The Train Ride Home

Hinata

Hinata's knee pads were about to die on him any day now. There were some loose threads here and there. On top of that, Hinata had gained some muscle since he had first started high school and the knee pads were starting to get too tight as he had purchased the smallest size possible. Knee pads were already relatively not that comfortable. Having these old bands wrapped around his knees was definitely hindering his ability to play volleyball well.

The pads had finally met their match after a very intense practice of diving receives. His upperclassmen had suggested the Arakawa Sporting Goods store in the next town over.

"Hinata, you just need to take this train and turn right from there. Then head straight down and you should reach the shopping complex," Sugawara had instructed. "Are you sure you don't need one of us to come with you?" Sugawara was definitely worried for the little first-year as he did have a habit of not knowing what he was doing or where he was going.

Hinata didn't want to trouble his teammates and responded with a reassurance that it would be okay. After helping take down the net and cleaning the floor he was just about to head out. Someone behind him had tapped him on his shoulder. Sugawara was still worried about leaving him so he insisted that he at least walk to the train station. Hinata had his bike, as usual, so the two had walked side by side to the station with Hinata dragging his bike along.

After leaving his bike on a designated bike rack, Hinata headed onto the right train with the help of his senior. He would be able to go and get his bike back as he had to pass through this station again to get back home anyways.

Once he got on the train, however, he wasn't sure what to do. He didn't know anyone on the train and most of the passengers were adults who seemed to be heading home from work. He did a quick survey of the car until he spotted someone familiar. A large man with white hair and a large physique was sitting with headphones in his ears. The lack of eyebrows and white jersey with teal accents had confirmed it; this was indeed the large, intimidating middle blocker from Dateko Tech High School: Aone Takanobu.

The strangest thing about Hinata was there were three empty seats surrounding him. There were people standing up on the train, so why did they not occupy those seats? Was there something wrong with the seats? Were they dirty?

Although Hinata would be fine with standing for a couple minutes, that day's practice was especially tough on his legs and he really would like to sit down. He wasn't sure how to approach this though. Could he just sit down in the empty seat or did he need to ask the person if they could sit there? He decided on the latter.

And so Hinata decided to call out his name. The white-haired boy looked up.

Aone had suddenly bowed down in which Hinata responded with a bow of his own. Hinata respected Aone, not only because he was arguably the best blocker in the district, but also because he seemed to respect Hinata. Unlike the other scary and tall volleyball players he had met before, Aone never called Hinata "Chibi-chan" or a similar nickname along those lines. Hinata really liked Aone for this reason, because even though he was used to being called short or a grade-schooler all year long, it didn't mean he liked the names.

After asking as politely as possible, Hinata quickly occupied one of the available seats next to Aone.

Once he finally did sit down, Hinata was a little confused on what to do. Even though both had held each other with high regards for months now, ever since the Inter-High playoffs, the two never actually had a proper conservation. In fact, if Hinata recalled, he rarely saw Aone talking to his own teammates and friends, so why would he want to talk to him?

The thing is, Hinata, being the extroverted person that he is, really wanted to talk to someone. He really had the habit of talking to random people, without feeling uncomfortable and recalled his first encounter with his friend Kozume Kenma.

Additionally, unlike the other long rides he's been on, this train ride was short enough that he could not fall asleep, otherwise he would miss his stop.

Carefully he decided to take the risk and ask the boy next to him something.

"Aone-san, I didn't know you took the train? Do you do this everyday?"

Aone looked at him with his eyes wide. He nodded.

"Oh so you're used to this, then! I have to get some new knee pads from that sports store in town," Hinata exclaimed. Aone nodded again. Hinata kind of got the feeling that he was making Aone a little uncomfortable so he stopped pestering him after that.

Once the train stopped, the two high schoolers had gotten off together, did their usual bow and headed in opposite directions. As Hinata headed left, Aone quickly grabbed his hand.