Ship/Character: Kindaichi & Kunimi & Kageyama Fandom: haikyuu Major Tags: none Other Tags: worried Kageyama, repairing relationships, happy and hopeful ending Word Count: 1184 Remix Permission: sure
***
Kageyama held his breath as he stepped into the gym at Aobajousai High School for the first time, and he didn’t miss the way everything fell silent the moment he was noticed. The first years carrying net posts stopped in their tracks, the second years wheeling out ball carts, follow suit, and the third years stretching off on the sidelines look up in curiosity.
The quiet was broken by Iwaizumi coming up to him and clapping him on the shoulder. “Hey, Kageyama. It’s great to see you again.”
“Thank you, Iwaizumi-senpai,” Kageyama mumbled, his eyes glued to the other side of the gym where two achingly familiar faces coaxed the net pole into place while looking at nothing else but him.
Kageyama looked away.
The gesture did not go unnoticed. Iwaizumi sighed. “You need to talk to them sometime. Give them a chance to give you a chance.”
Iwaizumi’s earnest expression fortified Kageyama’s willpower to strike up a conversation with the teammates who had borne the worst of his terrible demeanor back in middle school. It had only been a few months since then, but the event had sparked a metamorphosis of self-awareness.
Taking a deep breath, Kageyama stepped forward, his stride growing in confidence as the people around him resumed their usual business. That was, of course, except for Kindaichi and Kunimi.
Kindaichi’s attention thoroughly fixed on the pole, he mumbled, “You’re never late for practice.”
“Yeah.” Kageyama didn’t say anything else, unsure how to impart that he almost didn’t come at all because he didn’t know if anyone would want him there. Instead, he opted to string the bottom of the net while Kindaichi used his superior height to secure the top.
Practice churned by like any other, with the sole oddity being the coaches. They carefully watched their new crop of first years and the three of them in particular. Kageyama supposed they knew what had happened at Kitagawa Daiichi in that horrible final match. How he had been invited to Aobajousai despite that was a mystery to him.
Well, if one also considered it odd that Kindaichi and Kunimi didn’t hesitate to hit his tosses during spiking practice and were happy with the sets they received, then perhaps it wasn’t a normal practice at all.
At the final whistle, everyone hustled to the locker rooms except for the first years, who lingered to shag stray balls and tear down the nets. About half of them were on the same team at Kitaichi, and more than a few furtive glances were thrown Kageyama’s way. He wasn’t all that surprised; he had expected at least that much.
Kindaichi and Kunimi end up at the same train station, something Kageyama had not thought of but made sense. They all lived within a kilometer radius of each other. Kindaichi used to take the bus because it dropped him off closer to his house, but with them farther from their usual neighborhood than in middle school, the train was the most efficient option.
Unwilling to exacerbate a situation they would all have to live with for three years, Kageyama found a spot along the fence and lingered there waiting for the 6:40 to arrive. He nearly jumped when Kindaichi and Kunimi followed suit and stood next to him.
Kunimi smiled wryly at Kageyama’s panicked expression. “Relax. No one’s here to bite your head off.” Kindaichi nodded in agreement. “It happened, and now it’s over. I’m over it, Kindaichi’s mostly over it, and I don’t think anybody’s interested in dragging this out for three years.”
Blinking in surprise, Kageyama gawked at Kindaichi, who was at ease around him for the first time in a year. If anyone deserved to hate him, it was Kindaichi, yet he stood right next to Kageyama on purpose, idly scrolling through his phone like they sat next to each other every day. Like they used to.
Kageyama swallowed hard, an emotion he couldn’t describe knotting in his throat at the normalcy of the scene. Kunimi talked about having homework on the first day of school, Kindaichi sympathized, and Kunimi even asked him if he’d gotten any and sighed in lament when Kageyama shook his head in the negative.
They boarded the train, opting for the back of the car and the long, open bench there. Their bags stowed under the seat, they sat shoulder to shoulder as the train lurched into motion.
Five minutes into the ride, Kindaichi growled under his breath and grumbled, “This is ridiculous.” He turned to Kageyama with a grumpy frown. “Will you stop acting like you’re standing next to dynamite or something? Nobody’s going to blow up at you.”
“But I —” The rest of the words didn’t come out, but they rattled around in Kageyama’s head: I deserve it.
He reeled when Kunimi reached across Kindaichi to flick him in the forehead. “Stupid Kageyama. Nobody’s mad at you anymore. We said what we needed to say in that game. You received the message and adjusted accordingly.
“Why would we keep torturing each other for the next three years when we could, you know, not do that. Grudges are boring. It’s a lot easier being friends like we were in the first place.” With that, Kunimi dug an issue of a popular shounen manga publication out of his bag and held it up. “I finished it. Anybody want it next?”
Kindaichi eyed the magazine with interest but turned to Kageyama instead. “What about you? Do you still read One Punch Man?”
Kageyama’s eyes widened at the comment. Kindaichi remembered his favorite manga and even wanted to give him first dibs on the latest chapter. He let out a shivering breath and nodded, hesitantly reaching out to take the book from Kunimi’s extended hand.
His fingers traced the cover, trembling as he absorbed what this magazine truly meant. Not just manga or politeness, but a new beginning. They could go back in time when they did everything together as first years in middle school, but with enough maturity and growth to keep from making those same mistakes again.
Eyes watery as he looked up at them both, Kageyama’s lips slowly spread into a soft smile. “Thank you.”
He saw Kindaichi’s face flash a myriad of emotions, but relief won out and he put his hand on Kageyama’s knee and gave it a gentle squeeze. “Yeah.” Kunimi gave him a lazy salute and sat back to start on his geometry homework, giving Kageyama time to absorb it all.
At the last stop before they all went their separate ways, Kindaichi said, “Hey, wait for us tomorrow morning. We’ll be here at six thirty.”
“I will.” Kageyama headed home with a dopey grin on his face because he finally had a chance to make things right, to be the friend they had deserved and to receive the same treatment in kind. There was probably a lot of stuff to talk about, but they had three years, and this Kageyama Tobio could wait for good things when they meant this much.
Fill: Team Kinkage, G
Fandom: haikyuu
Major Tags: none
Other Tags: worried Kageyama, repairing relationships, happy and hopeful ending
Word Count: 1184
Remix Permission: sure
***
Kageyama held his breath as he stepped into the gym at Aobajousai High School for the first time, and he didn’t miss the way everything fell silent the moment he was noticed. The first years carrying net posts stopped in their tracks, the second years wheeling out ball carts, follow suit, and the third years stretching off on the sidelines look up in curiosity.
The quiet was broken by Iwaizumi coming up to him and clapping him on the shoulder. “Hey, Kageyama. It’s great to see you again.”
“Thank you, Iwaizumi-senpai,” Kageyama mumbled, his eyes glued to the other side of the gym where two achingly familiar faces coaxed the net pole into place while looking at nothing else but him.
Kageyama looked away.
The gesture did not go unnoticed. Iwaizumi sighed. “You need to talk to them sometime. Give them a chance to give you a chance.”
Iwaizumi’s earnest expression fortified Kageyama’s willpower to strike up a conversation with the teammates who had borne the worst of his terrible demeanor back in middle school. It had only been a few months since then, but the event had sparked a metamorphosis of self-awareness.
Taking a deep breath, Kageyama stepped forward, his stride growing in confidence as the people around him resumed their usual business. That was, of course, except for Kindaichi and Kunimi.
Kindaichi’s attention thoroughly fixed on the pole, he mumbled, “You’re never late for practice.”
“Yeah.” Kageyama didn’t say anything else, unsure how to impart that he almost didn’t come at all because he didn’t know if anyone would want him there. Instead, he opted to string the bottom of the net while Kindaichi used his superior height to secure the top.
Practice churned by like any other, with the sole oddity being the coaches. They carefully watched their new crop of first years and the three of them in particular. Kageyama supposed they knew what had happened at Kitagawa Daiichi in that horrible final match. How he had been invited to Aobajousai despite that was a mystery to him.
Well, if one also considered it odd that Kindaichi and Kunimi didn’t hesitate to hit his tosses during spiking practice and were happy with the sets they received, then perhaps it wasn’t a normal practice at all.
At the final whistle, everyone hustled to the locker rooms except for the first years, who lingered to shag stray balls and tear down the nets. About half of them were on the same team at Kitaichi, and more than a few furtive glances were thrown Kageyama’s way. He wasn’t all that surprised; he had expected at least that much.
Kindaichi and Kunimi end up at the same train station, something Kageyama had not thought of but made sense. They all lived within a kilometer radius of each other. Kindaichi used to take the bus because it dropped him off closer to his house, but with them farther from their usual neighborhood than in middle school, the train was the most efficient option.
Unwilling to exacerbate a situation they would all have to live with for three years, Kageyama found a spot along the fence and lingered there waiting for the 6:40 to arrive. He nearly jumped when Kindaichi and Kunimi followed suit and stood next to him.
Kunimi smiled wryly at Kageyama’s panicked expression. “Relax. No one’s here to bite your head off.” Kindaichi nodded in agreement. “It happened, and now it’s over. I’m over it, Kindaichi’s mostly over it, and I don’t think anybody’s interested in dragging this out for three years.”
Blinking in surprise, Kageyama gawked at Kindaichi, who was at ease around him for the first time in a year. If anyone deserved to hate him, it was Kindaichi, yet he stood right next to Kageyama on purpose, idly scrolling through his phone like they sat next to each other every day. Like they used to.
Kageyama swallowed hard, an emotion he couldn’t describe knotting in his throat at the normalcy of the scene. Kunimi talked about having homework on the first day of school, Kindaichi sympathized, and Kunimi even asked him if he’d gotten any and sighed in lament when Kageyama shook his head in the negative.
They boarded the train, opting for the back of the car and the long, open bench there. Their bags stowed under the seat, they sat shoulder to shoulder as the train lurched into motion.
Five minutes into the ride, Kindaichi growled under his breath and grumbled, “This is ridiculous.” He turned to Kageyama with a grumpy frown. “Will you stop acting like you’re standing next to dynamite or something? Nobody’s going to blow up at you.”
“But I —” The rest of the words didn’t come out, but they rattled around in Kageyama’s head: I deserve it.
He reeled when Kunimi reached across Kindaichi to flick him in the forehead. “Stupid Kageyama. Nobody’s mad at you anymore. We said what we needed to say in that game. You received the message and adjusted accordingly.
“Why would we keep torturing each other for the next three years when we could, you know, not do that. Grudges are boring. It’s a lot easier being friends like we were in the first place.” With that, Kunimi dug an issue of a popular shounen manga publication out of his bag and held it up. “I finished it. Anybody want it next?”
Kindaichi eyed the magazine with interest but turned to Kageyama instead. “What about you? Do you still read One Punch Man?”
Kageyama’s eyes widened at the comment. Kindaichi remembered his favorite manga and even wanted to give him first dibs on the latest chapter. He let out a shivering breath and nodded, hesitantly reaching out to take the book from Kunimi’s extended hand.
His fingers traced the cover, trembling as he absorbed what this magazine truly meant. Not just manga or politeness, but a new beginning. They could go back in time when they did everything together as first years in middle school, but with enough maturity and growth to keep from making those same mistakes again.
Eyes watery as he looked up at them both, Kageyama’s lips slowly spread into a soft smile. “Thank you.”
He saw Kindaichi’s face flash a myriad of emotions, but relief won out and he put his hand on Kageyama’s knee and gave it a gentle squeeze. “Yeah.” Kunimi gave him a lazy salute and sat back to start on his geometry homework, giving Kageyama time to absorb it all.
At the last stop before they all went their separate ways, Kindaichi said, “Hey, wait for us tomorrow morning. We’ll be here at six thirty.”
“I will.” Kageyama headed home with a dopey grin on his face because he finally had a chance to make things right, to be the friend they had deserved and to receive the same treatment in kind. There was probably a lot of stuff to talk about, but they had three years, and this Kageyama Tobio could wait for good things when they meant this much.