𝐶𝐻𝐼𝑁𝑀𝑂𝐾𝑈 ┊ 𝑇𝑂𝑅𝑈 𝑂𝐼𝐾𝐴𝑊𝐴

01

『 Chapter One: Silence 』

edited 2023
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The threads of his shoelaces burned his fingertips, his skin feeling like rubber. Promptly running to the gym, he hoped to get their first to start as soon as possible. He simply couldn't think of doing anything else.
Hinata spiked a ball at the wall, waiting for his team to arrive. Kageyama yelled at him for arriving so early.

An emptiness was present in their argument, like they couldn't bring themselves to drag it on. Tsukishima couldn't even stop to taunt them. There was something about looking back at the net that had let them down and the ball they'd let escape that brought them to a numbness.
Trying to get his boys started on a warmup, Takeda tried encouraged them with a smile. Walking up carefully to tap his shoulder, Tanaka looked around longingly.
"Where's Kiyoko?" He asked.
"Oh. She's busy today, but she'll be back tomorrow."
He sulked, but not for long when his friend swiftly stole him away.

Even though Karasuno had won the Seijoh practice match, The Great King still defeated them. It was an unspoken feeling, one that no one was willing to acknowledge.
Every time a block was missed, a receive didn't go through, or a spike went wrong, it was like the floor sunk further beneath them.
This clouded feeling suffocated them, yet the annoyance made them blind to it.
Asahi and Nishinoya hadn't even played in the practice match but could tell that Seijoh would be a problem in the future.

Seijoh hadn't won but had succeeded at poisoning the Karasuno sky.
It flooded with rainfall that drowned them in visions of their mistakes.

-

"I'll be back."
Leaving her mother's car, she awed at the school she was set to attend the next day. She was only there now to attend an errand for her brother's sake.
Lifting her eyes, the sun was covered, making the place seem more dull than she'd hoped for.
Heading inside to roam the halls, she attempted to find the room agreed upon, but the new environment was slightly distracting.

Entering a third-year classroom on the top floor, she saw Kiyoko sitting at a desk, looking out the large window.
"Are you Shimizu Kiyoko?"
Kiyoko turned quickly and stood up, bowing her head.
"Yes, and you are Asakuma-San?"
"Yeah, but I'm fine with Keiko. You're the third-year here after all."
Keiko pulled out her seat, struggling to fit in the small space.

"Is he not here today?" Kiyoko peered back to the door.
"Oh no, something came up. But he'll be here tomorrow."
"Great."
Kiyoko slid a sheet of paper across the desk to Keiko.
"He'll need to fill this out and pay for the uniform. Then he can turn this into me tomorrow."
"Can he attend the practice tomorrow as well?"
"Yes, of course. He can return this to me then or in the morning. Whichever is easiest."

Keiko took a look at the sheet to see what all was on it. Kiyoko coughed to get her attention.
"Your brother has a-problem, right?"
Keiko tapped her foot as an uneasy surge went through her body. Her brother was considered a problem child for a reason she didn't consider to be a problem.
"I didn't mean to offend," Kiyoko noticed the silence, "Is he completely deaf?"
"Yes, he is."
"I know basic phrases, so it shouldn't be much trouble to interpret."
Keiko settled her bouncing leg, "I would help but he usually hates me speaking for him."

Kiyoko smiled, trying to ease the tension.
"He can speak though, correct?"
She found Keiko's silence was unnerving.
"He prefers sign."
"Oh, alright. Is he good with teams?"
"I'd say so. He's more sociable than he'd like to admit."
"That's good," Kiyoko adjusted her glasses, "Our team could use a feeling of unity right now."
Keiko gleefully bit her lip, realizing Kiyoko actually wanted her brother. It was a first for sure.

"Everything should be ready," she smiled, "Just return this tomorrow and he'll be set to go."
"Thanks, Kiyoko-San."
"No problem."
The two girls bowed again as the clouds departed.

Keiko walked outside, holding the paper tightly in her hands.
Taking a deep breath, she squealed, hugging them close.
"Please happen," she whispered, picking up her pace to the car. "He needs this, god."
She couldn't see it any other way.

-

He grumbled again as the ball missed the water bottle on the other side of the net.
He had realized only then that everyone else in the park had left as the darkness set in.
He grabbed the ball and set himself back up. The net was low and yet he couldn't hit a single obstacle.

He ran his fingers through his hair and went to spike again. His aim, still off, missed the bottle. The plastic statue taunted him.
Keiko watched from afar, waiting until he was relaxed before approaching.
She held onto his arm, making him flinch.
"You've been out here too long, let's go home," she signed. She grabbed his bag and started down the street, expecting him to follow her.

He didn't want to ask whether she got the signup sheet or not. He was too afraid of the answer. He thought they denied him. It would be the end of his volleyball career. He had a feeling that he'd be okay with that; that he'd have to be okay with that.
His sister made no efforts to talk to him on the way home, so he assumed she was getting herself ready to announce to him that she had failed at getting him a spot on the team.

When they got home, he headed upstairs, letting his own assumptions make him upset.
Keiko followed him and slid the paper onto his desk, waiting to see his face fill with surprise.
He looked up at her with shimmering eyes, completely shocked.
"Fill the rest out and don't try and change my answers," she signed with a big grin, "I'll turn it in tomorrow and you can go to their practice after school."

He sat down at the desk thanking Keiko who couldn't help but smile at the excitement on her brother's face.
He picked up a pen to fill in the rest of the sheet because she had filled in most of it already.
She picked his position and probably for good reason. He would've gone the safe route, so he was okay with her choice.

He filled out his name, height and then trailed his eyes down the final question with a large open space left for a lengthy answer.
What do you want out of the Karasuno Boy's Volleyball Team?
It was a simple question that most people probably answered with something cheesy and quick.

He looked at the question carefully, tapping the end of the pen onto the hardwood.
No one ever asked him what he wanted out of his team. Weren't they supposed to ask what he could do for them?
There wasn't a question like that anywhere.
He was the one requesting something.

He knew exactly what he wanted, but thought it was far from his reach. He wrote it down anyway, as it was an honest answer.
I want to be enough for my teammates and I want to be useful.

Being useful would give him purpose. It would keep him from the damp wood of the benches.
Being enough for his teammates meant to be relied upon.
He just wanted that. Then he could be enough for them, for someone.

He finished answering and put the pen back, noticing his shaking hand.
He worried what they might do with him. If that bench truly was all he belonged to, he'd have to quit.
The dark doubts lingered over him and consumed him. He swiped his thumb over his answer, hoping to erase it but instead smudging the ink.

Unable to look at the sheet anymore, he went to bed, not fully aware of the decisions he had just made
It wouldn't be easy, with both him and the team drowning in their worst parts. But they'd rescue one another from the crashing rain.
They'd find harmony in silence.