#in regards to his relationship with kageyama

[kimbapisnotsushi]

i think a lot of people tend to forget that kindaichi is an instigator and can be kind of a snappy lil shit and jumps into saying things he doesn’t mean and is not actually a total angel who has never done anything wrong ever

[hiraethwrote]

A TICKET IN YOUR NAME

pairing : tobio kageyama x f!reader summary : the charity auction you're in charge of is closing in, and there's still a ticket reserved in his name. your executives are on your neck about wanting a clear answer if the pro player will be able to attend - with no regards for the fact that you broke up three months ago cw : pro player!kageyama, break up, post-timeskip, reader wears a dress, angst, bittersweet, heavy yearning, regret, slight profanity, lowkey self indulgent lol, no use of y/n word count : 5.8k

“Kageyama? Hey, it’s me.”

A ray of cold ran down his spine as your all too familiar voice rang in his ear, tearing painfully at his heart from the first syllable. God, how he had missed those melodic vibrations he now only heard in his dreams.

When the unknown number popped up on his phone screen, his first instinct was to let it go straight to voicemail. But for whatever reason, the voice in the back of his mind told him he should pick it up — he definitely didn’t expect to be greeted with the unforgettable tone of your voice, causing his heart to bang against its cage.

And you had called him Kageyama, instantly pulling out the amateur stitching he had applied to the tears in his heart.

It made him feel a little sick, his last name sounding foreign on your tongue. You never did that, because he hadn’t allowed it. When it came to you, he wanted to be close, intimate, especially since distance came so naturally to all of his relationships. And one thing that separated you from the rest, you called him Tobio.

Or you used to.

“I hope I’m not interrupting anything-“

“No,” he said a little too quickly. “No, you’re good.”

“I’m just gonna cut to the chase-“ the sentence came to an abrupt halt when he swore he heard you take a sharp breath, as if you had to contain deep emotions that threatened to overtake your sense of calm. “Management keep bugging me about your ticket for the charity auction.”

“Right,” he said it so quietly he wasn’t entirely sure the microphone picked it up.

“I don’t even know if you’re in town then,” lie — a complete and utter fabrication to try and convince him, but also yourself, that you weren’t still hung up on the past — like you didn’t have his schedule for the next seven months logged into your phone, knowing very well he was in fact still available that evening. “But the ticket is still reserved in your name, and I promised my executives I would provide them with a clear answer if you were attending or not.” Again you cut yourself off, a shaky breath traveling the line, something he had learned long ago was a clear indicator that you were fighting back tears. “Told them I’d have an answer by the end of the week.”

Of course he hadn’t forgotten about the auction — you had stressed about it for months even before you broke up, being in charge of putting the whole event together. The red circle in his calendar marking the date kept coming closer and closer, and he had wondered if you would reach out to ask about it — now he had his answer.

“I’m in town,” he muttered simply, closing his eyes as he just waited for your voice to return.

“Look, I don’t want to pressure you into attending or anything. If it’ll make you uncomfortable, I’m sure I’ll figure something out-“

“It won’t make me uncomfortable.” He was a little surprised by how soft his voice came out, but it was true — he would never be uncomfortable around you. “Next Saturday, right?”

“You remembered?”

“Got it circled.”

“Figured.” Silence swallowed the conversation, and it felt so unnatural. It was only with you he was able to engage in a conversation that flowed like a peaceful stream. He had been deprived of that privilege for so long, and his strangling feelings were slowly piling up inside him, weighing heavy on his heart.

He could picture you so clearly, down to the smallest detail. Right now you were probably sat behind your desk in your office, resting your forehead in the palm of your hand. And if he was still able to interpret your behaviour correctly, simply based on your tone, he suspected there were salty pools welling up in your eyes, threatening to spill over any second.

At this hour, you were probably left alone in the company building, everyone else having gone home already. And he pictured you were longing to go home too, so you could change out of the boring corporate attire he knew you hated with a fiery passion. The second you were to set foot inside your apartment, you would walk straight for your closet to put on your favourite slacks — maybe, if you hadn’t thrown them out already, you would wear his old hoodie as well. “They feel like home,” you always used to say before melting into the piece of clothing that was too big for you.

It was most likely a naive fantasy, but Tobio liked to toy with the image nonetheless.

You stole his attention from his spiralling when you sighed, shifting the entire tension of the conversation into something more serious, deprived from emotion. “Black tie event. Prepare for press, the company won’t be shy about any notable names. Pro player Kageyama Tobio is one of those names. Just let me know where you’re staying, and we’ll send a car to take you to the location.”

The business voice had taken the phone call hostage, barely recognising the voice on the other end of the line. The only time you used it for not work related occasions was when you were mad at him...

“Great, thank you.”

A beat of silence. “Again, sorry to bother you. I know it’s late.”

“It’s fine. You couldn’t… bother me.”

It felt awkward now. The ice was broken, the no-contact had failed, and now neither of you wanted to let go despite not being able to find any words to feed the conversation.

For a split second Tobio was overcome with courage, having to clear his throat before he opened his mouth, “hey, how are you-“

“I’ll see you next Saturday.” His attempt was shut down instantly, rushing to hang up after blurting out your goodbyes.

Your phone hit the desk with an obnoxious rattle before your hands came flying to cover your face, aggressive sobs tumbling past your lips.

Even though you missed him, his voice, the comfort he provided, you just did not have the strength it required to indulge in casual conversation with him. It hurt too much.

Time heals all wounds — what a load of bullshit, because here you sat, three months after the most earth shattering heartbreak you had ever experienced and it still served as an aching gash in your life.

Since that horrid night, you had delved head first into work to distract yourself as best as you could. It had been a privilege to be able to fill your time so you could ignore dealing with the issue at hand — a privilege you had taken for granted as your sobs filled the vacant space of your lonely office.

In less than two weeks, you would be forced to look him in the eyes again. You had to paint your face with a smile, smother your sorrows for the sake of the company as he was expected to stay at your side for the evening.

You weren’t sure you’d be able to pull this one ashore after all.

As promised, a fancy black car had pulled up exactly at the time you had texted him.

The entire car ride was spent in a one sided conversation, where the driver tried to initiate polite small talk only to be met with quiet sounds that barely confirmed Tobio was even listening.

He was too busy trying to plant his feet back on the ground, nerves traveling his body from head to toe. Every ten seconds he tilted his head to check his phone just in case you had sent him any further information about tonight that he needed to be aware of. He was left disappointed every time when there never appeared a notification with your name attached.

Sooner rather than later, flashing lights surrounded the car and he knew they had reached the destination.

This was a part of the job he had never gotten used to, and some part of him would probably always struggle with the attention that came with his career path.

Reluctantly stepping out of the car, he braced himself for the overwhelming noice of the press shouting to grab is attention.

It was only so much his PR training sufficed. He would wave awkwardly, try to smile and present himself as nicely as possible so his managers wouldn’t be on his neck about the bad impression he’d given off — but no amount of training was able to calm his nerves.

Only you did that.

Whenever he had to make public appearances, you were the one to help his feet back on the ground and remind him it wasn’t scary. You would lace your fingers with his, gently press your body against his side with such grace. And you would look at him, your eyes whispering quiet affirmations; you’re doing great, okay? I’m with you every step of the way.

Deprived of your safety, he was overthinking every move he did. Was it obvious how fake the small tilt of his lips were? Who was he kidding, they probably didn’t even see what was his attempt at a smile. Was the outfit okay? Had he picked out the wrong outfit, showing up underdressed to your special night? No, he had purposely chosen a safe option, one he knew you liked. Was his steps towards the entrance too slow? No wait, shit- now he was walking too fast.

He couldn’t be too sure he had been able to pull off the image his managers wanted, but he had at least gotten himself through the doors of the venue.

He had no time to react before he was approached by a neatly dressed individual with a clipboard in her hands. “Mr. Kageyama? Follow me.”

Croaking a quiet ‘okay’, Tobio didn’t know what else to do than do as she said, eventually ending up in a secluded, yet spacious hallway. There were only a few people scattered about, all seemingly rather busy.

Then his eyes landed on a familiar frame that he would recognise any time and any place, forever burned into his memory. Your bare back facing him, phone to your ear as frustration pulled your shoulders high.

Everything else seemed to disappear when he heard your voice, “no, no, it’s supposed to be four-“ you spun around, and the sentence died instantly once your eyes automatically locked with his.

He fell for the temptation, trying to be as subtle as possible as he let his eyes travel you up and down. You were breathtaking, all dolled up in a floor length, satin gown in deep maroon. There was a shy slit in your skirt, and your exposed arms were decorated with the prettiest jewlery.

But what had his breath catch in his throat was the familiar pendant resting right on the centre of your chest — the dainty necklace he recognised as his gift for you for your first anniversary.

“Mr. Kageyama, as requested,” the stranger said before hurrying away to attend other tasks.

“Just… I trust you’ll be able you fix it,” you spoke softly into the phone before hanging up, never breaking eye contact.

He swallowed the lump in his throat that had formed the moment he had seen you again, “hey.”

“Hi,” you said weakly, your nerves driving you to pull at your own fingers. The action captured his eyes which instantly had you hide your hands behind your back. You knew all too well what was running through his mind at the moment, having a nearly primal desire to interrupt it.

One could cut the tension with a knife, thick and suffocating, with so many lingering feelings resting in the prolonged eye contact.

You reached within yourself, closing your eyes for a second to force away your uneasiness. Once they opened, and met his again, all evidence of previous sentiments were gone and replaced with business. Your shoulders lowered slightly, arms moving in front of you again and your entire stance straightening with a newfound sense of confidence.

“Great! You picked a good outfit,” was the nicest compliment you were able to pay him without completely succumbing to the sadness that was walking a fine line, ready to overtake you at any second. “It’s perfect for the evening.”

He tilted his head forward bashfully to hide the small smirk of amusement that formed at his lips because he knew you were being modest in your observations. It wasn’t unintentional that he’d put on the all black, three piece suit you had helped him purchase when he was first signed.

It seemed like a lifetime ago now, but he remembered how you had gladly joined him when he was in such a desperate need for a formal wear he could pull out on special occasions. He would never forget how your lips had parted and eyes widened when he came out in that suit, unable to peer your eyes off of him. He’d watched as you had actively swallowed the lump in your throat before nodding in approval, rather enthusiastically.

“Glad to hear it,” he sighed, stuffing his hands in his pockets. “You look great, by the way. But that’s no surprise.”

For a split second your front wavered with a weak smile. You wouldn’t allow the fragility to settle — you could not afford that tonight, of all nights.

You spun on your heel, walking down the hall in the opposite direction. Tobio didn’t hesitate to follow.

“They’re opening the doors for the other guests very soon, and in roughly twenty minutes I have to go up on stage to welcome everyone. The auction will start shortly after that.” You stopped abruptly outside a huge door, nearly causing him to crash into you. Resting your hand on the handle, he watched how it clenched around the metal. “I’ll find you after. You’re technically still my da-… my plus one.”

Without sparing him another look, you simply opened the door and entered the ballroom, leaving the word ‘date’ hang unfinished in the air.

How had the two of you gotten to this point?

His future used to be so clear — he saw his entire life headed in a direction he had never dared to dream of, based on the fear of its unlikelihood. You brought safety and comfort to his life, which had grown somewhat turbulent after garnering some fame within the world of athletes — no matter how things turned out, it would be okay, because he still had you.

But now he had to control how he didn’t let his gaze linger for too long, because it could be crossing a boundary that previously didn’t exist. He had to hold his tongue so he didn’t bombard you with all the affection he still had for you, because that wasn’t his job anymore.

Slowly but surely, the ballroom started to fill up with an assortment of characters, all ready to spend their money on the extravagant auction. Tobio found himself standing awkwardly in the same spot you left him, along the outskirts of the growing crowd, feeling beyond uncomfortable.

And though he knew he should mingle, all he was able to do was let his eyes follow you when you eventually made your way onto the stage. The music came to a slow stop, the crowd calmed down and everyone’s eyes were on you.

To everyone else, you probably seemed in control of yourself, confident even — but Tobio was still able to read you like a book, rarely having seen you as nervous as right now. Your smile was bright, but very clearly forced as your eyes roamed the audience frantically.

Suddenly you looked at him, meeting his eyes that were always so soft — a feature that somehow always caught you a little by surprise. He was often so stoic, his eyebrows always just slightly tilted in a frown. But his eyes betrayed his cold exterior, conveying a tenderness you had never really seen in anyone else.

With the familiar safety of his gaze, your breathing evened out and shoulders relaxed, which he noticed. He flashed you a small smile before giving you a reassuring nod, telling you there was nothing to be scared of — because after everything, he would still catch you if you were to fall.

Exhaling deeply, you started the welcome speech, your smile now genuine. He followed every single word that fell from your lips with immense professionalism, and every once in a while when your eyes found him in order to ground yourself, his heart would skip a beat.

“Once again, thank you all for attending and I hope you all enjoy the evening.” The crowd erupted into polite applause while you walked down from the stage gracefully.

“You did great,” Tobio breathed as you had joined him again.

“Thank god,” you sighed. “That speech has kept me awake all week.”

“No, it was good. Very professional.” You turned to look at him, a beautiful smile painting your lips as old habits steered your hand for his face.

When you realised what you were about to do, your face fell, hand freezing inches before making contact with his cheek. In all the stress of being up on that stage with everyone’s eyes glued on you, you had forgotten the nerves caused by your ex boyfriend.

It had just come so naturally to you, to caress his cheek. It was a gesture you always did whenever he would come with one of his simple compliments.

“Sorry,” you whispered, quickly retracting your hand.

“No, no, it’s okay,” he stuttered sadly. Tobio had held his breath from the moment he’d noticed your hand raise from your side.

He had frozen still once he realised what was about to happen in hopes that if he didn’t move, you would continue in your trance and he’d eventually feel your flesh pressed against his face. He’d been deprived of the sensation for so long, and he was left disappointed when the feeling never arrived.

Was this how the evening was going to play out? Standing beside each other for hours in an awkward and unnatural silence, both too scared to do anything in fear of offending the other?

Tobio wanted to say something, but small talk had never been his strong suit — that was always your area of expertise, fill the void with chatter so no one was left feeling uncomfortable.

“You planning to bid on anything?” It was as if you had been able to read his mind, saving him from his ever spiralling mind.

“No, not really,” he said simply. “You?”

He turned to look at you, feeling a sense of relief as you let out a small snicker, observing how the auction was about to start.

“I may be in charge of this entire thing, but that doesn’t mean I have the money to get any of the things they’ve put up,” you sighed. “That trip to the Maldives looking really good right now, though.”

For a split second, Tobio heavily considered putting all his money on that trip for you. He imagined being able to walk beside you along the crystal blue shores of the Maldives, peace and relaxation washing over you to the point where you would finally have the time to take proper breaths.

But it was but a mere dream, only a reality in the depths of his mind where he was allowed to fantasise that you were still his.

For the next three hours, you stood side by side as you witnessed all the luxuries items being auctioned off one by one. Every once in a while you would shoot a casual comment in hopes it would lighten the looming cloud that hung over you — it remained persistent.

It didn’t go unnoticed, how the tension in your shoulders never completely evaporated. Even when your bosses came to shower you with praise for all the hard work you’d done, or when you were updated on the insane sum of money that would be donated, your shoulders remained permanently raised half an inch.

He could only suspect it was his presence that caused the strain. Maybe it had been a bad idea of him to attend.

In hindsight he could see how it was nothing short of selfish — because what other reason for attending would he have than only wanting to see you again? He didn’t serve any more purpose than decoration. His name wasn’t even among the most noticeable, so it wasn’t like he brought any more traction to the event than it already had.

Maybe it would be best if he just bolted, let you be able to enjoy what could be considered your evening. You should be proud, celebrate the success of your hard work.

As the auction had slowly evolved into a party, several pairs had decided to move along to the beautiful rhythm that filled the ballroom. Tobio would shoot shy glances towards you, spotting how you were staring longingly at the dance floor.

“You want to dance?”

“What?”

Shit — he hadn’t meant to blurt it out. He genuinely thought the question simply floated in his mind to entertain his fantasy. Seemed like his subconscious had more power than he thought when the words slipped past his lips.

And now you were stood ogling him in shock, arms wrapped around yourself as you were visibly trying to comprehend his question.

He cleared his throat, trying to find the confidence he used to have with you once upon a time. “Would you like to dance?” He asked again, voice steadier than he would have anticipated.

You swallowed the lump in your throat as you considered his request. “Okay,” you whispered, his heart skipping a beat.

This was not the time to let his confidence waver, offering his elbow like a gentleman, holding his breath as he waited for you to hook your arm with his.

Stood in the middle of the dance floor facing each other, you tried to calm your rapid breathing as you waited for him to take the lead.

With slight hesitation you placed your right hand on his shoulder. And it seemed like he picked up on the reluctance in your movements, because his right hand grabbed a hold of yours to have it stretched out — reminding you how big they were compared to yours.

But when you felt his left hand make contact with your bare back, you couldn’t help but draw a sharp breath, igniting memories you had so sorely tried to forget.

In the dead of night, when it seemed like the two of you were the only people left in the world, he would place his lips tenderly along your back, pulling soft giggles from you as his breath tickled you when it brushed against your skin.

And now his warm hand was resting within the ghost of those kisses, reminding you not only of the private and intimate moments shared together, but also just how gentle he was with you.

To say Tobio was a little rough around the edges was an understatement. He could definitely be crass, tone bordering on cruel when talking to someone, despite having no ill intentions whatsoever. His face was nearly permanently stamped with a frown, seemingly always in a bad mood to the untrained eye.

The Tobio people saw on court was also ruthless. Always giving it his all, whether if it was his calculated sets or his powerful serves — he never showed his opponents mercy.

But the second a match was over, and he was reunited with you, all edge seemed to disappear. Same strong hands that had recently performed fiercely on the court, would now cup your face with utmost care while you shied away from prying eyes.

Same tender touch was pressed lovingly against your back in this very moment — and it felt so safe. The security he always supplied in his embrace came to show so easily. Taking care of you was second nature to him, even now after everything.

“Never known you to be a dancer,” you said carefully as he started to take the lead, moving surprisingly graciously along to the music.

“I’m full of surprises,” he dared to joke with the faintest smirk.

“Never known you to be a guy of surprises either,” you quipped, having his smirk stretch a little wider.

He turned to scan the other couples, leaving you to just admire him.

He really was beautiful, and he didn’t even seem to be the slightest bit aware of the fact. When going about his day, he never brought attention to himself so it was easy to forget — until it struck you like lightning from clear skies, suddenly and all at once.

“You’ve outdone yourself tonight,” he breathed, shifting his attention back to your face. It caught you off guard, your cheeks heating up with embarrassment, scared he caught you in your admiration.

“You really think so?”

“Definitely. I’m really impressed.” Again you had his heart skip a beat, when for the first time this evening, you flashed him a wide and genuine grin.

“Thank you.”

“Then again-“ he began, a little scared to continue when you raised your eyebrows in curiosity. “You’ve always been impressive.”

Finally your stress released. Your shoulders lowered and you relaxed in his arms, a softness in your features he had been waiting to reunite with.

This was Tobio — the person you had shared countless conversations about all and nothing with, who knew you inside out. There wasn’t any reason for it to be uncomfortable. Why not make the best out of the situation?

“Volleyball’s going great, I hear,” you breathed, a newfound, though a little unsteady, contentment in your voice.

He nodded slowly, “yeah, you could say that,” a shameless smile of pride curling his lips upwards.

“Bet you can see the end of the road to being the best, now?”

“Staring to spot it,” he mused, acting a lot more humble than you were used to.

“Only Oikawa ahead of you now. Heard he’s still considered to be a remarkable setter-“

“Oh, shut up,” he said with a roll of the eyes, your words trailing into soft giggles.

“You know I’m just kidding. I’ve known you to be the best all along,” you said softly, slowly melting into his embrace more and more by the second.

And by the way he was looking at you right now, with a sense of safety that would always make you feel some sort of belonging, no matter what, you’d never be entirely lost when with Tobio.

It seemed like he felt it too. So many shared moments was coming back to him when being allowed to gaze into your eyes again, especially after all this time — he was scared he might end up spiralling if he let himself sink too deep in the familiar comfort of you.

You couldn’t help but flinch when he broke the eye contact, clearing his throat when he once again observed the surrounding crowd. “Do you think…”

“Do I think what?”

“Do you think they’ll write about this?” He scoffed, nodding in the direction of the not so subtle press who had very clearly been snapping pictures of you.

You shrugged. “I’m not worried,” you breathed, “we were never really public enough to be prolific, were we?”

The soft sound of your nervous chuckle drew his attention right back to you. He shouldn’t be too surprised that something as simple as the sound of your laugh and the twinkle in your eye could threaten to have him fall back in again — he knew he was weak. He felt it every day, with every beat of his heart, how it pulled at him to return to you.

You were dangerous that way, both to him and yourself. Your eyes would always betray you when they were staring at him, your devotion clear as day. It was always simmering just below the surface no matter how far apart you were.

“Besides, I mean, I am really just some nobody working behind the scenes in some big company. I’m no one really cares about-“

A frustrate groan shot past his teeth, spotting how his eyebrows narrowed in the angle he so often sported. “You’ve never been a nobody.” He drew a breath, a distinctly sharp one, his lips drawing in a thin line as he churned what words to say next. “You’re more than a nobody. You’re more than a somebody. You matter. You’re the only one who matters.” His voice was stern, but surprisingly calm — which only made it worse.

You couldn’t wrap your head around how he managed to serve such insanely deep and powerful declaration as it was nothing. It was like he had no idea what kind of weight his words carried, no regard for what impact it might have on you.

And there was a very simple explanation to that — because to him it was nothing. It was just the truth, which always came easy to him.

He noticed the inner corners of your eyebrows tighten, painting your face with sorrow as the corner of your lips drooped south.

“There were reasons, right? Reasons we broke up?” He asked carefully. As his volume lowered, he tilted his head forward, bringing him so painfully close.

Your sad eyes flittered between his, his crystal pools of blue that always enforced the intensity of his messages, and you began to think.

When you could feel his love still pulsating off of him, and his slightly calloused thumb sending sparks throughout your body as it subconsciously moved back and forth in soft swipes along your spine, it was hard to remember any one reason for why things ended at all.

“Yeah,” you sighed solemnly, nodding slowly, “yeah, I’m sure there was.”

The deep breath he took brushed against your face, and you had to swallow the little sob that harboured deep in your throat. “Do you miss it?”

You instantly knew what he really asked — did you miss him — the real meaning wasn’t hard to deduce, Tobio had always been horrible at hiding his real intentions.

“Sure, some days more than others,” your voice cracked slightly. It was only for a faint second, but it flashed across his face how it wasn’t necessarily the answer he wanted, a hint of anger threatening to scrunch his face. But it evaporated as quickly as it had appeared. “It’s not easy, if that’s what you’re really asking.”

“You see right through me, huh?” It sounded as he was attempting to pull the mood up, but when there was no rise in his tone nor an optimistic twitch in his expression, he failed miserably.

“Well, still know you better than I know myself.”

Silence fell between you, still letting the safety of his arms guide you along to the symphonies that filled the ballroom. You were so close to falling in, completely surrender to the serenity you knew would come over you if you just gave in.

“You know, if there was something I did, I am really sor-“

“Can we pretend?” You cut him off. “Just for tonight, can we just forget everything and pretend?”

His lips parted in surprise. Your antsy nerves creeped back into your body when he slowly pulled back, certain he would turn the request down.

And he knew he should. In a matter of seconds, the healing you’d both gone through up until this point would be undone. But he wasn’t strong enough, especially after having been at war with that antagonising devil on his shoulder all night. With your request egging it on, he was going to let it win.

“Okay,” he whispered, straightening his posture.

With the blink of an eye, you had turned it all off. A smile adorned your lips before simply inching closer to rest your cheek against his chest, reunited with the sound of his heartbeat that you were so used to falling asleep too.

Your eyes fluttered shut as you felt him rest his cheek on the crown of your head, his limbs squeezing you just a little tighter, as if it was somehow going to prevent you from slipping away when the evening came to a close.

You had expected it to pick up its pace, beat like a hummingbird — but it was steady.

Maybe his heart was finally beating steady, after stuttering in his chest for months, lost as it tried to find back to its purpose. And now it had been reunited with it, instantly recognising the euphoria and quickly settling into its supposed rhythm.

Bittersweet — that was how it felt. You were allowing yourself to completely bask in the comfort of Tobio. You hadn’t felt such contentment and rest since the split, and it felt nice to breathe calmly for once.

But he was still your ex, and it would come to an end eventually, again going your separate ways.

Those were sorrows for tomorrow.

You allowed yourself to dance with him, your tears quietly wetting the fabric of his jacket until the evening came to an end.

Looming in the shadow of the auctions success was a sight no one had expected to see.

She’s the cute face behind the whole event, having worked countless hours to pull it all together for it to turn out the way it did, and it’s safe to assume she is probably thrilled with the sum they were able to rake in for the sake of a good cause.

However, you’re probably reading her name and finding it awfully familiar — but you can’t seem to understand why; there’s no reason for you to know the name of some random employee at a big shot company. The name probably rings a bell because she is better known as the ex girlfriend of star player Kageyama Tobio, seemingly home in Japan for a visit. Was the reason for his unexpected return solely to attend the big evening of a special ex-someone?

During their time together, they rarely made headlines as they were notorious for keeping their relationship private. But once the handsome Ali Roma setter became available, people were quick to show their interest.

Though we were not lucky enough to be of attendance at the charity auction, we’ve gotten our hands on exclusive pictures from the night. Not only were they spotted together for the majority of the evening, these photos show they didn’t seem shy when sharing a rather intimate moment on the dance floor.

One can start to speculate if the corporate sweetheart has once again swooned the sought after Kageyama.

Fret not, because we got a rare statement from the woman of the hour, and she says : “I have nothing but respect and adoration for Kageyama, but-“

Tobio shut the magazine, unable to finish the article.

tags : @hiraethwa ﾉ @shouyuus (hope you dont mind i added you love)

an : dedicated to tobio nation <3 lets go with the angst, it is obvi what i love. idk if you guys picked it up, but to me it's sooooo clear where my writers block started to disappear lol comments and reblogs is much appreciated

©hiraethwrote 2024 . all rights reserved. reposting, translating and otherwise plagarisim is prohibited

[kings-highway]

haikyuu ships but its things about their relationships or moments that I think would surprise their friends/teammates

starting off with my boys Daisuga: honestly definitely the rest of the team forgets that they haven't been together forever, and are never expecting when either of them are acting like, well, teenagers in a relationship. Specifically in regards to being shy in front of each other or wanting to impress each other, the rest of the team always is surprised by it because in their mind, like, why are you feeling insecure in this relationship I thought you've been dating for 2 years and Suga is just like "try 3 months BITCH now I need you to find out what his favourite kind of chocolate is I'll pay you real money if he doesnt realize why you're asking."

right along to Kagehina and honestly, literally even just realizing they have a normal relationship. I think everyone absolutely understands how they got together, but I imagine the first time ANYONE sees them out in public together they ALL have a moment thats like "oh shit they like... are actually dating" and every time Kagehina is just like... on a lunch date, or going shopping, walking a dog, just chatting. Like people are surprised that they genuinely spend time together outside of sports. The first time Kageyama goes with Hinata as his date to a family wedding the entire family is flabberghasted bc they definitely thought this was an on-court obsession only

Iwaoi is really simple, literally just people realizing that Iwaizumi has genuine romantic affection towards him is the funniest thing to me. There's a week where Iwaoi is worried bc Iwa had to go to school with a hickey on his neck but literally NOBODY bats an eye or even mentions it because "yeah Oikawa obviously-" but when theyre changing for practice and they see that Oikawa has a hickey on his neck the entire team goes feral and practically tackles Iwaizumi like "you committed to kissing him for that long?????? YOU?????" like they cannot comprehend Iwaizumi actively participating. (obviously this is also the only time they every see Iwazumi embarassed enough to visibly blush which only compounds things.)

Bokuaka's is so stupid but honestly - the first moment the team realizes that Akaashi is, like, attracted to Bokuto and isnt just his best friend that got carried away. Konoha catches Akaashi checking out Bokuto's ass as he's leaving the changing room and it legitimately ruins Konoha's day. What is he supposed to do with this information.

To be completely fair, Ushiten as a concept probably absolutely baffles the entire Shiratorizawa team for multiple reasons. I think though the obvious one is that the rest of the team cannot understand how little Ushijima is bothered by any of Tendou's antics, where Tendou is VRRY touchy and goofy and lots of PDA and affection and Ushijima is completely receptive and unbothered by it, if not going out of his way to intentionally make Tendou laugh to invite him to more. Like Tendou absolutely would sit on his lap during lunch and Reon would be sitting there losing his mind bc last time he sat too close to Ushijima he got a lecture on personal space. Oh, but now suddenly he's super chill and relaxed and nothing bothers him its tendou doing it.

Asanoya's is a little sad tbh but I think, specifically the second and first years, would be surprised by how serious Noya is about the relationship and how little he tolerates jokes about them being opposites/a surprising pair or any of that. Like theyre shocked to find out how seriously he's taking being a boyfriend and really trying to make sure Asahi is happy. The idea that it isnt superficial or just for fun for him is surprising to them.

Arankita - in a comedy of errors Atsumu accidentally finds out they they are ~no longer virgins~ and legitimately has to leave practice for 20 minutes. There's a piece of him, and the rest of the team, that had 100% believed Kita was a robot and they just.... the idea that this was something that happened organically and not for "procreation" doesnt fit in their worldview. Kita smacks the next person who brings it up and that ends the conversation.

[angelkiyo]

haikyuu characters as romance tropes + songs in my playlist ❀

a/n - this was a thought i needed to get out..! i love music n i love haikyuu soooo. i also did a series similar to this but w actual one shots but tbh compiling them is smarter ngl. totally fw the spotify linked in my nav btw :0 — unedited drabble/thought piece

——“ they just can't reach her, princesita inalcanzable / le rompieron el cora, pero nunca se la perdió" (igual que un angel, 2023) - after years being your friend, getting friend-zoned for so long and finally getting a chance to date you, they're whipped and put you on a pedestal. they know all that you've gone through regarding relationships and would want nothing but your happiness. they're the immense green flag you need and would treat you with nothing but respect, sending you notes in class, and making you little bento boxes filled with their cooking, sending small poems that remind them of you but then again, you deserve it. you're as sweet as sugar and in their eyes, you're an angel on earth. they don't know when their feelings for you started, but when they finally confessed to you, it was the happiest they've felt. you've been their “other half” for so long that all your mutual friends have been telling you to get together, so imagine your friends' reaction when they see you and them on a date one random day, hand in hand and with your head on their shoulder as the two of you sat waiting for the bus back to your place.

best friends to lovers : kageyama tobio, BOKUTO KOTARO, ojiro aran, IWAIZUMI HAJIME, SHIMIZU KIYOKO

——"only like myself when im with you / nobody gets me like you” (nobody gets me, 2022) - both of you strive for excellence, only really wanting to achieve the best academically and on the court during gym class. it's obvious how strong your rivalry with him is, that even your friends jokingly tell you "just kiss already" when you already do. the two of you would be taking little secret rendezvous when you're supposed to be studying to be at the top of your class and staying up after his volleyball practice when everyone leaves. it felt thrilling as no one knew about your relationship (after constantly bragging that you didn't need a significant other). but once your grades began to slip, you couldn't risk losing the source of validation you've gotten to know for so long. you still had your ego and your pride to maintain, and he understood. he understood more than anyone which is why you felt yourself so emotionally attached to him. leading the both of you to enter an almost endless cycle of attempting a secret relationship while also trying to achieve validation from academic success.

rivals to lovers (and rivals again) : shirabu kenjiro, KITA SHINSUKE, tsukishima kei, sakusa kiyoomi, KUROO TETSURO

——"i burn for you / and you don't even know my name" (close to you, 2024) - after accidentally adding them on social media from quick add (due to mutuals from school), you find yourself in a predicament. you're from the same school and know of them, but know that you have never talked to them. you've never even interacted with them at all in real life. though, for the past few weeks, they're earned themselves the title of a talking stage, staying up until 3 in the morning sometimes, just to talk to you. you two would play valorant or whatever video game you’ve been wanting to play and last hours on video call, sharing playlists and being mutuals on everything. although, talking for so long caused him to be a little bold, flirting with you a bit. you're in different classes yet every time you have a break in class, you talk to them, sending snaps of what you do and so does he. so when you finally have your first date in person, you panic and in all honesty, he does too. what if you two don't get along? what if you thought he was weird? your first thought was that he's very handsome, that's for sure. though, it felt that all you really needed was to just talk as you've gotten past the digital barrier and had natural chemistry in real life.

online love : kozume kenma, SUNA RINTARO, miya atsumu, TENDO SATORI, terushima yuji

——"no one's ever good enough / i want a love like i've seen in the movies" (like the movies, 2021) - you met them at a barnes and noble during a regular day after school. you’ve always been a hopeless romantic, longing for love between the pages of a romantic comedy book or film. so when you bumped into them, books in hand, it felt like a spark between you two. the two of you ended up exchanging numbers to talk more, then meeting up and talking / hanging out in person (a date in your opinion). being in a relationship with someone else who also understood the want to fall in love “romantically” felt amazing. every time your school would have a game, you’d go and cheer them on from the sidelines, wearing his spare jersey. good morning texts, gift baskets for monthaversaries, huge love letters, and frequent dates felt too good to be true, and it was. you can always expect them to have heart eyes and only for you, as well as listening to your rants and theories surrounding different romance novels and films. especially your thoughts on the concept of the meet cute.

meet cute : AKAASHI KEIJI, yamaguchi tadashi, sugawara koshi, OIKAWA TORŪ, miya osamu, SEMI EITA

[cognitivelypartiallyfurnished]

Things Haikyuu Boys would do in a relationship (pt. 4)

-Ushijima, Tsukishima, Oikawa, Bokuto, Osamu

Part 1: Sakusa, Kita, Asahi, Hinata, Tendo

Part 2: Nishinoya, Iwaizumi, Suna, Kuroo, Yaku

Part 3: Kenma, Kageyama, Terushima, Akaashi, Atsumu

⋆｡ ﾟ☁︎｡ ⋆｡ ﾟ☾ ﾟ｡ ⋆

Ushijima Wakatoshi: Helping you put a necklace on

Wakatoshi likes to spoil his girlfriend, especially on your birthday. Right now you are struggling to put on the beautiful necklace that he gifted you, special to you because of the engraving on the back. “Toshi can you help me?” you ask him and his hands are immediately on your neck, closing the necklace around it. He is looking at you in the mirror while letting his hands linger a little longer than necessary on your nape before putting your hair back in place and stretching out his hand to take you to the dinner reservation he made to celebrate your special day.

Tsukishima Kei: Deep convos about random shit

Normally he doesn’t talk that much and especially not over something so seemingly unimportant but with you he is conversing without any snarky remarks or hesitation. Kei could talk for days about the deeper meaning of a recent book you two happen to have read, a theory regarding his most beloved fossils or everything else that’s running through his head. You always admire his way of thinking and you are happy each time he gives you insight on what’s happening in this smart head of his. The way you are listening and talking to him never fails to make him want to shut up again and just kiss you, after all he is better at showing his emotions through actions than words.

Oikawa Tooru: Having a special song

It was the song that was playing in the small copy shop where you were waiting to receive your printed pictures when you met Tooru. He wanted to print out some pictures to craft a photo album for his nephew when he noticed you humming the melody of the song absently. On your third date in a mini golf arena the song started playing again and since then it’s been the song to which you have the best memories. If he ever gets the chance to marry you, he wants this song to play during your first dance.

Bokuto Koutaro: Randomly looking at each other and saying, “I love you so much”

Currently you were suffocated with the weight of your boyfriend who was laying on top of you but you wouldn’t be able to catch a breath anyway because suddenly he told you that he loved you. That was the first time he told you and you weren’t able to say it back until he moved to look at you because you’ve been silent for too long. After that it happened at the weirdest times. For example, when Kou asked you which type of rice to bring or when he walked in on you sitting on the toilet or even in front of all of his team when you came to watch the MSBY team practice. After hearing it some more in unexpected situations you even started to learn to say it back to him in time.

Miya Osamu: Hugging the back of them and putting your face on their shoulder

There is no better feeling after a long exhausting day than coming home to find Samu standing in front of the stove working on some meal for you to eat. You make your way into the kitchen and collapse against his broad back while leaning your face on his shoulder, humming in appreciation. You follow him around the kitchen like this until he leads you to the table and places a plate of incredibly good smelling food in front of you and him. Over dinner you ramble to him about your day during which he reminds you with a soft smile to eat before the food gets cold. After the dinner you two spend the rest of the evening cuddling on the sofa, both enjoying the soothing warmth of each other’s bodies.

⋆｡ ﾟ☁︎｡ ⋆｡ ﾟ☾ ﾟ｡ ⋆

[strwbrryeyes]

☼ intro (end of the world) ☼ (kageyama tobio x reader)

⟡ cw: she/her pronouns used but not much, lmk if i miss anything else

⟡ a/n: i have been wanting to write for this album since the day it came out so im gonna do little drabbles for the songs as a way to make up for my lack of writings/requests that i actually need to upload so i hope you all enjoy it :3

⟡ eternal sunshine masterlist

You had been dating Kageyama Tobio for a little over a year at this point. Everything was always moving so fast…for him. While Kageyama was constantly playing volleyball and traveling the country for official matches, you were in college working towards your dream career.

Although you and kageyama have made so many efforts to keep in contact regularly by video calling and texting constantly or even travelling to see each other when possible, it has been difficult to come to terms with the fact that you do not spend as much time as you want to with each other. It has gotten to the point where you don’t know if keeping this relationship going is even worth it anymore. Both you and Kageyama want to get through it, you have had countless talks about wanting it to work out and you both always come to the agreement that neither of you wouldn’t trade anything for the world.

You think you’re meant for each other but you keep thinking to yourself ‘why dont i know that he is the one for me? Why do I only think it?’ but of course, you shake it off and continue on with the relationship. Even with all of these thoughts of figuring out if you are supposed to be with him for life or not, there are moments where the tough times make the good times worth it…and that is what keeps the both of you going. One of those moments was on your birthday a few weeks ago when Kageyama decided to surprise you with a visit.

☼ ⋆。𖦹˚⋆

After a long day of classes and your job at a doggy daycare, all you wanted to do was lay down in your bed with some comfy pajamas, eating chips without regard for the crumbs that would land on your bed sheets all while watching your favorite reality show. It was a pretty solid plan but it all went down the drain the minute you stepped foot into the hallway that had your apartment and saw that your door was opened. Your whole body filled with dread as you walked closer, worried that you had just been robbed but as you got closer you saw a small trail of silver confetti leading you through the doorway and as soon as you stepped foot infront of the entrance of your apartment, you stopped all of you belonging onto the ground and ran to the one thing that could be better than a lazy night. Your boyfriend.

“Tobio! What are you doing here?” you ask Kageyama as you jump into his arms while you become a giggling mess (who is also crying).

“I couldn’t have my angel be all alone on her birthday!” Kageyama chuckles as he embraces you in his arms but is quickly confused when you fall silent right after he finishes speaking. “[name]? You good there?” he questions you as he puts you down to be greeted with the blank expression on your face.

“My birthday..?” cocking your head to the side, you look behind Kageyama to see decorations all over your living area, eyes landing on the big ‘happy birthday’ sign. You had completely forgotten today was your birthday. 

“Babe, don’t tell me you forgot your birthday?” Kageyama laughs out before pulling you in for another hug “and you say i’m the dense one.” he flicks your forehead before kissing it and all you can do is laugh along with him.

The rest of the night was pure bliss as you layed in bed with your loved one, eating your favorite type of sweet from your favortie bakery down the stree, while watching your reality tv show.

☼ ⋆。𖦹˚⋆

Thinking about this small but memorable event, you can’t help but smile as it helps you become certain that you and Kageyama are meant to be. You now knew that Kageyama Tobio would be the first and last person you run to if the world were to ever end and honestly, as your pulled out of your thoughts by your ringing phone that is signaling you that your boyfriend is calling you, you wouldn’t have it any other day.

[relatableblorbopoll]

Round 1 of preliminaries, group 11

The first two places get a place on the bracket

Little reminder: there will be 2 more rounds of preliminaries, the losing blorbos of this poll still have 2 chances of getting in the official bracket

Propaganda under the cut

Mae Borowski (Night in the Woods)

"Spoilers! She's a college dropout in her early twenties, who suffers from untreated mental illness and dissociation and had a complete breakdown at college, causing her to come home. Now she's living with her parents again, but life in her dingy little hometown went on without her. Her friends are adults now - in a relationship and planning on moving to the big city, or having to waste away in a dead end job instead of following their dreams. Mae is the only one without a new adult role in life. She's not great with people either - she's blunt and often doesn't think things through, and in many ways just doesn't get the world of adults. She's also prone to petty crimes and general anarchy. She's kind of lost and purposeless, and trying to find meaning in life by desperately clinging to the past. Her decision to drop out of college probably saved her life, but it's also put her family in a tough financial situation and is viewed by most people as her just thoughtlessly doing whatever she wants. She's also kind of shamed a lot about not having a job or other productive role in life, despite the fact that her untreated mental issues are actually disabling for her. She also plays the bass real bad. Anyway, i love Mae a lot. Playing this game as a college dropout in my early twenties, sitting in my childhood bedroom in my mom's attic, back in my dingy little hometown, desperately missing my old friends who have all moved on to better, resposible things in life... yeah, it felt like the game was pointing dead at me. Given tumblr's general demographic, i figure i must not be completely alone in this"

Shigeo Kageyama / Mob (Mob Psycho 100)

"autistic. likes milk. if we reach a certain level of emotion we turn into a psychic bomb. cool brothers :)"

Barry the Quokka (The Murder of Sonic the Hedgehog)

"Their only skill is working the microwave, they're non-binary, when seeing a trash bin their first instinct is to look through it, they're always the most normal person in the room, they can beatbox, and they were only hired due to being the only one who applied."

Kaveh (Genshin Impact)

"In a fantasy world, be a guy with a regular profession losing his goddamn mind. Poor guy has a guilt complex, (so true) and a lot of deep embarrassment regarding his life.(ehe) He just wants to do what he's passionate about but capitalism is evil and also he keeps getting scammed. Claims to not want anyone to know Things, goes into depth about these Things anyway. Is probably most definitely gay. Can be found face down on a table lamenting his fate. Terrible sleep schedule. (HA) He is such a guy. Wants to believe the world is a good place and people are inherently good. And wants to help people and do good himself. It's just hard. [And he has a roommate. Oh my god he has a roommate]"

"He was, and still is, regarded a genius. He aced his Akademiya days, he has the admiration and appreciation of so many people because he is oh-so remarkable. But what for, when reality is that he sits at home depressed and with guilt consuming him, faking the image people have of him, not only broke as fuck but actually in debt, drowning his sorrows in wine."

Yusuke Kitagawa (Persona 5)

"highschooler who wants to spend the rest of his life doing what he loves. is obsessed with art and beauty and it's on his mind 24/7 received help from his now friendgroup to break from his abusive foster father who he still have complicated feelings with had to move into school dorms and am struggling to live independantly since he'd rather spend money and time on his art but he's still surviving and enjoying the good times id say also ends up saying whatever is on his mind and is pretty eccentric. very passionate about what he loves. doesn't want to do anything else."

Nanami Kento (Jujutsu Kaisen)

"Ex-salaryman, now jujutsu sorcerer. During one life-and-death fight, kept talking about how it was almost six pm with is when he is getting off work at 6pm no matter what because he hates overtime. While his opponent repeatedly almost kills him. Normalest adult in this shonen anime. Teen MC: "Let's go all out!" Nanami: "No. Where moderate effort will suffice, use moderate effort." Some of his quotes from the anime: "I studied at Jujutsu Tech and one thing I learned is that Jujutsu Sorcerers are shit! Then I worked at your typical company and one thing I learned is that work is shit! If both are equally shit I'll take the one I'm more suited to." "You've faced several life-or-death situations, but that does not make you an adult. Finding more fallen-out hairs on your pillow, watching your favourite stuffed bread disappear from the convenience store... The accunulation of these little despairs is what makes a person an adult." "I don't praise or disparage anyone. I adhere to facts and judge on that basis. That's who I am. There was a time when I mistakenly believed society operated the same way." "

[thelingodingo]

Haikyuu Characters' Informal & Formal Speech

Something I find interesting about different languages and cultures regarding sociolinguistics is the entire idea of formality. Of course, there are ways to sound more formal/polite in English and ways to sound more informal/rude depending on word choice (synonyms). But with a language such as Japanese, it's the grammatical structure itself (verb endings, vocab) that changes to convey varying levels of formality.

An example would be:

大丈夫? (informal) vs 大丈夫ですか？(formal) = Are you ok?

daijoubu vs daijoubudesuka

これは本だ (informal) vs これは本です (formal) = This is a book.

korewahonda vs korewahondesu

In a school setting, the younger grades (kohai) will use formal speech with the older grades (senpai) as well as teachers: meaning 1st years will be formal to 2nd and 3rd years, 2nd years will be informal to 1st years but formal to 3rd years, and 3rd years can be informal to both 1st and 2nd years.

This is easily shown in basically any anime but this post will focus on Haikyuu since it's the one I'm most familiar with.

Karasuno: Kageyama and Tsukishima definitely hold a very high level of politeness towards their senpai as they always speak formally towards them and also always call them "full surname-san" (Azumane-san instead of Asahi-san, Sugawara-san instead of Suga-san, Sawamura-san instead of Daichi-san, Nishinoya-san instead of Noya-san). It makes sense for them since in general their personalities are quite strict and rigid. Hinata also speaks formally to his senpai but calls them by their more usual names (Daichi-san, Suga-san, etc) and he tends to forget to speak formally out of sheer excitement (not because he's trying to be rude) so he ends up adding on the formal desu copula to quickly change his informal sentence to be formal at the last second. You might think that Tanaka and Nishinoya are pretty relaxed when it comes to formalities due to their crasser personalities but I would actually say it's more the opposite. They're both characters that really like upholding the entire senpai-kohai relationship and it shows in that they are always respectful to the 3rd years and use formal speech (it's also shown in how they both loveee being called senpai and specifically Nishinoya's relationship with Asahi). They still call the 3rd years by their more common names so they aren't as rigid as Tsukki and Kageyama when it comes to names though. The scenes in season 1 when Noya and Asahi were fighting (specifically the storage room fight) were surprising in particular due to Noya changing to informal speech while arguing with Asahi (his senpai).

some other random formalities I've noticed in the other characters: as mentioned in the anime, Kenma doesn't like any of that hierarchy stuff which is why Hinata is able to continue comfortably speaking informally to him even though Kenma is a senpai. The shock and immediate apology of Hinata when he finds out Kenma is older than him is sensible in the cultural context since there are many people who would get quite offended and angry if a kohai were to be speaking informally towards them. Although Kenma is never shown directly talking to any 3rd years (other than Kuroo, which he speaks informally to since they're childhood friends), I assume he would still speak formally since even though he doesn't find formal speech necessary he would still be aware that others would care about it. When it comes to Mad Dog, a small part of me expected him to be completely informal to everyone since those kind of characters are usually like that in anime but he still keeps a pretty formal tone when talking to his senpais which pleasantly surprised me. As far as I remember watching season 4, I don't think the Miya twins use formal speech when talking to Aran. They don't call him Aran-san or anything either, just Aran-kun, which could be another example of childhood friends not needing formalities even with the age gap.

EDIT: i just remembered that Kageyama is so damn polite that he doesn't even differentiate between the Miya twins by their first names, he calls them both "Miya-san"!

If anybody wants a particular character/school to be discussed in detail then just send me an ask and I'll try!

side note: this post isn't proofread so if theres any mistakes or corrections in the info please tell me (✿◠‿◠)

[waterbendingwaves]

hello, as a new haikyuu fan and someone who loves and is intrigued by the nuanced relationships in haikyuu i have a couple of questions regarding oikawa and kageyama bc not only is their relationship flawed but it's one of the biggest and most important relationships in the series despite it not being a positive one.

throughout the first season we learn about how kageyama was shut out by his former teammates in kitagawa daiichi who are now at seijoh. we also learn that oikawa and kageyama envy one thing from each other (communication for kageyama and natural volleyball iq for oikawa) which has created this rival-jealousy relationship over 3-4 years. it also shows the biggest thing is that oikawa rejects kageyama and refuses to mentor him because he senses the overgrowing talent and doesn't want kageyama to surpass him, sparking the insecurities he's had about volleyball his entire life. despite all this kageyama learns from oikawa by watching him as he was shut down multiple times by him to personally teach him certain moves.

so why is it that this entire time in the show oikawa rejects kageyama and for the most part refuses to actively help him (besides the "are you giving shrimpy [hinata] the type of pass he wants") yet claims that he is his junior? I only assume it's an elder respect thing that you call people younger than you your student but oikawa has never gone out his way even once to help kageyama. so why claim to ushijima and the audience that he is yet to everyone else he rejects the idea? this is something that has bothered me for a while and i have never understood.

[r0semint]

hey! let’s talk about teru’s relationship with food!

all three of us get the feeling that food is a love language for teru, or at least, we feel like it’s important to consider how food plays a role in his story arc when doing a character study of him.

okay so first off, right from his introduction he is a foil to mob.

[ID: four manga panels featuring teru getting ready for school. from right to left: the first panel shows his hand and a pan frying an egg. the second is his hand holding a remote. the third shows a tv of a meteorologist saying: “today’s weather.” The forth panel is teru pulling on his school blazer, watching the tv. the meteorologist continues: “a lot of sunshine through the country, though the air is a bit unstable. /END ID]

when teru first appears, we as an audience don’t know it yet, but he lives alone and has been living alone without his parents for several years. here he is cooking his own breakfast and getting himself ready in his apartment by himself.

[ID: five manga panels of mob being woken up for school. from right to left: the first panels is a shot of the roof of the kageyama house. the second is mob, asleep on his futon. his mom is talking from off screen. she says: “shige, get up! you’re gonna be late!” the third is mob yawning and stretching his arms about his head. the forth panel is ritsu opening the door to mob’s room. he says “bro. mom said breakfast is ready.” the fifth panel shows ritsu looking at mob. mob is putting on a pair of pants saying: “yeah ritsu. let’s go.” /END ID]

meanwhile mob, is woken up by his mom and is checked on by his brother to make sure he was up in order to get a breakfast that was more than likely made by their parents.

when mob plans on confessing to tsubomi, teru brings up how homemade things tend to make him feel happy when someone confesses to him.

[ID: manga panel of teru being offered a gift from a girl. it reads: “I tend to be on the receiving end of confessions, but…when someone gives me a handkerchief, or a letter, or homemade cookies or something, it makes me kinda happy, so…I was just thinking, there’s that kind of thing too.” /END ID]

also we see teru tend to overindulge when someone (reigen) is offering to buy food for him

[ID: panel from yakiniku omake. teru is ordering food. he says: I’ll have have 4 orders of top ribs, 2 orders of sakura yukhoe, 2 orders of choice salty beef tongue, the extra special zabuton-cut beef, the offal sampler, 3 orders of rice, a tomato salad, and the naengmyeon…and a green tea.” /END ID]

[ID: cropped screencap of official art. teru has finished two ice cream parfaits. the empty glasses sit in front of a third one, which he is using telekinesis to float the toppings near his face. /END ID]

this often played for laughs, but stick with us here…

in the fanbook teru is asked if he cooks for himself and he says yes, and mentions that he’s confident in his pasta making skills.

[ID: cropped screencap from the fanbook that reads: “Q1: do you make your own food? What are you good at cooking?” Teru answers: “I cook lots of different kinds of things! but what I’m confident in is my pasta.” /END ID]

at first this may seem like a very 14 year old answer…I mean, pasta is fairly easy to make. But knowing teru and how he tends to become and expert at the skills he learns, odds are pasta started off as something simple to throw together on a school night. Pasta is easy and convenient and kid friendly, but it is very easy to experiment with and eventually become a speciality.

and one thing we know about teru is that he has too many specialities to list.

this kid has been needing to make his own food 100% on his own since the start of middle school. we can infer he’s getting money from his parents, and we aren’t exactly sure how much or how he spends it regarding food, but the only time we seem him eating alone, he is making a meal for himself outside of something premade or takeout. he said it himself, he makes lots of different kinds of things! he knows how to cook!

but with all things teru something simple and silly comes with tragedy. while it’s nice fore a kid his age to know how to cook, he NEEDS to know because he doesn’t live with his parents. if he didn’t know how to cook he would be relying on others, and that’s just not what teru does. He is fully capable and learns for himself out of necessity. teru is responsible for all of his own meals.

so what happens when he is no longer responsible? it could be an issue with humbleness. it could also be just normal 14 year old boy hunger, but when reigen takes him out to eat there’s no limits. but here’s the thing…when’s the last time teru has had a home-cooked meal that was made for him by someone else? not from a restaurant, but someone making something for him?

this is why we have the omurice scene in backdraft. there’s a comfort in the domesticity of having food prepared for him in a familial setting that he has not realized he has been missing from his life.

we’ve focused on the fear of him getting cut off from his parents and how money scarcity turns into food scarcity. he’s always been in survival mood, it’s just that money was the breaking point for him.

going back to mob. he and his family are normally seen sitting at the dinner table together. a normal domestic setting.

[ID: screencap of the kageyama family eating omurice together]

something teru doesn’t have. he eats alone at a table in his apartment…one with multiple chairs around it.

[ID: screencap of teru in his apartment. In the background, he is getting ready, looking in a full length mirror. next to him is a tv showing the weather. in the foreground is a table with an empty plate, mug and saucer, and a basket with a single roll. two chairs are seen at the table. /END ID]

teru has not invited anyone into his apartment until mob got attacked by koyama.

who are those chairs for teru?

of course, in backdraft we have the restaurant scene that mirrors this. empty chairs for absent parents.

BUT ITS NOT ALL SAD

back to food being a love language and specialty to teru…imagine once he’s no longer in survival mode due to trauma. food as a comfort, not only receiving, but making it for others as well. tying into him wanting to be a teacher, sharing his skills with others…the fact it feels good creating and sharing something. no longer taking care of himself out of necessity, but learning what his skills and hobbies are and genuinely sharing them because they make him feel accomplished and happy! it just ties everything together with this dude.

in short, cooking is more than likely another speciality teru has developed due to needing to live on his own. since mp100 has themes that involve human connection and relationships with others, we feel food is something that brings people together and our boy teru here should experience that firsthand.

that is why it plays a big role in what we have so far in backdraft!

[swallowerofdharma]

my recent rereading of saezuru and your recent ask about Nanahara’s relationship with Y kind of coincided as the scene in chapter 4 where Y kicks on kicking Nanahara still gets my intention. More specifically how aggressive he becomes as Nanahara turns his attention to D dressed as a cop? Can’t tell how amplified / what is amplifying his actions and why in that scene where is particularly violent.

If you contrast it with one of the previous scene with Y and D, of the same chapter, Y appears to release his frustration (?), quite aggressively but, on the chair instead and twice.

Oh I agree that at the beginning of the manga Yashiro is very often frustrated or tense and he has various valid reasons for it. I’ll start with this particular scene you mentioned, when he takes his anger out on Nanahara, but I think that in this case he is so aggressive because he had explicitly ordered Nana not to retaliate or provoke further anyone at the Matsubara. Remember that in chapter three Hirata took Yashiro there to attend a function? Yashiro has known how Hirata feels about him for a long time and he was already suspicious about it. They basically mostly avoid each other so why Hirata suddenly showed up and why go to the Matsubara? Hirata knew about Yashiro’s past with Ryuuzaki and others there so it was correct to assume that it was a provocation or a set up. We know now what Hirata had planned and Ryuuzaki’s role, and at the time Yashiro is already suspicious and always cautious. I think there are multiple reasons why he has relationships so close with detectives that can pass information to him in advance. On one side, he can give the higher ups suggestions and be seen as useful, on the other side he can know in advance about problems he might get involved in so he can prepare more carefully. In chapter three Nanahara overheard the conversation and the taunting between Ryuuzaki and Yashiro and later in the car offered to teach the Matsubara a lesson, falling right into Hirata’s plan of using the tension between Yashiro’s and Ryuuzaki’s groups as a set up. But Yashiro never wants to escalate anything to defend himself in these situations, because he knows how, no matter how much money he brings to the group, people are going to look down on him and hate him simply for who he is. The situation has always been very tense for him and he needs to look out for himself and for his subordinates too. So in chapter three, after they leave from the Matsubara, Yashiro told Nanahara explicitly to leave things be, to not retaliate. And instead Nanahara has a confrontation not much later, so I think that in this case Yashiro’s frustration is more directed towards Nanahara’s inability to see the whole picture, his lack of foresight and the potential consequences of small conflicts becoming something more. So when Nanahara doesn’t recognize Doumeki dressed up as a police officer, Yashiro is even more irritated by his shortsightedness.

As a gay man in the yakuza, Yashiro needs to be hyper-vigilant, I think this is what Misumi failed to see. But at the beginning of the manga, Yashiro is also grieving over Kageyama once again, he gets drunk in chapter one, he lowers his defenses and focus, he takes Doumeki in while knowing he is weaker with him around. All these things contribute in making him tense. As for the beginning of chapter four, when he kicks the chair, there is a lot going on there in my opinion and I agree with what @nanayashi-agenda said about it in this post. I think this point would need another separate analysis at some point, but I have to ask permission to @itwearsadress to use the notes they kindly shared with me regarding Yashiro and Doumeki’s little role play and the language they used. Because I think this ties into Yashiro’s past and the general attitudes towards rape, in the law and in society, even if only lightly and subtly touched upon, but this is so very unique to see in a bl manga. This is the chapter that convinced me to look into Saezuru with more attention.

In conclusion, there isn’t only one reason why Yashiro gets angry or nervous, but several emotional threads and events that converge around him to shatter an already precarious situation. And Nanahara isn’t completely innocent here, although nothing he did was malicious. As for why Yashiro kicks Nanahara directly, but kicks only the chair and not Doumeki, it is because Yashiro trusts Nanahara at this point more than Doumeki, he tested him repeatedly and knows that Nanahara wouldn’t react or direct his strength against Yashiro even in self defense. While with Doumeki, he still doesn’t know the limits and certainly isn’t comfortable enough, and what’s more Doumeki is unaware of why what he said upset Yashiro and wasn’t trying to hurt him intentionally and wasn’t disobeying. So the chair took the hit. And in recent chapters, Yashiro kicks Doumeki when he sees the tattoo, and Doumeki’s answer is to kiss him because for a moment Yashiro is too upset to even be cautious or distant and cold.

[the-sky-is-my-home]

idk if anyone is here for hq analysis text posts in 2023 nor do I know if something like this has been made before but. it wouldn't leave my head so here. my attempt at a cohesive analysis of the kageyama/hinata/atsumu/osamu dynamic (note: this isn't meant in a shippy way at all. any relationship as complex and narratively juicy as this is great shipping material I know but for this post I wanna keep things canon)

for the sake of something like brevity (lol), I won't delve into the kageyama/hinata partnership here. I assume you watched/read the series and I don't need to explain how they're both partners and rivals. it's the core relationship of the story, after all. also, the twins are twins, and aran spelled out their dynamic and relationship pretty nicely in their flashback, so...

let's start with kageyama and atsumu, the first ones who cross paths outside of their partnerships. as we know, they don't exactly get along great at youth camp. they don't fight, but atsumu makes himself seem like an ass immediately by calling kageyama's playstyle that of a goody-two-shoes. to the reader, this feels like an incredible insult because the way kageyama plays has been developed through some hard-earned character development spanning the entire series so far. we're meant to conclude he's wrong and will be proven so in a future game.

except this is not at all what the interaction is about, or what it will lead to. we don't actually understand the conflicting perspectives here until after the timeskip. what this is is a misunderstanding between two very similar people whose experiences differ in one key aspect. both of them are setters who are incredibly talented and extremely dedicated to volleyball. both are blunt, and not afraid to point out other people's shortcomings. both of them have essentially been friendless and outcast on their middle school teams because of this.

there is just one key difference: kageyama has been desperately looking for someone better ever since his grandpa promised he'd find them, while atsumu has spent his entire volleyball career with "someone better" right at his side. at this point, kageyama only knows failure and rejection in that regard. his sister quit volleyball. his grandpa died. oikawa and iwaizumi had their own thing going on and were never really in his reach. kindaichi couldn't keep up, and kunimi absolutely wasn't willing to.

he's got hinata now, but the harsh truth is that while he's kageyama's partner, he's not "someone better" at this point. this is because he kinda sucks at volleyball even if he's rapidly learning. and this one, simple difference changed everything. when kageyama is too arrogant and demanding, his team rejects him, and he's alone and unable to play. when atsumu does the same, he still has osamu who will sit with him and make an effort to pull him into the group. and he's always got proof that he's not asking too much, because of course osamu can hit all of atsumu's sets. when kageyama is too harsh on his hitters, nobody can really handle it and people get scared, so he tones himself down. when atsumu does the same, osamu yells at him and fights with him, until atsumu gets his point, and the rest of the team sees it as a fun twin squabble, endearing rather than scary.

but the thing is, neither of them know anything about the other, and atsumu speaks with the absolute confidence of someone who only knows volleyball like this. he's got "someone better" privilege and he just doesn't know that's a thing one can have. (he actually has this over others, too, including hinata before he had a team. having to run alone is a common thing among the volleyball obsessed.) but with his perspective, unexplained and badly phrased as it may be, kageyama manages to grow yet again, with hinata crowning him king of the court again as he realizes he can demand things from his hitters and they'll answer him (and to this day, atsumu is totally clueless he kickstarted it, and also that osamu taught him the same).

but as the years pass, even as they remain rivals, they do start understanding each other on a level no one else can (see atsumu explaining kageyama's thought process of "the points I score are mine, the points my hitters score are also mine" to hinata)

but while I do think these parallels are fairly well understood, people are sleeping on the osamu/hinata parallels. probably because they seem so much more different at first glance, with osamu looking calm and disinterested while hinata is, well, hinata. all bouncy and loud and sunshine-y. but they're as much the same as kageyama and atsumu. both were excited kids who like volleyball and, even seeing and understanding how cool setters are, just didn't vibe with it because spiking is just cooler.

except hinata was alone in his desire for so long it went nowhere for years, while osamu could always play as he wanted, with the best and most dedicated setter right there at his side. the way osamu plays is what hinata could've/would've been if he could've played for years and years. (I love this cover page it says like yeah look they're the same just with vastly differing levels of experience)

we know this, because hinata's playstyle actually turns out a lot like osamu's after the timeskip. but even with those differences, regardless of pre- or post-timeskip, again osamu seems to just instinctually get hinata in ways nobody else seems to. from his "he plays like he's eating good grub" to being absolutely unimpressed by hinata simply expecting the ball to be there - because isn't that just the natural state of things? doesn't everyone have a setter who will bring the ball without fail? why wouldn't you expect it? it's not unreasonable or too demanding, it's just how it is - that everyone else clocks as special.

when hinata gets intense, people tend to get scared, but osamu plain isn't, because he's the same in too many ways, and the familiar isn't scary.

and years later, when even atsumu is surprised by the timing of hinata jumping for the freak quick, osamu isn't. this is exactly where he'd jump for it. just like hinata knew osamu would jump for it at the last point of their game in high school (and like kageyama knew atsumu would answer the spiker, both times, because he would, too).

but their arcs end in complete opposites, unlike their setters, because their starting points were more different, too. to go with the food metaphor introduced by osamu, he's someone who always got to eat his fill, while hinata was starving for years and only gets hungrier the more crumbs he gets to eat.

when hinata does get his fill, finally, he can never give it up. but what's a feast to him is just a normal meal for osamu, and he needs other spices to be happy. and I can't really make this fit in the food metaphor but. hinata shines the brightest on the court, but osamu gets eclipsed by atsumu because he's just not hungry enough for it. so it's only fitting hinata pours his all into it while osamu quits and finds his place somewhere else. hinata finds fulfillment in challenge, in teammates and rivalry (with kageyama), while osamu finds his in support (of atsumu) as opposed to competition, and pursuit of something that's entirely his own.

and then there's the relationship between atsumu and hinata. the first match they have is defined by atsumu first writing hinata off as a scrub (to be fair, the first impression he leaves is jumping for a toss and plain forgetting to hit it. it's hard to come back from that), but throughout the game, atsumu comes to understand hinata, and by the end of it, declares he'll toss to him one day.

even at this point, it's pointed out he's good news for hinata in the sense that he won't need kageyama forever. there's someone else who could be his setter and make him shine just as brightly.

what the coaches can't know is that atsumu will be in sore need of a partner just a few years down the line, and that by that time, hinata will be perfect for the position. yes, atsumu can give him the freak quicks. yes, he's the kind of setter hinata can expect the ball from. but post-timeskip, hinata can toss the ball to atsumu just like osamu used to. he can do all the fun, reckless, perfectly coordinated plays that atsumu used to do with his twin.

they're the perfect partners for each other, united even in their desire to beat kageyama, who's both of their main rival at this point, the one who hinata wanted to beat since his first game, and the one who's in the way of atsumu getting the serve trophy and the sole spot of setter on the olympic team.

I know this is a very anti-climactic last dynamic but. unfortunately, kageyama and osamu never really interacted. but for the record, I think it's a shame, we were robbed, and they'd absolutely get along great.

idk if there's a conclusion to be had here tbh, but the post-timeskip arrangement really is ideal for them all, exactly what they wanted. hinata gets to shine and continually improve himself, he gets to stand on the court as a force to be reckoned with. kageyama has finally, finally found the "someone better" he was promised, and through him, continually gets to play the challenging game he was sorely missing in his early years. atsumu gets to play exactly the kind of volleyball he likes, too, with the kind of partner at his side that made volleyball so fun for him from the start. all three of them get to play again and again and again, always learning and growing, winning and losing, and never getting tired of any of it. osamu, while he's not playing, gets to do his own thing that he loves just as much, and he's certainly not losing his dumbass happiness contest with his brother.

so. yeah. I may have thought about all this a little too much. leave me alone. (no don't please talk to me about this actually)

[thawthebeez]

additionally, in regards to my last post, the s2 ep5 argument was not as devastating for kageyama and hinata's personal relationship as people think it was. it took a toll on their relationship in regards to volleyball, but none of that argument was personal. it was literally just a turning point in their athletic careers where hinata realized that he needed more freedom in their quick attack, and kageyama was scared of changing something that was already perfect to him, lest he fuck something up and scare hinata away. the misunderstanding wasn't "kageyama thinks hinata is a shit person", it was "hinata will not grow if they stay like this and kageyama isn't confident enough in his ability to be a good teammate to give hinata that extra freedom". nothing kageyama said during that argument was entirely wrong, and the same goes for hinata. hinata should work on his receives more, and kageyama should understand where hinata is coming from and just work with him for a minute, but neither of them do that because their stubborn and maybe a little insecure! none of it was personal! in the anime, kageyama asks "are my tosses not good enough for you?" and hinata literally bursts out screaming "no! they were perfect! spot on!" LIKE😭 the only personal thing about that argument was kageyama expressing and insecurity and hinata immediately jumping in and going "no you're amazing ily", which can coexist with his other statement "i need something to change because i'll never grow like this." god those two make me feel so fucking ill i hate them

[soccerpunching]

I wrote uhh something that takes place in episode 10 of the first season after Kidou asked Kageyama about Fuyukai putting a trap on the bus and Kageyama just told him that what makes a great commander is ensuring the win before the match even starts. This was a little headcanon-ish of mine of what happened after that. A notable thing is this was also a bit after the match with Meito where Gouenji couldn't fight because of his leg injury.

To Those Who Take Flight

Chapter Summary: After Kidou asked the commander regarding Fuyukai's actions, he found himself remembering even more "accidents" that happened in the last year's Football Frontier. His contemplative walk took him to Inazuma General Hospital where he met the man he wanted to talk to the most. Characters: Kidou Yuuto, Gouenji Shuuya, Gouenji Katsuya Relationships: Kidou Yuuto & Gouenji Shuuya; Gouenji Shuuya & Gouenji Katsuya Word Count: 1,523 No Warnings Apply Genre: General, canon compliant, drama, doubts, family drama

Chapter 1: Reason

Kidou dragged his feet around Inazuma Town, a place his body automatically goes to after his responsibilities since his first match against Endou and Gouenji.

He pulled on his red jacket to hold himself together. His brain repeated the commander’s doubts on his team like a mantra… Did he really believe Teikoku Eleven wouldn’t be able to win against Raimon? After all the training they went through?

In all his life following him, this was the first time the commander expressed zero confidence in Kidou winning in anything he had ever worked for. It was one experience that he wouldn’t be comfortable enough to call humbling; it was degrading…

But even more so was the thought that he wouldn’t be able to trust them to win even after they already proved themselves in the nationals last year—!

Kidou’s feet pressed heavily on the ground as he felt his own weight suddenly multiplied.

On the Football Frontier last year… how many people were not able to make it to their match? How many healthy and usually careful players were benched because of an injury that occurred before they arrived at the field?? Kidou’s feet made fast strides without him realizing it; without him even thinking about a place to go.

Different faces flashed in his memories. They were few. Too few, in fact, to be considered to be part of some grand scheme. And with circumstances too mundane to even make a connection from.

But there are faces… and one in particular that Kidou had always felt so much empathy and connection with.

He continued with heavy steps that made him feel so cold despite the enticing warmth of the afternoon. The words in his head fell on top of each other as he revised phrases and sentences that didn't seemingly want to escape his lips. Before he knew it, his feet took him to Inazuma General Hospital guided by the face of the enemy he waited a year to see on the same field.

His sister's room is on the fifth floor—a fact that he only knew after spying it on one of the… files on the commander's desk. It was not exactly a weird detail to be there… perhaps; as it also contained his entire family background. But, simply acquiring all this information didn't really prove anything. Knowing everything about a person was merely… the commander’s way of doing things. 

Kidou broke his stride as he doubted—wondered what he was doing there.

He bit his lip as his chest burned in cold flames.

His heel pressed on the floor, about to turn around when he caught a glimpse of a familiar blonde in front of the elevator he was beelining to earlier.

Kidou felt an electric urge to talk to him.

To tell him something… something that… something that's important. Something—what was he planning to say??

All the words he clumsily mended together fell apart like a few pieces of hair that the wind took from his loosened fingers.

What could there be to talk to him about that could be called a fact? Wouldn't sharing his unproven allegations of his own coach to him just unnecessarily put doubts on Gouenji? Kidou waited so long to resolve their unfinished business; the last thing he wanted is for his opponent to be distracted by Kidou's doubts on his own mentor… by his own personal matters.

The long tribulations Kidou went through in his head was but a few seconds outside, he realized, as he heard Gouenji's unusually weak voice addressing an older man suited as any doctor would in this place.

The familiar man— Gouenji Katsuya, according to the commander's folder— spoke with a sharp chill that reached where Kidou hid just before he made a turn on the hallway.

"...can't even wait before your leg completely heals?" The doctor pointed the paper he was holding to Gouenji's raimon tracksuit as his eyes shifted from his once-broken leg to his face. "What would it take for you to realize that all soccer has ever done is to harm you?"

Guilt stabbed Kidou at the way Gouenji's head bowed slightly; he mumbled in a tone so low and broken that Kidou felt himself an unforgivable voyeur to catch him vulnerable like this. "It was just a minor injury."

Both Kidou and Gouenji felt their breaths stop at the sigh that left Dr. Gouenji's mouth. It was a move that Kidou knew as well.

"Do what you want."

Utter disappointment. No, Kidou figured it's something even lower: 'There is no hope for you.'

Kidou shied his eyes away from Gouenji's battles as more, new thoughts came into his mind. The matter of Yuuka's accident was pushed at the back of his head as he delved into the genius striker's attachment to soccer. Kidou flipped his memories like it was a thick book of condensed data that his thumb turned with amazing speed. 

Did the commander have information about it? When did he start soccer? Why did he start playing?! Was it just because it was something he was exceptional at?!!

The questions flooded and turned so loud that they drowned out Katsuya’s footsteps. In a matter of seconds, Kidou's initial reason for going there was muted by the barrage of infinitely slamming thoughts.

"You’d think someone who has everything would have a better hobby."

Kidou's heart almost leapt out of his chest as a husky voice put him back where he stood. It was a tone with more strength than what he heard from the halls, but was subtly weaker than the usual Gouenji.

Kidou retreated the hand that jumped instinctively to his chest and stood with more dignity as he let his enemy rightfully criticize his character with the deadly blade of his eyes. His gaze held so much unrelenting intensity that Kidou felt like his knees may begin to quiver if he wasn't pouring all of his will into keeping it solid.

"Gouenji—!"

Kidou's sentence was cut short with a sigh that sounded almost like the same one they heard earlier; a fact that Kidou had enough heart?— delicacy to never willingly point out.

Gouenji spared a glance before he clicked his tongue and made a turn to leave.

"Wait!!"

His steps didn't waver.

"I have something to ask you."

He merely halted on his place but he made sure to relay the intention that he would make no move to turn around and face him.

"Why?"

He made a small glance from over his shoulder.

"Your sister, your relationship with your father… After every terrible thing that soccer caused you, how could you continue to play it?"

The surprise on Gouenji's face finally tamed the ferocious anger displayed. He turned sideways as the reflected patches of the rays of the sun outside the glass windows kissed his cheek; he stayed bewildered with the question. "Why?"

Gouenji unconsciously turned his body where Kidou stood as his subtle facial expressions morphed to several ones in a matter of seconds.

Kidou stood speechless at the impressive showcase of how the other athlete thinks outside of what he'd seen from his matches. His eyes glowed with amazing passion as his tanned skin was given more attention by the afternoon light shaded by the bountiful leaves outside; his musings were made obvious by the slight parting of his lips and the way his hand made little twitches of his fingers.

Gouenji opened his mouth to speak but clammed it shut as he seemed to get lost in his world again.

Kidou couldn't find this anything but… aesthetically pleasing. It was one that his brain urged him to paint as soon as he would be able to; all the details and colors visualized and ready to be recreated with little twists of his own.

Even the way Gouenji suddenly glanced at the window to look at the trees was graceful. As did the change in his expression as he pointed at one of the branches.

"?" Kidou silently followed what Gouenji's finger was trying to show him. He finally heard a semblance of the singing of birds as he was made aware of their existence right there. But, Kidou merely opened his mouth in confusion.

"Why does a bird fly?" Gouenji's voice was something between unsure and confident, but it contained his hardened will. "My answer is probably something like that…"

Kidou could only hang his mouth open in answer.

This earned a surprising sympathetic look from the striker. "I’ll be in the match this time… whether you’ll be entirely there or not."

He started walking away; leaving Kidou to stay in his place and watch his back with less uncertainty in him than from when he walked in the hospital.

Continuing to mull the interaction over, Kidou unconsciously sat on one of the chairs on the hallway; one where he could look directly out the window from. He rested there now with his thoughts quieter and a tad bit clearer.

Luckily, he was just in time to see the birds fly away in his brief stay there. He then inevitably pondered, "Why… do they fly?"

[pearlsephoni]

Spiking Heartbeats: Free Coffee and Tea

Can also be read on AO3!

Rating: G

Fandom: Haikyuu!!

Relationships: Platonic Karasuno First Years, pre-relationship Tsukkiyama (Tsukishima/Yamaguchi), pre-relationship Kagehina (Kageyama/Hinata), pre-relationship Kanoyachi (Kanoka/Yachi), established Kiyotana (Kiyoko/Tanaka)

Characters: Shoyo Hinata, Hitoka Yachi, Kanoka Amanai, Tadashi Yamaguchi, Osamu Miya, Atsumu Miya, Kiyoko Shimizu, Ryuunosuke Tanaka

Word Count: 2.8k

Summary:

Amanai had always come off as shy, even though she’d been at the hospital for more than three years. At first glance, it would be easy for Shoyo to brush off any stiffness in her body language as awkwardness or discomfort. Yet a rosy pink flush was creeping up Amanai’s neck and rising in her cheeks. Shoyo regarded it with interest. Once Yachi disappeared out the door, he gave Amanai an experimental wink. The blush transitioned from pink to bright red. Tanaka and Shimizu exchanged knowing glances. Bingo.

It's an ordinary day at Ohyama Hospital, until Dr. Hinata stumbles across some interesting new information.

A/N: Written by @r0mantic-era as part of a collaborative series of Haikyuu Hospital Playlist AU fics, featuring the Karasuno first years as the 99s! Originally published on AO3 on April 15th. Further author's notes can be found there.

***

On a bright and early Sunday morning, Shoyo entered the café on the first floor of the hospital in high spirits. Humming to himself, he scanned the long line of customers with the eager, hungry eyes of a scavenger. 

It didn’t take long to spot a stubborn tuft of hair sticking out from the head of a familiar, tall figure in pale blue scrubs. Letting a grin crawl over his face, Shoyo made a beeline for his target—snatching up a salmon onigiri from the fridge on his way to cut the line.

“I want a hazelnut latte with soy milk,” he announced, looping his arm around Yamaguchi’s wide shoulders. “And this onigiri.”

Yamaguchi didn’t so much as flinch at the intrusion. “Guess what I have, Hinata?” he sang, waving a hand in front of Shoyo’s face. Pinched between his fingers was a familiar credit card.

“Tsukishima’s card?!” Shoyo pumped his fist. He’d arrived at just the right time.

Yamaguchi’s smile, impossibly, grew even more smug. “I’m buying coffee for my resident and Sawamura. Want in?”

In terms of residents, General Surgery only had Iwaizumi, but Shoyo made a split-second decision to snag drinks for the fellow surgeons in his department. “I’ll take an iced americano for Iwaizumi, a caramel latte with an extra shot of espresso for Bokuto-san, a jujube tea for Omi-Omi…” he pulled his phone out of his pocket to check the time, “...and a black coffee for Yacchan.” 

Shoyo was clocking in ahead of schedule this morning, so making a pit stop by Neurosurgery to drop off a drink for Yachi would be no problem.

“That’ll be 3,900 yen,” Miya Osamu announced from behind the cash register.

“And this.” Kageyama dropped a probiotic yogurt on the countertop.

“Ack!” Shoyo jumped. “Where did you come from? You’re like a ghost! Don’t be so quiet when you walk, Creepy-yama,” he sputtered.

Kageyama shrugged, plucking up the yogurt as Osamu punched the new purchase into the machine. “Have better hearing, then, Dumbass.”

Shoyo playfully stuck out his tongue. “My hearing is—”

“Ah-ah, no fighting in my café. You goons are going to hold up the line,” tutted Osamu, rolling his eyes sky-high. “That’ll be 4,200 yen. Tsumu will have the drinks out for you all shortly. Now get.” After more than a decade, the owner of Café Miya was well acquainted with Shoyo and his friends—they’d made more than a few ruckuses inside his establishment over the years, after all. 

Shoyo flashed him an apologetic grin before ducking out of the way and leaving Yamaguchi (or, well, Tsukishima) to cover the bill.

“See you at dinner?” Kageyama asked, uncapping his yogurt. It was a rare day when the friends’ shift schedules left them all simultaneously free for the evening, so the five had plans to meet up at a barbecue restaurant near the hospital.

“See you then, Yama-yama,” Shoyo told him, waving as Kageyama strolled out of the café and towards the lobby elevators.

Shoyo spent the next few minutes scrolling through Youtube to watch volleyball highlights. Yamaguchi, who had wandered over after placing their order, peered over his shoulder as Shoyo skimmed through clips of the most recent game between the Green Rockets and the Black Jackals. He hadn’t had time to watch yesterday with so many procedures scheduled, which was a shame—from the game reel, it seemed like it had been a great match.

“Sho-kun!” interrupted Miya Atsumu, setting several cardboard coffee cup carriers down in the pick-up area. “Your drinks are ready. But do you have any news for me?”

Atsumu, Osamu’s brother and co-manager of Café Miya, nurtured a notorious proclivity for gossip. His penchant for fueling rumors consistently bothered Tsukishima and Kageyama, both of whom complained that Atsumu was the hospital’s resident auntie, but Shoyo was always happy to indulge him.

“There’s a rumor going around that two interns are dating, but nobody knows who,” he provided, lowering his voice conspiratorily. “Let me know if you notice anything, alright?”

“I got you, doc,” Atsumu replied with a wink, handing Shoyo two carriers holding five drinks.

Yamaguchi clicked his tongue against his teeth and grabbed his own coffee carriers with a fond sigh. “Do we really need to be snooping around the lives of our juniors?” he asked, ever-responsible. Then, he grinned. “Well, let me know if you find out who it is. My money’s on Sugawara being involved in some way.”

***

After exiting Café Miya, Shoyo headed up to the third floor and into the Neurosurgery wing. Upon arriving at the department’s staff room, he bumped the door open with his hip and poked his head inside.

“Yacchan!” he called. “I brought you coffee!”

Yachi, who had been midway through explaining something to the two interns rotating through her department, startled slightly.

“Hinata!” Yachi yelped, knocking a stack of papers off the table. The sheets fluttered haphazardly through the air: Dr. Shimizu managed to snag half the pile mid-fall, aided by quick reflexes, while her fellow intern Dr. Tanaka scrambled for the remaining documents just a beat too late and ended up crouching on the floor to gather the rest.

“Sorry, Yacchan,” Shoyo apologized, placing the black coffee on the table beside her. “No milk, no sugar. Just how you like it.”

“You’re a lifesaver,” she told him, taking a massive gulp of the drink. “And the timing was perfect. I actually have to run to a consultation, now, but Kanoka can take over briefing this case for me. If that’s okay?”

Yachi’s third-year resident, Dr. Amanai, closed out a patient chart on the break room desktop and hurried to join the others at the table.

“I’ve got it, Professor!” she agreed immediately, tucking a lock of short, dark hair behind her ear. “And, um, hello Dr. Hinata.”

“Hey, Amanai-chan,” Shoyo greeted easily. Amanai was tall, so he had to look up slightly to make eye contact. “I heard you’re going to be the lead surgeon on an upcoming case!”

Amanai nodded. “It’ll be my first time leading,” she said timidly. “I’ll do my best.”

“I have no doubt it’ll go great,” Yachi interjected confidently, placing a hand on Amanai’s shoulder. “Just like I have no doubts leaving these two in your very capable hands!” The gesture was innocent—the reassurance of a mentor to a mentee—but Shoyo couldn’t help but notice Amanai tense just slightly under Yachi’s touch.

Amanai had always come off as shy, even though she’d been at the hospital for more than three years. At first glance, it would be easy for Shoyo to brush off any stiffness in her body language as awkwardness or discomfort. Yet a rosy pink flush was creeping up Amanai’s neck and rising in her cheeks. 

Shoyo regarded it with interest. Once Yachi disappeared out the door, he gave Amanai an experimental wink.

The blush transitioned from pink to bright red. Tanaka and Shimizu exchanged knowing glances. 

Bingo. 

Shoyo wished he could say that he was a mature man who refrained from meddling in the personal affairs of others, but there was a reason he was Atsumu’s Number One Gossip Buddy. 

Sure, the timing wasn’t ideal. Yachi was still dating Maruki Takuto from Dermatology—they’d only gotten together about two months ago, but it truly felt like it had been ages. Ages of Kageyama and Tsukishima agreeing for once and mutually bitching about the guy, that is. 

To be fair, Shoyo wasn’t exactly Maruki’s biggest fan, either. Maruki was nice enough to his colleagues and the hospital staff. But Shoyo had a strong feeling that the other doctor had an inferiority complex which manifested as jealousy over Yachi’s accomplishments, and he’d told her so in similar words. 

“I’m just seeing how things go. It’s not that serious,” Yachi had assured him. Still, none of their friends could really understand why she was wasting her time in the first place.

Although he would never interfere directly in Yachi’s relationships, Shoyo couldn’t help but be excited by the appearance of a better candidate for his childhood friend. Amanai had a reputation as a kind, fair, and caring member of the staff. She clearly had a tremendous amount of respect for Yachi. Once this Maruki business ended, maybe he’d have to do some meddling.

Shoyo left the neurosurgery wing in high spirits, whistling merrily. Having acquired free coffee and tea, the morning was shaping up to be a pretty good one.

***

Shoyo didn’t give his discovery much thought for the next few hours, swept up in the bustle of his morning cases. He met with patients one right after the other, dissecting CT scans and MRIs in layman’s terms before negotiating treatment paths and scheduling procedures. 

At a major hospital in a capital city, consultations often breezed by, but Shoyo liked to think that the person-to-person aspect of medicine was a personal specialty of his. Had he been the best student in their medical school class? Not by a long shot. Did he make mistakes when charting because he could not wrap his mind around the hospital software system? Occassionally. But Shoyo was a good surgeon and, perhaps most importantly, he did his best to make his patients feel safe and understood, before and after their operations.

Even for a gregarious person like himself, the latter was hard work. So, when his break finally rolled around, he opted to chill in the outdoor courtyard rather than return to his shared office with Yamaguchi.

Outside, the sun shone golden through the green leaves of the well-trimmed trees. The soft hum of public conversation filtered past as he shut his eyelids, enjoying the warm weather. And then he heard footsteps approach, stuttering against the pavement.

Shoyo cracked open one eye.

“Um, Dr. Hinata.” Amanai Kanoka took a seat on the bench beside him, a banana milk between her hands.

“Amanai-chan!” Shoyo replied immediately, straightening his spine. “What’s up?”

Amanai picked at the edge of the foil lid of the banana milk with the fingernail of her index finger, smoothing it back into place each time she came close to actually opening the container.

“I…I heard you liked banana milk,” she said after a minute of awkward silence, thrusting the milk into his hands.

Shoyo grinned gleefully, accepting the treat eagerly. “For me?” he asked, peeling off the lid and taking a swig. “Who told you?”

“Dr. Yachi mentioned it once,” Amanai replied, bravely lifting her gaze to make eye contact. “I know, um, you two have been friends for ages…right?”

“We have,” Shoyo confirmed, biting back a knowing smile. He had a feeling about where this was going, but he wasn’t going to put the words in Amanai’s mouth. “So what is it that you needed? Assuming you didn’t just come here to give me my favorite drink for no reason,” he joked. “Not that I’m not honored that our nation’s number one judoka personally delivered my snack.”

Amanai flushed pink. “Ah, how did you know?” she squeaked.

“Yacchan told me,” Shoyo explained matter-of-factly, offering her a cheerful thumbs up.

“She talks about me?!” Amanai blurted, eyes widening in genuine surprise. Once the outburst escaped her lips, she immediately clapped her hands over her mouth in mortification. “Um, I mean…”

Shoyo let his laugh flow free. “Well, it’s a pretty big deal when a three-time Olympic gold medalist finishes her career and then decides to enroll in medical school of all things…but to answer your question, she does!”

Amanai dropped her hands and leaned forward. The undisguised eagerness written across her face greatly amused Shoyo for a split second, who had deliberately refrained from elaborating. Witnessing the way Amanai was so clearly torn between pressing for more information and holding herself back, however, prompted a subsequent twinge of guilt. Amanai was not Kageyama—it wasn’t kind nor appropriate to tease her. Although she wasn’t much younger, she was still his junior.

Ever graciously, he made an executive call to put an end to her misery rather than force her to come clean. “So what do you need? Intel about Yachi’s hobbies? Her favorite restaurants?”

Amanai’s blush, impossibly, grew even more pronounced. “I, I—!” she spluttered, coughing into her elbow. “Um, I…”

“Yachi only ever has good things to say about you and your research,” he added, once she finished wheezing.

Amanai thumped her chest with one fist before sighing deeply. “Am I really that transparent?” she asked forlornly. “I hope Dr. Yachi doesn’t realize.”

“There’s no way she knows,” Shoyo assured her. “Yachi can be oblivious when it comes to this kind of thing. Though I can’t say if that the same thing is true for the interns.”

Amanai pressed her palm to her forehead. “Ugh. Tanaka keeps trying to wingman me in the worst ways, and it’s extremely embarrassing every time,” she complained. “He has no subtlety whatsoever.”

“Well, that’s what I’m here for!” Shoyo cheered. “You can totally trust me to give you the best insider information about Yacchan. Like, she really loves camping, if you need any date ideas. And she finds height attractive.” He waggled his eyebrows.

Amanai covered her face with her hands in embarrassment. “I know. Or, well, I knew she liked camping. She’s the president of the Outdoor Hobbies Special Interest Group.”

“Huh.” Shoyo scratched his chin. Who knew their hospital had an organization like that? Well, it was no surprise that Yachi had found a way to be heavily involved: she was, at her core, an overachiever.

“Dr. Hinata, I…I’ve been interested in Dr. Yachi for a while now, and I’ve been too scared to act. So nothing has changed.” Amanai took a deep breath. “But I really want to give this a proper go instead of giving up without even trying. And I thought you could help me approach Dr. Yachi in the…a way that’s most respectful of what she would want. Since you know her so well.”

Shoyo bit his lip and rubbed his palms along the tops of his scrub pants, unsure of how to proceed. Amanai was so sincere, and he hated to be the bearer of bad news. “Well, it’s kind of on the down low, but Yachi is…sort of seeing someone?” Amanai’s expression plummeted, and Shoyo hastily rushed to amend the statement. “He’s actually a…big jerk! And it’s really not serious. In fact, we’re all rooting for it to be over sooner rather than later!”

Amanai frowned. “Still. I guess I shouldn’t do anything at all if she already has someone.”

“Hey. Just know it’s not going to last forever. Seriously. I think Tsukishima might actually commit a homicide if Yachi actually got serious about this guy,” Shoyo insisted. “As soon as she ends things, I’ll let you know right away. So don’t give up!”

Amanai’s frown only deepened. “Dr. Tsukishima?” she repeated. “Does Dr. Tsukishima have feelings for Dr. Yachi?”

Shoyo spat out a mouthful of banana milk. The drink splattered across his pants. “Shit. Sorry!” 

“I’m sorry!” Amanai exclaimed, horrified. “Oh no! I don’t have any napkins, though!”

“It’s fine, it’s fine.” Shoyo waved her concerns away with one hand. “My fault. It’s not like they don’t get dirtier than this on the regular.” He dabbed at the stains with his hands. “You just caught me off guard. But trust me, Tsukishima does not have a thing for Yachi.”

When Shoyo lifted his gaze back up from his pants to Amanai, he spotted Atsumu over her shoulder. The café co-owner stood inside the building with his nose pressed up against the glass, looking directly at Shoyo.

Perking up at the sight of his friend, Shoyo lifted a hand to wave hello. Strangely enough, however, Atsumu darted away from the window as soon as they made eye contact. Weird. Well, weird wasn’t out of the realm of the ordinary when it came to Atsumu, he supposed. Shrugging, Shouyou turned back to Amanai.

“So, what else did you want to know about Yachi?”

***

1:30 PM

  [Miya Atsumu]

Yo, Dr. Bokkun!

Σ (O_O)

[Bokuto Koutarou]

Tsum-tsum!!

What’s up (• ิ _• ิ )?

[Miya Atsumu]

You would not believe what I just saw in the hospital courtyard

Shoyo was with Amanai from neurosurgery

They looked pretty cozy (¬ ‿ ¬ )

Sho-kun even got flustered! He spat out his milk!

[Bokuto Koutarou]

No way!

(o_O) !

[Miya Atsumu]

Yes way

[Bokuto Koutarou]

Let me ask Iwaizumi if he knows anything

|ʘ ‿ ʘ) ╯

  ***

7:00 PM

[Hinata Shoyo]

Yacchan where r u? Ready for dinner?

[Yachi Hitoka]

finishing up now! I’ll go get my car and pick you up at the front

[Hinata Shoyo]

Sounds good!

btw

do u happen to know why kageyama is in such a bad mood

he’s extra grumpy this evening even though he was fine in the morning

[Yachi Hitoka]

:o

i had no clue

… hope he doesn’t have a stomach ache. bbq is serious business

[Hinata Shoyo]

too right

well

i’ll head to the lobby

c u soon!

    To Be Continued...

[cognitivelypartiallyfurnished]

Things Haikyuu Boys would do in a relationship (pt. 1)

-Sakusa, Kita, Asahi, Hinata, Tendo

Part 2: Nishinoya, Iwaizumi, Suna, Kuroo, Yaku

Part 3: Kenma, Kageyama, Terushima, Akaashi, Atsumu

Part 4: Ushijima, Tsukishima, Oikawa, Bokuto, Osamu

⋆｡ ﾟ☁︎｡ ⋆｡ ﾟ☾ ﾟ｡ ⋆

Sakusa Kiyoomi: When your legs touch but you don’t move away.

Kiyoomi wasn’t the biggest fan of crowds so when his old highschool team decided to meet for a reunion dinner it took you quite the effort to convince him to come. Now you two found yourselves sitting on a big table with lots of other people. For Sakusa everyone seemed to talk at the same time, all this noise and the way people were eating at the same time was almost too much to him. For this reason he didn’t pull back when your leg touched his after you had to scoot even closer together. You were his comfort, the contact of your legs calming him down and he appreciated you being there with him.

Kita Shinsuke: Nicknames

Sometimes you wondered if your boyfriend Shin even knew your real name. Everytime he approached you he called you by a nickname, your favorites being darling and love. Coming from his mouth you could hear all the adoration he had for you expressed in a short name, it was one of his ways of expressing his feelings for you. On the rare occasion that he called you by your real name you reacted slightly later than usual, not being used to the sound of your own name coming from him.

Asahi Azumane: Holding hands when walking through a crowd so you don´t lose each other

Whenever you and your boyfriend had to walk through a big crowd, Azumane’s hand always found yours to guide you through the jungle of people. It all started when he lost you one time while walking through the train station and when he noticed your absence, he was about to walk to the train station office and demand an announcement regarding your absence. Luckily you were able to point out his tall stature in time and wriggled your way to him. Since then he wouldn’t have it any other way while walking through a crowd.

Hinata Shoyo: Boping each other’s noses

Often times Hinata wasn’t aware how close he was to you. In all his excitement he sometimes came close inches to your face and that’s when you softly boped your nose against his. Sometimes he only smiled apologetically but if you were lucky, he kissed your face in between his rambles.

Tendo Satori: Tucking your hair behind your ears

Tendo Satori was well known for his intense starring. He liked to look at as much as his eyes could capture, so when some strands of your hair were in his view of your face, he tucked them back behind your ear so he could capture your face completely. This was something he was doing unconsciously, so when you asked him about it one time he only replied with “I want you to be able to look at your good-looking boyfriend completely”.

⋆｡ ﾟ☁︎｡ ⋆｡ ﾟ☾ ﾟ｡ ⋆