimizu not coming on the trip and all of the missed opportunities to see her cooking or bathing or simply showing her legs. Both of their cheeks flushed at that thought but they were soon jostled from their fantasy as Ukai spotted them in the rearview mirror and bellowed at them to sit properly or walk. Two backsides flopped back down into their seats swiftly.

Defeated, Nishinoya decided to try and sleep as Asahi had somehow managed to drift into oblivion even through the excited chatter and constant jostling of the bus. The libero guessed Karasuno's Ace could probably sleep through a tsunami as long as his mattress stayed afloat. The back seat was more like one long bench and so Noya made himself a makeshift blanket with Asahi's large jacket and stretched out his small body easily. He even decided that Asahi-san's lap would make for a great pillow and snuggled down comfortably for a nap.

After another half hour on the road the rest of the team, save for Ennoshita and the other second years who were either on family holidays or at summer school and would be joining them the following week, were all drifting into dreamland. The monotonous blur of green had even lulled the ever-excited Hinata into a sleepy daze but their rest was soon interrupted as Ukai suddenly slammed on the brakes, lurching the bus and its occupants forwards as it shuddered to a stop.