the light screech of shoes rubbing off and causing friction on the floor of the indoor court was a welcome stimulation to hinata's ears. the bright lights that covered most of the high ceiling of the gymnasium blinded his sight yet it sent an incredibly welcome rush in his veins.

yes, this is it.

this is what he has been missing. the longing was more evident now that the court was right in front of him.

the echo of the gymnasium made him more self-aware, eventually not being able to tune out the mini-tour bokuto was giving him by pointing where is what and things he really didn't pay much attention to, he turned to look at the older male and grinned his signature excited smile. "this is just surreal," he pauses as he looks down on his two feet on the floor, it was a start.

a new beginning.

with a light tap on his shoulder, bokuto awakens him from his trance and chuckles, "you might be forgetting but everyone here is already starting to warm up for the tryouts. go on and get changed, i'll just go and find some of the team." he says as he starts to back up, hand pointing out to the direction of the changing rooms to hinata. "changing rooms are over there." he instructed and soon, hinata was on his own to get ready for the start of the tryouts.

the Black Jackals' tryouts will be lasting for 7 days, as bokuto advised they usually take this long to make sure to screen and filter every single potential out of each and every candidate. Black Jackals already have a solid reputation to uphold, so it does make sense that one of japan's best teams is going to be critical in choosing who to draft into their team. hinata came to the tryouts fully prepared for all kinds of outcomes, and yet his knees still tremble a little as he marches down the hall to the changing rooms.

despite being out of the country, hinata found himself being at the top of his game. his health conditions are at a peak so he isn't worried his body wouldn't keep up. if anything, the tryouts will be a question of his determination, and how far he could go given the situations he's going to be in. there's no question in his mind that he desperately wants to be drafted, and what's left to do is to do well.

he's anything but a coward.
he's going to face this head on.

he turns the knob of the changing room doors and enters, politely bowing to someone he saw in his peripheral vision, but not entirely paying attention to. he needs to be at the top of his game and concentration, besides it must be some of the candidates that are getting ready for a warm up before the tryout proper starts.

"shoyo-kun?"

at the sound of a voice calling his name, he turned to face a taller male. the male's ever brightly bleached hair, his enigmatic smile all too familiar for hinata to forget. blinking, surprised at the sudden meeting, he let himself unconsciously call the other by his name,

"atsumu-san."

sure enough, hinata wouldn't forget one of the most difficult people to handle across the court back in his high school years. they've faced each other in a few games and hinata was never not surprised at the prowess of skill the miya twins has; especially the male in front of him right at this moment.

atsumu breaks into a wide amused grin, leaning against one of the lockers. "look who it is," he remarks, looking at the shorter male from head to toe. his gaze was unreadable to hinata, as always. he never could figure out how the other male thinks, it applies to his game and how he carried himself even outside games.

"i heard you were overseas. but, i guess you came back since you're right in front of me." in a sheepish voice, hinata laughed lightly and responded, "well, yeah, i got back a few weeks ago." the younger male pauses as he sets his bag on one of the benches, "i'm actually here for the tryouts, i timed my arrival to make it on time." he informed the other.

for some reason, it missed hinata's mind that atsumu is with Black Jackals. he blames the unnecessary thoughts that clouded his head the past few days internally, there was no time to even have thoughts of something that useless when he's already here facing his present reality. it makes sense that Black Jackals is strong, having such a competent setter playing for them, he couldn't help the smile that appeared on his lips as he opened his bag to get changed.

"really? that's great to hear!" the enthusiasm was very visible at the other's tone. for some reason, it caused hinata's grin to intensify. he looked up to the face atsumu and nodded. "well, i'm glad i came today! i was actually debating to skip introductions to the candidates since most of them won't even stand a chance to play with us, but," atsumu pauses, taking a step closer to hinata. "now i'm glad i did."

 

chuckling, hinata proceeded to pull his knee pads to each of his legs. how very much something like atsumu would say. even with the short time he spent being around the other, he kind of figured he'd be this way and yet it still amused him. "it's really nice to see you too, atsumu-san. it really has been a while, right?"

"yeah, a few years indeed." atsumu agreed, lifting his arms above his head to stretch. "well then, if all goes well, i guess i can make that promise of mine come true then."

looking up to him, hinata strikes a confused expression unsure what promise atsumu was talking about. "what?" he asks.

atsumu then clutches the front of his own shirt, a pained look on his face. "wow, shoyo-kun, you're quite a heartbreaker. i can't believe you have forgotten my brave declaration back in our youth."

"i'm pretty sure it's been a few years since we last played each other's teams, atsumu-san." he blinks, unsure how to take the other male's statement. and before he could even form another thought, atsumu's face was near his, grinning.

"i'm gonna be setting to you one day."

atsumu then moved back, letting out a long 'yaaa' in time with stretching his arms upwards. "hopefully you do well during this week." he says as he turns back to look at hinata. "i really do want to make my promise a reality." with a grin on his face, he marches towards the door, and sends one more look at the other male, "surely, you won't disappoint. i'll be keeping my eyes on you, shoyo-kun."

 

and like that, he was out the door.

 

hinata didn't even manage to get a word in. however, he did remember what the other male was talking about now. the memory of their game played right before his eyes; the way atsumu pointed a finger at him, and how he promised to crush them first in the next inter high before anything else.

he looked down on his hands, blinking. for some reason, that conversation just made him much more in tune for the tryouts. it is a pleasure to play along strong players and in hinata's eyes, atsumu is one hell of a player he'd love to be beside within the court. he has only been across the court, against the other male, how awesome would it be to finally be on the same side, right?

grinning, hinata changes into his shirt and thanks atsumu internally for the sudden boost of morale.

 

 

the gymnasium was already bustling with the candidates warming up on the floor. seated on one of the bleachers, eyeing the zealous batch of newcomers, bokuto searches for his favorite orange haired crow among the crowd. spotting him below, he waves his hands ardently to dispense some sort of support towards the younger male. "hey now, aren't you being biased, bo-kun?" a familiar voice marched over to where bokuto was seated and he didn't even need to look up to know who it was.

"isn't that something you should've already expected?" he retorted, putting his arms down, a grin bestowed on his lips. "i've waited for this day for a long time, of course i'll be cheering him on with all of i have." he answers wholeheartedly.

"looks like we have a team favorite then," another voice from a few steps above them chimed in. looking up, they found sakusa hunched over, watching hinata from a distance. "i'm finally going to be seeing his potential up close," he added. "that is if he passes the tryout." he says before getting to his feet to walk down where bokuto and atsumu are situated.

atsumu lets out a chuckle, "i have no doubt that he'll make it. i did promise i'll set for him one day." he lets out an exhale and leans against the bleacher bars. "i'm sure everyone would see it's a waste if we don't draft shoyo-kun in." he finishes, his eyes glimmering in the sunlight as he watches hinata jump and land a serve that echoed with impact.

turning to him, bokuto frowned, "hold on." he started. "since when are you on a first name basis with hinata?"

scratching the back of his head, atsumu didn't even know how to reply because…

 

wait, when did he, really?

 

 

his breathing was slow, and shallow, the sweat that dropped non-stop from his chin is an evidence of how hard he has been working during the past few hours. 'i can do more,' he internally settles his resolve. his mind worked double time, looking left and right as the game played out in front of him.

soon after, running across the court, he finds an opening. he matches the provided set to him by the other teammate. bouncing from the sole of his feet, hinata mustered all of the energy he has left and lands the ball to the other side of the court, ending the set with hinata's score making their team win the last game of the tryouts.

the echo and the congratulatory shakes from the members of his team is the only thing that made the shaking of his legs a bit bearable. he really did overexert himself today, he gives a tired smile at everyone as he taps their arms in thanks.

the past few days flew by over hinata's head like a bullet train. everyday meant exerting almost double the energy he had at the start of the day. hinata gave his all as he hungrily tried to top his performance from the day before.

like a horse in a race, hinata had tunnel vision for the past few days that even the lunch breaks he shared with bokuto, and sometimes alone didn't quite reflect on him. even with every dinner he shared with akaashi and bokuto in the same place was a blur, a bunch of almost unconscious mumble as he tried not to pass out on the dinner table.

he had only one goal the past few days and he has concentrated on it like crazy that he didn't even notice that most of the official members of MSBY came everyday just to watch him. bokuto has always spoken so highly of his kouhai, and as soon as they saw the said boy, they knew bokuto really did not exaggerate one bit.

their eyes were completely on hinata's movements alone, and as the game ended, meian couldn't help but chuckle. with a nod, the captain of MSBY turned around ready to get back to their own practice with a grin on his face. "you have one hell of a scary kouhai, bokuto." meian hits the distracted bokuto's back as he ushered the rest of the members to get back to practice as their day was about to end.

 

forcing his eyes to be wide and open, hinata sluggishly walked alongside bokuto as soon as they were out of the gymnasium; ending the day with a hot shower and finally heading home. the hot water from the shower was like holy water to his sore muscles, hinata almost thanked the water as it splattered over his head from the showerhead. his body ached and yet he could feel the fulfillment in his heart swelling.

hinata gave his all the last 7 days; all that is left is the final decision of the drafting. it's going to be a few days or so before they'd reach a decision they said but hinata has no regrets. he hasn't had that much fun playing in a long time, he's seen development in his plays and that's what matters.

"you're seriously walking like a zombie right now," bokuto says as he slings an arm around the younger's shoulder. "you should be walking head high and proud right now, my lil disciple. you've finished the hell of a tryout for the Black Jackals. that's a feat!" he yelled, a hand in the air. hinata slurred a response that was incoherent for anyone's ear.

unexpectedly, another arm slinged around hinata's shoulder, causing him to react at the heavy weight on his shoulders. he turned to his other side and first saw the blonde hair before he could even see his face. "this calls for a celebration!" atsumu's voice almost blasted hinata's ear and yet, he found himself laughing at the exuberant males that seem to be a lot more happy about the tryouts ending more than him.

 

bokuto wasn't too sure when they discussed atsumu coming over for dinner at their place. tilting his head, he looks at the back of the car where atsumu and hinata are both seated. the orange haired boy was on one side, almost dozing off; atsumu on the other side, all grinning.

"okay but," bokuto started. "did i agree with this?" he asks atsumu as akaashi started the car. "i really don't remember even offering to have you over for dinner." pouting, atsumu leans forward, "so you're saying i can't? you'd let me be and leave me on some sidewalk now?" he says, pointing out the fact that they're already on the way to the couple's home.

"besides, i don't see any objection from the rest of the family. the father and the son seem to be all good." he says pointing at akaashi and hinata.

"i'm the father?" akaashi asks, looking at atsumu from the rear view mirror. nodding multiple times, atsumu excitedly retorted. "bo-kun's sounding like some petty lady right now too." and with a yell of hey, the car ride soon calms into a soft conversation between bokuto and akaashi.

 

getting stuck in traffic is one downside of the location of their gymnasium. atsumu looks out the window, seeing bright red lights of the other cars stuck in the same traffic jam as they are. he sighs, finally the fatigue slowly coming to his senses. soon after, he began seeing droplets of water on the window.

'ah, it's raining,' he mentally noted. yikes. he didn't think about this kind of problem, he's going to eat dinner at bokuto's without thinking about his ride back to his own apartment.

before he could even formulate a plan on how to head home after dinner, a soft nudge on his shoulder interrupted his thoughts. he froze. there's only one thing that could explain the nudge and the weight that suddenly pressed against him.

 

turning his head, he was met with hinata's head on his shoulder. the boy's face just a hand's reach away from his.

momentarily forgetting how to breathe, atsumu tensed at the sudden proximity of the younger male. 'what the.' he internally said to himself. there's some kind of panic going on in his head, but he isn't registering the reason.

interrupting his own train of thoughts, he looks down at hinata's hands to distract himself. only to find that hinata's fingers are wrapped up with bandages; a proud memento of how hard the last few days has been on him. he found himself reaching for them, wanting to feel them, feeling bad for the younger male who hasn't been back a month and is already under so much pressure.

"we're almost home but how are you gonna get home later? i don't think the rain's going to stop anytime soon, tsum-tsum."

before he could touch, bokuto's voice awakened hinata from his slumber, and alerted atsumu. hinata lifted his head as he realized that he had leaned over to atsumu in his sleep. embarrassed, he looked at the other male and murmured an apology, his head still sleep-blurred.

he didn't know why his breathing began being elated, but atsumu couldn't open his mouth to answer bokuto's simple question.