Chapter 7: The Start of Something New
Sora POV
"Sho-kun!!" I yell as I ran towards him and enveloped him in a hug. "So-chan! It's been a while!" he says slightly muffled since he was against me in the hug. I let go of him seeing that he was a little bit red. "Sorry! How have you been?" I said with my dad following behind me after he parked the car.
"Good! Do you wanna come inside?" he asks and I nod my head and smile. My dad makes his way over. "My it's been a while Shoyo! Looks like you've grown a little bit." he says while making a very small portion with his fingers. Shoyo looked at him and puffed his cheeks out a bit.
"Akiyama-san! I'm still growing!" Shoyo said in return. Shoyo's mom comes out and greets us. "My nice to see you Akiyama-san and Sora-chan!" she said and brought us inside. "So what's with today's visit?" Shoyo said as he jumped inside.
"Ah I wanted to let-" I was cut off. "Oof" I said as I was collided with a smaller body hugging me and jumped into my arms. "Sora-chan!! It's been a while!!! I missed you!!!" Natsu exclaimed to me showing me a huge smile. I hugged her and pat her head.
"It's has been a while and it seems that you've grown quite a bit too! I missed you too Natsu!" I said and cuddled her. 'Aww, she is still cute as ever!!' I squealed in my head.
I put her down after a while and saw that Shoyo was watching us for a bit smiling and jumping in place. "So??" he said to me. "Ahh, sorry. I wanted to let you know that soon I will be going to America." I said and scratched the back of my head. It seems that dad had told Mrs.Hinata because she pulled me into a hug.
I hugged her back. "Be safe when you're there. I wish you all the best." she said and left to go into the kitchen bringing out some snacks for us. After I had put Natsu down she scurried into her room to bring out a stuffie and toy.
While Shoyo stood there in shock, looking at me and he seemed that he was in space. "Sho-kun???" I said waving my hand in front of his face. He seemed to snap out of it soon after. "You're what?!!!!!" he yelled really loud. Causing a shout from his mom. "Sho calm down!! We are all in the same house!"
"Sorry!" he replied back as the two of us stepped out to go into his backyard, sitting on the porch. "You're really going?! That's soo cool!!" he yelled as he showed excitement. I nodded my head. "Mhm! I'm going so I could train and practice volleyball some more! I want to make my dream come true, you know?!" I said excitedly.
Shoyo nodded his head eagerly since he understood. "Ne ne! So-chan!" he said as I looked at him and tilted my head to the side. "Do you know of the tiny giant?! I saw him play volleyball on TV when I was biking to school!" he told me.
I giggled a bit remembering this scene. "Mhm! I heard of him before. He's pretty cool isn't he." I said and Shoyo grinned and nodded his head in agreement. "I wanna be like him! A tiny giant!! I wanna use my volleyball skills that you taught me when we were younger and put it into action! Then I'll become a tiny giant just like him in high school!" he told me while looking up into the sky.
I hummed and looked up at the sky as well. "I bet you will!" I said. "Sho-kun. I bet that you'll be an amazing volleyball player in the future. You just have to keep working harder and harder. And if you need any help or need anything, I'll still be here for you okay? Even when I'm in America, I'll be here to support you okay?" I said and looked at him.
He looked back down at me and his eyes widened and seemed to water. "Huh!? Sho-kun?" I said a little confused on why he was about to cry. "Y-your actually leaving soon. And we won't be able to see each other! You'll come and watch me become the little giant right?" he asked and I smiled while holding his cheeks.
"Yep!! I'll come back so don't you worry! I'll come and see you become the little giant!" I told him and he wiped the corner of his eyes. "Then come to Karasuno with me! Since, you'll be back, come to Karasuno and watch me become the little giant!" he tells me. I widen my eyes a bit and get a flashback of images of the show when Sho was in Karasuno. I smiled fondly at it.
"Mhm...We'll see but I'll give it a thought." I said giving him a sly grin. Causing him to groan "So-chan!? You can't do that! You have to watch and see me become the little giant!" he said and I retorted back with. "But I can do that even if I wasn't in Karasuno."
He pouted slightly and turned back to me. "But that's different! You're not there! Plus, if you are gone for a couple years and since you didn't go to the same middle school as me you have to go to the same highschool!" he told me while crossing his arms. I nodded and thought about it.
"Mhm..Okay. Well I guess I could go to Karasuno, it wouldn't be so bad. But still I would have to see in the future okay?" I said and smiled at the thought of meeting some new people of who I've watched in the anime. 'I'll get to meet those lively bunch.' I thought.
His smile left his and he gave me a look. "Aww! Sho-kun, don't worry I'll do my best to get there but I'm not sure where the future will take me! But if I really can't get into Karasuno than I will be there for your games and such okay?" I say and he nods sadly. "Hey it's not the end of the world." I say and shove his shoulder as I got up to pick up a volleyball.
"Let's play a bit." I say while bumping it at him. He smiled and caught the ball.
Time Skip
"Ahhhhh!!! Sora!! We'll miss you!!!" the girls team of Niiyama some cried while some held their tears back. I sweat dropped a little. "Um guys, I'm not leaving yet...Plus it's not like I'm not coming back or like I'm dying." I say and they pull me into a hug. "Yeah but our Ace!" they said and I yet again sweatdrop.
"Your so lovable and cute! My cute Kohai!" Yuuki says while hugging me and patting my back. "I'm going to miss you!" she said and pulled me away from her hug and grasped my face. "You better become stronger and become one of the best Ace's!" She tells me with a smile.
I nod my head. The coach comes in and sees all of this commotion and claps her hand. "Alright girls!! Break it up! We still have training and practice to do!!" she said and the girls all broke up and got in our positions.
"1st years you'll start the warm ups today!" coach announced while we began today's practice.
"Good job today!!" some of us chorused together as we packed and left the gym leaving some 1st year girls inside to clean up. I waved the girls goodbye and decided to take the longer way home and walk around admiring Miyagi for a bit since I was leaving in a week or two.
I walked around and found a little spot that looked out onto the city and houses below. There was a bench and some trees near by. I walked to it and sat down on a bench. I looked up at the sky and admired the stars, it was peaceful and calming.
I was snapped out of a peaceful trance when I heard a huge sigh of frustration and movements. I turned my head to look at where the sound came from to see a guy sitting down on a bench further away from me but near the entrance of this area. He sat down and held his head in his hands.
I could hear him muttering something and clutching onto his head. I then saw that his shoulders began to shake and I soon heard a sob. I watched him for a while looking and figuring out who this man was and if I should leave him alone. I stood up from my spot and began making my way to leave since my silence was broken.
But I stopped once I heard "That dawn Ushiwaka....Thinking that I'll never be able to beat him. Ugh!!" he yelled at the end with his head still in his hands. My eyes widened at the sound of his voice and similarity to someone I've seen before. 'Oikawa?' I thought.
My face contorted with pain and understanding of this situation. 'That had happened to me before I came here. Always in the shadow of someone and feeling that you couldn't ever beat them. But until I finally beat them, I finally felt happy and relieved. I was able to show people who I was and where my heard work got me, but it all came crumbling down on that day.' I thought to myself.
I made my way over to him and place a hand on him head and rubbed it to comfort him. He flinched at my touch and he looked up. "Are you okay?" I ask softly not trying to make him feel worse. "Umm..I was a bit worried." I said as I looked down at him to see him hold a face of embarrassment and confusion.
I say this unsure if this is even a good idea, cause I'm a complete stranger. I sweatdrop and smack myself in the back of my mind. 'He probably thinks you're crazy. '
I sigh out before I say anything as he watches me and puts on a fake smile. "Thanks for worrying about me but I'm fine~" he says and I look at him and nod. I take a seat next to him and look up at the stars surprising him by my actions. I chuckle slightly and run my hand through my short hair. "Hah. You must find me pretty creepy or weird right?" I say not waiting for him to say anything.
"But hear me out will ya. I'm quite normal and not a creep, just looking up at the stars and enjoying some silence." I say glancing at him. "However, I was just about to leave when I heard someone was here." I continues and he stepped in "Sorr-"
I cut him off. "However. I heard a small portion of what you said. Forgive me on that for that." I see his face contort to some emotion maybe embarrassment? Anger?
"Hah. Hm, yeah. It was nothing though~ Just talking about some rival and stuff~" he said and I turned my attention towards him and stared at him looking at him features. 'He is Oikawa. Then I guess I should probably help him as well.'
"Mhm." I say and run a hand through my hair again. "Ushijima?" I say and his face shows anger and absolute disgust. "He's my rival. I can't seem to beat him and take him down. After all these years, I spent. He continues to look down at me and I can't seem to beat a genius. I feel that those years and amount of effort have gone to waste. Of course you can't he's a genius after all, a prodigy. I'm starting to believe that I will never be able to beat him." he says admittedly as the weight on his shoulders come off. He ruffles his hair and looks up at the sky.
"I see. Though I don't really think all of that is true." I say and he looks back at me shocked and unsure of what I'm saying. I continue on "Even though you spent years on trying to beat him, I don't think you wasted any of that time. I think that you've become stronger and better than before, so all that time hasn't gone to waste. I believe that you're a great setter." I say and chuckle a bit as I saw his face show confusion and wariness.
"I watched your game after mine, when you competed in the finals. Even though I watched for a short amount of time, I think that you still did great. I could see the amount of effort and practice that you put in. Your sets were great and you got the balls to each player and used them accordingly. Your techniques were pretty good too. The serves as well." I said and a smile graced my lips as I remembered the cool serve and sets that he tossed.
"I would want you to set to me one day." I said and gave him a smile. He stopped me for a while and looked at me. "You watched my game?? You play volleyball??" he asked full of confusion. I nod my head. "Yes, I play volleyball. I'm a wing spiker for my team and I happened to watch the ending to the second set to the third. The game was amazing and for that short amount of time that I watched it was cool." I said and he nodded his head taking my information.
He looked at me more for more information. I sighed a bit and continued "I play on the girls team for my school. Well it's the only team for the school since it's an all girls school. I play on the roster, one of the line ups." I smile fondly of my time playing with my teammates and the struggles we had to playing against teams. "I'm also the Ace on my team. Don't you find it fun to play with a team that's great and pushes you to be stronger?" I ask and look at him.
He smiles a genuine one and looks out to the sky. "Mhm. It's pretty fun when you get that rush of adrenaline. It's fun when you face against a hard team and beat them, when you show others that you can do something. When you can win and go against strong teams." he tells me. I nod in agreement.
"Though, I hate it when I can never once beat one team. It seems to haunt me. Telling me that I could never win." Oikawa says out loud and he ruffles his hair in frustration.
A silence came over for a bit and I decided to break it. "You know I think it's okay to lose and accept defeat. Those times of defeat make you stronger and let's you see your mistakes. It lets you change yourself and make improvements. So even if that defeat and an enemy you see that you can't defeat. So what? Keep getting back up and trying. If you have a goal than train harder, harder than everyone else and show them that this is who I am. Say 'this is what my hard work and dedication did for me.' Because your hard work will never betray you." I tell him and look at him from the corner of my eye to see him look at me wide eyes.
"But, no matter how long and the hours I've spent. It seems that he is always ahead of me. Just when I've finally thought that I had caught up, it slips from my grasp. It's so very frustrating and tiring, to keep doing this over and over again. Seeing no real progress, nothing." Oikawa tells me. I take in his words and nod.
"But trust me, It will never betray you. You may not see the progress yourself but others definitely will. But even if it seems that you can't ever beat your rival, I would say that they brought you far. Because of them, you were able to keep getting stronger and improve yourself. But even if he is a genius or prodigy, there are qualities and things they don't have and lack compared to you. Things that they can't ever have." I say and he nods his head kind of confused at my last few words.
"Things they could never have. May be leadership, understanding of teammates, utilizing techniques and options that present themselves on the court. Many things that they may not have and can't do." I say and stretch my arms. "So you still have a bright future up ahead." I finish up my lecture and look at him. I grab my bag off the ground and stand up.
I stretch from my position and look at him. "Well sorry to ranting to you and giving you all this nonsense advice and talk. It was nice talking to you though! Hopefully next time we meet it can be in a lighter mood. Maybe I can hit one of your sets." I say and make my way out of the area.
"Wait!" he calls out to me and I stop and look back. "What's your name?! I never got it." he asked as he got up as well. I gave him a smile "It's Akiyama Sora. And yours mister setter?" I say.
He smirks as he walks towards me. "Oikawa Tooru." he tells me and I smile back at him smirk. "Well than Oikawa, it was nice meeting you here. Have a great rest of your night." I say and walk away heading back in the right direction to my house.
3rd POV
"You too....." Oikawa said softly but not loud enough where you could hear. He stood there in a daze for a bit looking at Sora's retreating form.
He felt his heart racing a bit and was still completely shocked from their conversation earlier. He was shocked throughout their conversation. She had complemented him and told him stuff that made him open his eyes and see his progress. Things that he wouldn't have noticed and he was able to see things that he hasn't before.
She was also quite different than other girls that he had met before. All of them swooning over him over his looks and his 'good skills' that they didn't really know much about. They just cared about his face and his facade that he wore. She didn't seem to have cared to much about his looks and never commented on his looks but rather his skills in volleyball.
She was able to understand the situation of his and gave him a boost of confidence but also a lesson. Even after learning his name, she didn't even seemed fazed at all either.
He snapped out of his daze when his phone went off. He took out his phone to see his best friend calling him. "Hey Iwa-chan~" he said hearing his best friend grunt and sound irritated.
"Oi Trashykawa! Do you have my paper for math class?" Iwaizumi asked over the phone. "Oh sorry Iwa-chan! I'm not at my place yet." Oikawa said into the phone earning a loud yell. "What the hell are you doing still late out!? You better not get sick or be late, we have a quiz tomorrow and still have practice!!" he yelled as Oikawa's eyes got wider.
"Ehh!! A quiz!?" he asked as he started walking home. "You idiot!" he heard his best friend call him. "Ouch Iwa-chan~~" he said and continued "Well I'm almost home. I just wanted to go outside and think a bit to myself. But that didn't go as planned. I happened to meet someone earlier and they really helped." he said happily without being silly.
Iwaizumi picked up on this and rose his brow on the other side of the phone. "Okay? Who was this person?" he asked . "A really nice person. Her name was Akiyama Sora." Oikawa said matter of factly.
On the other side Iwaizumi coughed and some books fell from his desk from his sudden movement. 'Thumps' could be heard and some cusses. Oikawa raised an eye brow at this "Iwa-chan, you alright over there?"
Iwaizumi picked up the books and placed them back. "Yeah. I'll you something tomorrow. Just get home." he said and hung up.
Iwaizumi put his phone down on his desk. "That same girl meet with Trashykawa? Ughhh" he said to himself feeling somewhat defeated. "That idiot." he badmouthed his friend.
Iwaizumi left his desk and layed down on his bed covering his face with one of his arms. He thought back to her, when she was at their game and smiled and praised them. He smiled slightly. "She did seem pretty nice. I would like to see her again." he said as he fell asleep.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone