Chapter Text
April, First Year of Middle School
Izumi dropped down to his knees after tossing the last ball to Hinata. Koji, on the other hand, looks at both of them while catching his breath. It wasn’t their fault to get this exhausted after two-hour-long practices with their basketball and soccer teams, respectively, to which they originally belonged. But they couldn’t say no to their best friend, especially when Hinata either pleads to his knees in their school walkways or bribes them with ice cream bars after classes just so they agree to play volleyball with him.
And when Hinata spends his entire week's allowance for them, they know they have no right to say no. (Not entirely because of the ice cream, but because they knew how he worked hard to earn his own money.)
“One more!” Hinata yelled, his eyes hinted at a sense of eagerness and determination to achieve a perfect spike. “I’ll let you and Koji go after this one, I promise!”
Izumi glances at Koji on the other side of the net, who in turn looks at him and smiles, a sign of their warm acceptance of Hinata’s challenge. He passed him the volleyball, and he gladly served. His serve was a bit off; it barely made its way past the net, but it was decent enough for the setter. Izumi uses his skill for basketball rebounds to receive the ball for a toss, which was a bit near the net and insanely high for Hinata to spike.
And yet, Hinata didn’t let that set fail him. He owes his two companions their well-deserved rest after spending an hour of failed spikes and sets with him. This should be his last try for today. With the perfect timing and run that had let him do such an amazing jump, his palm finally touched the ball, which he sent to the other side with untouchable speed.
The spike left Izumi's and Koji’s mouths ajar. During the past few weeks that Hinata has insisted on them joining him in his own little volleyball training, this is the first time Hinata has had a perfect hit. He had a few decent spikes, but this is something they couldn’t explain through words. And they couldn’t be any prouder.
They both rushed to Hinata, who’s currently stoned in his position, staring at his own palm, which was painted a shade of red due to the intensity of his spike. Izumi goes to ruffle Hinata’s hair, while Koji lightly hits his back to bring him back to his senses.
“You’re amazing, Sho-chan!”
When Hinata came back from his thoughts, he finally shed tears. He never knew exactly why he started crying, but he was overjoyed to have finally hit his first spike.
“Don’t cry! You’ve played well today!” Izumi exclaimed, frightened that other kids might assume that they made Hinata cry. Meanwhile, Koji beamed a smile that made the orange-haired kid wipe his tears away.
“When the time comes and the world discovers your greatness, we’ll be the first ones to proudly shout your name!”
Hinata Shoyo came home to their home with a big smile plastered on his face, despite his tear-stained cheeks. He greeted his mother quickly and entered his room in a heartbeat. His orange-colored hair bounces as he skips a few steps until he settles in his chair, fishing out an old notebook with an orange cat imprinted on its front cover. Shoyo flipped its pages until he reached a blank space and wrote his heart out.
Kenma,
It’s a good day today. Can you believe I just had my first perfect spike?
I felt bad for tiring out Izumin and Koji. Well, after you left town a few years back, they were the only ones I became friends with. They have to keep up with me after I started having interest in playing volleyball. Don’t worry! I pay them back by playing with them the way they like, I can do basketball and soccer anyway. Sadly, this school sucks and has no members for the volleyball club! (which explains why I pester them after their club activities hehehe)
Although you might not like volleyball, it would be nicer to have you witness my first achievement like that. I hoped you met them too, so you could be less quiet and noisier just as what I like you to be. (you’re so quiet but you tolerate me so!)
But either way, I still consider you as my best friend. It’s hard not to miss you everyday, but you promised to meet me in the future wherever and whenever our feet may bring us so I’ll hold onto that.
P.S. Middle School is boring, I wish I could play volleyball all day.
Shoyo
April, Third Year of Middle School
It’s not like he had Udai Tenma’s incredible skills and senses when it comes to playing volleyball, so hitting the ball that day became one of his most treasured memories.
To tell the truth, he had always been at the top of his PE classes since his primary school. Despite being short in terms of height, his phenomenal athleticism and flexibility attracted coaches from different sports, may it be track and field, baseball, soccer—you name it. But even with such tempting offers to play as an athlete for powerhouse high schools for the past years, he already had his heart saved for playing volleyball.
Even if he’s the only member of his middle school’s volleyball club.
It would not even be an exaggeration if it has to be said that if volleyball has only one fan, it would be him.
“Shoyo, today’s the last day of high school enrollment,” His mother sighed in defeat, but still talked to her son in her calm, soothing voice while massaging the bridge of her nose. “Izumi-chan and Koji-chan already enrolled at their schools.”
It was a fact. The three of them finished middle school about a month ago, and Shoyo had never prepared for his entrance examinations, despite having two of his friends admitted to two different schools in a neighboring town just a week after their graduation.
They planned to continue playing their sports, which made Shoyo happy, but he felt sad for himself for not being able to qualify for any school that offered volleyball club activities. Their only requirement to be accepted aside from passing the general entrance exam is to have a background in playing volleyball in an actual athletic Meet, with which Shoyo failed to comply.
But even if he makes the cut, he will probably be benched, knowing that most coaches prefer taller players than shorter ones. Volleyball is a sport where height matters the most, and Shoyo already knew he wouldn’t stand out even though he spiked amazingly.
Aside from that, there was only one school he wanted to apply to, but he knew it was way out of his league .
Yuka, being a concerned mother to his troubled son, sits down beside Shoyo to console the fifteen-year-old teen. She is completely aware of how his dear son loved playing volleyball but never got the chance to play on a court with an actual team. In fact, she was the one to beg the volleyball ladies’ association to let her son join their plays or let him train alongside them. She was the one who bought Shoyo his first volleyball shoes as a birthday gift. She was the one who made him a customized club jacket, which is a thing Shoyo never got to have.
Of all the people that surrounded Shoyo, she should be the one to understand him the most. He’s just like his father, after all.
“Okasan,” Shoyo called, “maybe I should give up-”
“SHO-CHAN!”
Shoyo and his mother were startled by the sound but later recovered after finding out that it was Izumi and Koji shouting outside their house. Yuka and Shoyo welcomed them with a curious and confused look. Having seen his friends’ brightest smiles, he felt so lost.
“Obasan, we’re so sorry for the noise.” Izumi quickly apologized, bowing to Yuka, which the lady shrugged off as she smiled.
“It’s alright. What’s with the sudden visit?” Yuka guided them home, quickly ushering them to the table so that they could talk in a much more comfortable environment.
“Let me show you something, Obasan, Sho-chan.” Koji fishes out his gadget and flips it to show Shoyo, who is equally confused as his mother at that moment. Upon looking at the screen, he saw himself in a video that lasted only ten seconds long, spiking a quick toss from Izumi.
It wasn’t at the same speed as that one instance from years ago, but it was enough to show the fortitude and tenacity Shoyo had for volleyball. And before Shoyo could even react, Koji had already spoken.
“This was recorded a few months ago from the playground... You never noticed I was recording because you were too immersed in your game,” he explained, replaying the video for them. “Izumi and I decided to send your video as an application for Haikyuu Private Academy tryouts.”
Shoyo’s eyes widened upon the mention of the institution.
Haikyuu Private Academy is the first and sole institution in Japan to offer intensive volleyball programs. Unlike normal schools, HPA focuses more on honing students’ skills in volleyball, albeit with academic curricula on the side. They have been known to produce several stars and well-known players in today’s volleyball scene, including Udai Tenma.
Of course, being the most prestigious academy there is, HPA doesn’t only produce players who excel in the sport but also players who can strive and survive in the highly competitive world—making their graduates be scouted by professional and international teams and by big company employers as well if ever they don’t want to pursue a career in the sport.
“You passed the initial application, Sho-chan. You’re invited to the academy for the second round,” Izumi announced, showing Shoyo’s mother the official email from the institution’s admission office.
Shoyo was at a loss for words. He doesn’t even hear the words that come out of his friends’ mouths after hearing the news that he passed the first round of HPA’s application. He doesn’t even react when his mother gives him a hug with her tears staining his shirt or when his younger sister Natsu playfully hits his knee from under the table.
Today was the last day of enrollment for him.
It was supposed to.
But hearing the name of that institution, his one and only choice for high school, made his heart skip its beats as if it wanted to break out of his ribcage.
“We might not be in the same school anymore, but Izu and I want you to always be happy. Fight and win this for us, Sho-chan.” Koji found it hard to speak with his sobs but delivered his words with sincerity.
Izumi backed up Koji’s statement, with him trying his best not to cry along: “You’re a great friend for the both of us, but we sucked playing volleyball with you, so this is the last thing we could do.” Izumi finally gives up suppressing his tears as they finally make their way down his cheeks: “You should get a team that you deserve, Shoyo. Let them know that there’s you.”
Shoyo absentmindedly nodded, making sure those words from Izumi and Koji were never to be forgotten. He thanked the two of them before turning his gaze to his mother, who was proudly looking at him.
Shoyo had his innocence stolen when his father left their home. His father eventually remarried and is currently living with his new family in Fukuoka, noting that they have been removed from the same registry—all because Yuka does not want them to bear the pain of not having a father. He never had the chance to even spend time with Natsu, who was just born at that time, and Hinata finds it unfair to see his sister get bullied for their father’s absence. Ever since then, he found himself trying to be a father figure to her, even if he was still too young to take on the roles he shouldn’t have been doing.
But he shouldn’t take credit for something he did so lightly. Because all these years, his mother had been someone too reliable for them to even want a father anymore.
She works in between several jobs to sustain a good life for Shoyo and Natsu. Despite her busy life, she always prefers to not miss cooking lunches and dinners for her children; she prefers not to miss any school activities because she knows how important it is for the kids to have someone they love to show up and how important it is for them to see they’re not missing something. Despite how life puts her on a pedestal every time, she finds a way out of it.
She’s strong and capable. She’s dependable. She’s loving, and she's the person Shoyo thought would be deserving of all the love and happiness in the world.
She’s everything a kid could ever wish for in a mother.
She’s everything, and she’s enough.
“My dear son...” Yuka held his cheeks before her soft hands landed on both of Shoyo’s shoulders. “I don’t care if that school is in Tokyo or on the other side of Japan. I just want you to be happy. Achieve your dreams. Be the best Shoyo you can be. If it costs us a fortune, I will certainly be glad to make up for it.”
Kenma,
You wouldn’t believe what happened today! Just when I was losing hope of playing volleyball in high school and entering a school in general, Izu and Koji surprised me. They submitted my video to Haikyuu Private Academy in Tokyo and I got accepted!
I am really happy. I have the best support system here. Koji’s father even offered to drive me to Tokyo! Okasan promised to make me a delicious meal for that day, and I certainly can’t wait.
But even if they say I’m already great, these skills of mine won’t make me a great team player when I lack experience. I suck at serving, receiving, tossing, or basically everything aside from spiking the ball for attacks. I should definitely get prepared for next week. I will practice more, I promise!
Ah, before I forget to write this off, Sky Tree is in Tokyo, right? I wonder how it looks in person! I wish I could meet you there, but I certainly don’t know exactly where you are.
Shoyo