Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Natsu's mother sighed, a little dramatically but it held real annoyance. Natsu could tell because she smiled fondly afterwards.

"Your Oniichan is quite the handful." She hummed, sparing a quick glance away from the road and to Natsu. Natsu looked away from the window where she had been watching her brother enter his school. His mother slowly drove away, leaving her big brother to get farther and farther away until he entered the school doors and was out of sight.

"He seemed to be set on playing soccer with his friends last year, but now he's set on volleyball. I keep telling him to just play soccer since there's no real club, but he's been persistent about it." She shook her head. Natsu looked at her mom, her bubbling emotions and nerves of entering first grade temporarily set aside so she could listen to her mother talk about her big brother. Clever as she was, Natsu picked up that her mother was talking to herself rather than expecting Natsu to understand and keep a conversation going.

"He wants to bike to school, play a new sport, and even wants to go to a high school the next town over, over the mountain." Natsu remembered that conversation well. It had just happened last night after all.

"Mom, I'll be 15 by then," Oniichan said, sitting at the table well his mother cooked dinner on the stove. Natsu was colouring a picture in her colouring book, choosing to make the cat purple, despite her brother’s previous insistence that a cat couldn't be purple. What did he know?

"I don't know Shouyo, it's over the mountain and you're impossible with directions as it is." Her mother said, setting a pan to the side.

"That is not true." He denied immediately. His mother turned with an exasperated look on her face "Shouyo you are 12 years old and i have managed to loose you in the supermarket we've been going to for 2 years more often than i’ve lost Natsu, who’s 6."

Shouyo opened his mouth to argue but paused and stared down at the table, Natsu could tell he was thinking hard by his silence.

"Well, let me bike to school this year since it’s just a few streets away and if i totally suck at it then... I can go to a highschool closer where you can drive me." He seemed a bit pained to say that last bit, but Natsu didn't care all that much. She was adding orange stripes to her cat. Occasionally the pencil crayon would go out of the line but she was working on minimizing that problem.

A pause went by before her mom sighed in defeat "No major problems with directions for your junior high years and... if you pass the entrance exams you can go to Karasuno."

Shouyo pumped his fist in the air, basically jumping out of his seat and shouting a happy noise instead of any actual word before his mom cut in, "I'm still driving you tomorrow so you can see the exact path I want you to take. No detours."

Shouyo nodded his head, and ran to hug his mom, who put down her oven mitts just in time to turn and receive it. The Hinatas were no strangers to surprise hugs and always prepared to give or receive one without warning.

"Oniichan! Look at my cat!" Natsu called, her masterpiece complete. Shouyo walked over and leaned over her shoulder to see it.

"Natsu! Cats aren't purple! or orange!" He said and Natsu scrunched her nose at him, sticking her tongue out, he responded in kind and they were only stopped from beginning an argument by the smoke detector beeping and their mom running to get a towel, ready to fan away the smoke caused from her burnt cooking. They ordered a pizza instead that night.

"You'll look after him, won't you Natsu?" She asked. Natsu nodded her head eagerly raising a hand up in the air "I will! I'll take care of Oniichan for you!"

Her mother laughed before becoming silent.

"Will he be able to go to Karansuma?" Natsu asked. "Karasuno, sweetie." She corrected "And as much as i want him to go to school closer to home, We both know how Shouyo is."

Natsu nodded her head, though she didn't fully get what her mom meant. But Shouyo would leave before his mom and her to bike to school and come home a little later, ready to help Natsu with her homework even if he wasn’t the best at reading the words so Natsu didn’t mind.

Approximately 2 years later, Natsu had entered 3rd grade and the other kids didn’t like her much. To be fair, she didn’t like them either. They called her a teacher’s pet. Shouyo had insisted that other kids acted the same to him when he was in 3rd grade and that’s just how kids are, but her mom seemed more concerned about it.

Shouyo had talked excitedly nonstop for weeks about his first official volleyball match that he would be playing. Natsu had begged and pleaded for her mom to let her go watch it but her mom sat her down the day before the game to explain that she herself was busy and couldn't go see it so she wouldn't be able to take Natsu to it.

Natsu had stomped her feet and hid in her room until Shouyo came in to promise her that he'd tell her everything that happened in detail once he got home. Natsu begrudgingly agreed and left her room to watch him practice in the backyard from the window. She didn't understand what he was doing exactly but Shouyo explained it as 'spiking practice' so she accepted it as a sports thing.

The next day, after school let out, she waited by the front door. Her after school babysitter-a nice neighbour highschooler who walked her home from school when her mom had to work, which was more often than not- had tried to convince her to do something else well she waited for her brother to come home but after she stubbornly refused, the babysitter just did homework at the table well occasionally glancing up to check on Natsu. It was just past dinner, which she had eaten from her spot in front of the door, when she heard the doorknob turn. She jumped up and once she confirmed it was her onii chan opening the door she jumped on him, wrapping her arms around his waist.

"Natsu! Hey, let me get in the door first!" He squawked and Natsu did let go but once he had the door shut and his shoes off she jumped on him and he caught her under the armpits, holding her up so she could wrap her arms around his neck and wrap her legs around his hips.

The babysitter came over and Shouyo put Natsu down so he could greet her and dismiss her now that he was here to watch Natsu.

Natsu ran to the couch and bounced up and down, yelling at Shouyo to hurry up and sit down. Once he did, she scooted closer and put her hands on his thighs, looking up at him.

"Tell me what happened! You promised you would, remember?" She yelled. Shouyo looked a bit sad for a second but he smiled anyways and began his story with a healthy bit of embellishment to keep it interesting for them both.

"The other team was full of these big scary guys, I was like GAWAH! When I saw them! They're from a powerhouse school so they are really really good! I met one by the bathroom, but he was super grumpy!" He pushed his hair down to somewhat cover his eyes to imitate the boy he was talking about "Go faster! Chase the ball! Jump higher!" He said in a deep monotone voice, obviously imitating someone else's "He was all like that but his sets were like WOAH and then like BAM! Super cool"

Natsu stared at him and listened to his story with wide eyes, occasionally gasping or prompting him to go on. Eventually, he neared the end of the story

"It was so fast! I hit the ball and when I jumped, I flew! I was above the blocker and hit it really hard! like BAM and WHOOSH! I had lots of momentum so I fell and hit the barrier, see?" He rolled up his sleeve to show what was the start of a bruise on his arm, but he was smiling while he showed it so she didn’t worry too much.

"But the ball... It hit the court and it was out." His smile slowly fell. "We lost to the game."

Natsu looked at him sadly and was about to hug him and try to comfort him when Shouyo’s face hardened and she easily recognized his determined face.

"After the game, I swore I would defeat him. Since he's the king of the court once I defeat him, I'll be the strongest player and stay on the court the longest!" He said, looking hard at his hand. "I'm going to train harder than before and when i go to Karasuno, I'll beat him! I’ll beat all the strong players!"

Natsu smiled widely and latched onto his side. "I wanna go to your next game! And every single game after that, Oniichan!"

Shouyo laughed and smiled at Natsu, leaning down a bit so they were face to face. "Of course! You're gonna watch me become the best volleyball player there is!"

Chapter Text

"Natsu, sweetheart come here." Her mother waved her over and away from the TV and over to the table. Grade 3 was almost over for her now and Shouyo was studying extra hard for entrance exams so he could get into Karasuno. Which meant he was actually studying. Her mom had explained to her that Shouyo had trouble reading and writing, not because he was dumb but because his brain worked different. It was something they had gone to the doctor to see if Natsu had too but the doctor confirmed she didn't.

Natsu happily walked over and sat down on a chair across from her mother. Her mother showed her a piece of paper stapled to a few others. Natsu recognized it as a test her teacher had asked her to take, her name printed neatly at the top. she hadn't seen anyone else take it at the same like they usually during tests but she didn't really mind. The mark on the top was a high enough one, not perfect but close. But Natsu wondered why her mom had it and she hadn't been handed it back from her teacher. She was about to voice it when her mom spoke first.

"Well, Natsu, this test you did was to see if you could make it into 5th grade next year." She explained. Natsu looked confused and scrunched up her lips on one side, while raising an eyebrow.

"Next year I go into 4th grade, mom. Not 5th." She clarified, her mother must have made a simple mistake.

Her mom gave her a gentle smile and rubbed her head, messing up her already messy hair. "I'm aware of that, but this says you're smart enough to go in 5th grade early and skip 4th all together. Would you like that? The work will be a little harder for you but you'll learn a lot more there." 

5th grade? The 5th graders were allowed to play on the sports team and clubs! Just like Shouyo! She told her mother so and she laughed at her.

"Yes, they do. Since you'll be in a new class, I'm also thinking about enrolling you in... a different school. Closer to Shouyo's across the mountain. That way, he can walk you home in case something happens." Her mother explained.

She didn't like the kids at her school, she didn't have many friends and spent recess playing manhunt with the boys. They always made her the hunter' and changed a lot of rules without telling her so she never won.. She nodded her head and smiled "Yeah! Do they have a sports team too?"

"They do. More than your current school.  You're okay with this?" Her mother asked again and Natsu grabbed her hand, nodding her head again.

"You're such a good kid, Natsu. I really did get lucky with you both." Her mother complimented. She often told Natsu that, Shouyo couldn't help the problems he caused so Natsu never saw her mother get mad at him when he failed a test, she knew he really tried. But she really must be relieved that Natsu is so understanding.

Natsu's first day at a new school was great! Shouyo had left early, biking over the mountain before Natsu was even awake which made her a little sad. His mom had already taken him over the path he would bike the day before and was very paranoid on their drive until she got a text. Natsu grabbed her phone for her since she was driving and told her it was from Shouyo.

"He said: I'm at the school and got to class... Mom, he spelt a bunch of words wrong." Natsu said, looking up at her mom who visibly relaxed after she read the text to her.

"Remember Natsu, he has trouble with words." She told her patiently, given that Natsu seemed to forget about it and always corrected him on his mistakes.

At the school, she was introduced to her new teacher and he was really nice too! The other kids were super nice to her and it didn't even come up that she was supposed to be in grade 4. She didn't make any friends exactly but she did get to play manhunt at recess and not be the hunter for once.

When she was home, she waited eagerly with her babysitter. The babysitter had waited out front of her house white the carpool she was in with 2 boys she played with at recess and their dad drove her home. They also lived on this side of the mountain apparently.

When Shouyo came home, way late after the sun was down and late enough for his dinner to be put in the fridge. Natsu once again forced him on the couch to tell her about his new club. He recounted a tale to her about the boy he had lost to last year being in his club.

Natsu was wowed and listened as he explained what had happened with the vice principal and his wig. Natsu had giggled but Shouyo made her swear to secrecy. She pinky promised him and let him continue. She gasped in horror when he told her he was kicked out.

"They can't do that!" She protested angrily and Shouyo held up a hand to keep her quiet and calm her down.

"We challenged him to a match to let us back in!" He said and Natsu practically had stars in her eyes as she looked at her big brother "We're training for it everyday, im gonna go in early tomorrow to practice with Kageyama!" That was the boy he lost to. Now they were working together! "He said I need to work on my receives first." 

"Wake me up before you leave, Shouyo! I wanna say goodbye!" She pleaded, grabbing his arm and hugging it tight. Shouyo put his free hand on her head.

"If you want! But it'll be at 4am so you probably won't get up." He warned but Natsu made a pouty face "I'll wake up! And I'll say goodbye to you until you leave the door! You'll see!"

Needless to say, she only managed a weak "Goodbye, Onii-san" before falling back asleep.

A few days later after Shouyo had gone to his first practice game (Natsu couldn't go and she had spent the whole day after she got home from school in her room, determined to stay angry but she couldn't help but melt when Shouyo got home and had a really great story to tell. He talked a lot about the 'Grand King' and Natsu made him promise to let her meet him one day.) Natsu's own school's clubs began running.

Natsu wants to do Volleyball, just like her big brother, but then she was faced with the devastating news that only 6th graders could join the team. She had stayed strong at school but when she got home she had begun to cry. Her babysitter had no clue what to do, so she waited anxiously for Shouyo to come home. When he did, Natsu had stopped crying but her eyes were puffy and she refused to hug or greet him.

Shouyo sent the babysitter home and sat on the other end of the couch from Natsu.

"Come on, Nats. You were so excited yesterday. What happened?" He asked softly. Natsu wiped her eyes, new tears falling down her freckled cheeks.

"Onii-chan they won't let me join a volleyball team like you!" She sobbed before finally coming forward and hugging him. He patted her head as she cried.

"They say it's only for 6th graders!" She said into his shirt. "Then you can play in 6th grade, that’s next year!" Hinata tried to cheer her up.

"I don't want to play in 6th grade! I wanna play now because you play now!" She cried.

"Well just think about how good you'll be then after watching and learning how good i get this year! You know, I didn't play volleyball when I was in elementary school. I played soccer." He explained gently.

"Soccer?" She sniffled, looking up.

"Oh, yeah! We got to be outside a lot and soccer has a lot more teams for tournaments, lots of coed teams too! You're so tough, Natsu, you can do great at any sport before you can play volleyball! Kicking the ball is so amazing! Not as cool as spiking, but it's close! I’m sure you’ll do good in any position!" He told her and Natsu pulled away, looking at him as if searching for any trace of a lie. Of course there was none. Shouyo had never lied to her.

She wiped her face "...Okay."

Chapter Text

Volleyball had been cancelled that afternoon, most players resting after their previous night's practice game and an early morning practice. But now they had a fantastic libero and powerful ace! It made Hinata so excited. Nishinoya-senpai was so great, and so was Asahi-senpai. Hinata was preparing to just practice alone with Kageyama until the sun went down, but fate had other plans when his mother called him during lunch. Natsu's carpool had cancelled so she wanted him to walk Natsu home and watch her so the babysitter could have a day off. She almost always worked late nights, usually taking Saturday off in it's entirety but at this point Hinata was used to the schedule.

The real problem was convincing Kageyama that he couldn't practice with him.

Walking out of the building, Hinata stopped and turned to the black haired boy following him and glaring at him. "I already said i can't today, Bakayama. i have to watch my little sister so i have to go home." He said. Kageyama raised a confused eyebrow at him, "You have a little sister?" he questioned.

Hinata groaned in response. "Yes, i do! I'll practice tomorrow twice as hard." He said, holding up a pinky half expecting Kageyama to do the same like Hinata usually did with his junior high friends but of course Kageyama didn't and instead scoffed and turned his head away.

"You already go full out at every practice." He said before walking away. Hinata grabbed his bike from the rack and started walking it down the street, opposite the mountain and towards the vague direction of Natsu's elementary.

A little ways down the sidewalk when the crowds of students thinned he heard someone ask "Hinata?" and he turned to see his captain, Daichi Sawamura walking behind him. He stopped and looked at him in surprise, but nonetheless smiled at him.

"I didn't know you walked this way" He said, walking next to Hinata. Hinata looked up at him and started walking again. "I don't! I have to pick up my little sister from school." He explained and Daichi nodded, "I have to get my sister and brother I'm picking up from school as well. What school does your sister attend?"

"Uhh, Higashi elementary i think. I'm not 100% certain the exact location where it is but I'll find it eventually." He said, smiling good naturedly at his captain.

"Really? Coincidentally, That's where I'm headed too. I walk my siblings when there's no volleyball. I'll show you where it is so you don't get lost next time." He said and Hinata was happy to follow him there. He doubted that even with Daichi's directions he wouldn't get lost again.

They spoke casually about things well walking there. Volleyball practice, the school, volleyball, English class, the coming training camp, and then about Hinata.

"Oh, we live over the mountain in the next town over." Hinata mentioned casually. Daichi made a noise of surprise that he played off as a cough. "That's a long way! And you bike here? Does your sister bike too?" He asked.

Hinata shook his head and waved a hand dismissively "Oh no! Our mom drives her every morning before school. I bike earlier to make it for practice. It's about over 30 minutes for me if there's no rain or anything." He clarified and Daichi ran a hand through his hair. Over 30 minutes everyday and he still made it there before almost anyone else.

"Here we are." He said, brushing off his thoughts and stopping the orange haired spiker. There were a lot of elementary school kids around, a few of them close to or matching Hinata's height. The kids were mostly headed home since school had let out.

Natsu hadn't seen the two boys she carpooled with during recess and now she couldn't find their mom in the place they usually met. She started to panic, like when she was younger and lost her mom at the grocery store, afraid she would be lost forever. That's when she saw her brother. He was easily recognizable, not many other people had orange hair around and he was walking his bike. Why was he here though? She bounced on her heels for a second, less concerned and more excited.

"Shouyo!" She called out to him. He turned at the mention of his name and she ran at him, full speed and jumped into his arms, he didn't fumble or hesitate to catch her, dropping his bike so he could use both hands and spun around a few times to kill her momentum before bit he held onto her. He was laughing and he patted her head softly.

She pulled away from where her head was nestled in the crook of his neck and met his eyes, ready to demand answers when he turned to someone next to him. Natsu looked, she hadn't noticed him before. He was big and had a soft smile directed at her, Natsu could feel the authority vibes he gave off. Not like a teacher but like he was confident.

"This is my sister, Natsu." Hinata introduced, shifting Natsu into one arm so he could use the other to gesture to her. The man next to him laughed lightly.

"She really looks like you." He said. "A spinning image." Natsu shook of her surprise and before Shouyo could introduce the man, she started questioning him. "Shouyo! Why aren't you at practice?" She asked, stealing his attention away from the introduction.

"It's cancelled for today so mom wanted me to watch you since your carpool isn't here. We're gonna walk home, over the mountain." He said. Natsu nodded her head, happy with his explanation. Shouyo used his free hand to gesture to the man next to him. "This is Daichi, my team captain." He said.

"Oh the one who the vice principal-" She began to say but Shouyo quickly put a hand over her mouth to cut her off. "Remember what you promised." He whispered and Natsu nodded, closing her mouth so he could take his hand away. She would have licked his hand but she didn't want him to drop her.

Two kids walked up to Daichi, mumbling a greeting to him well eyeing the Hinatas. Natsu recognized them as 6th graders, she'd seen them around but never talked to them since they were a grade above. They stood next to him, hiding behind him a bit and she saw the resemblance between the three. Similar skin tone, same hair colour, and same body type just smaller. "Hinata, this is my sister Ayumu and my brother Asari." Daichi introduced. The 6th graders waved slightly but otherwise seemed to stay silent.

"Nice to meet you two!" Shouyo said and smiled again. "and thanks for walking with me and showing me the school, Captain" He said bowing his head slightly to Daichi.

"Hinata, are you going to be okay walking home? You said it was half an hour." He said tentatively, sensing the two were about to leave.

"Oh it's 30 minutes when i bike alone. With Natsu it'll take about 20 minutes longer give or take, but we'll do it!" He said and Natsu got out of his hold to stand on her own. She was ready to walk it. She adjusted her backpack straps determinedly. Shouyo picked up his bike off the ground.

Daichi seemed to pale a bit at what he said. "I really don't think you should do that, my place is just nearby i can drive you home." He offered but Shouyo tried to wave him off.

"Don't worry! Natsu will have to bike it when she's older to get to school so no reason not to start now! We're in no rush!" He flashed a smile, his warm comforting smile and Natsu watched Daichi positively melt and he had to glance away. Natsu was very familiar with the effect Shouyo had when he smiled, she'd seen it when his middle school friends came over. The only person not aware of his charm was Shouyo himself.

"Really, Hinata. I think it'll be easier if i just drive you." The captain persisted. Shouyo glanced down at Natsu quickly who shrugged and he seemed to think over it for a second before he looked back up at Daichi.

"You sure it's alright?" He asked sheepishly and Natsu spotted the relief on Daichi's face.

"Of course, Ayumu and Asari can take care of themselves alone for a little bit and your bike will fit in the trunk." He said. It was confirmation enough for Shouyo who bounced on his heels and gave another bright smile.

"Sounds all good to me!" He said as Daichi began walking down the road. Natsu held onto Shouyo's hand well they followed. Daichi's siblings seemed content to just talk quietly between themselves ahead of the group well they walked. Natsu looked up at her big brother who seemed happy with the situation.

"Oniichan! Can i get on your shoulders?" She asked, doing her best puppy dog eyes. They were nowhere near as good as Shouyo's unintentional ones but it got the job done and he lifted her up onto his shoulders. She giggled uncontrollably and Shouyo slipped her backpack off so he could hold it well he walked his bike. She held onto his hair and he walked a bit faster to be next to Daichi.

On Shouyo's shoulders, Natsu was only a few inches taller than Daichi. He smiled at her and she couldn't help but smile back at him.

Daichi stopped in front of a nice looking house and the two 6th graders didn't hesitate to run to the front door. "Do your homework! Mom and Dad will be home from work in an hour! If I'm not back first tell them where i am!" He called after them but they gave no sign if they even heard him before shutting the front door behind them.

"You're mom gets home early!" Natsu observed out loud and Daichi looked at her, a little surprised at her statment.

"Our parents work at the dentist office. They usually are home a little after we are from school everyday." He said, walking over to the car in the driveway and pulling out a pair of keys, "My parents share a car to work so i have spare keys for the second car in case i need it." He explained opening the trunk for Shouyo's bike.

Shouyo crouched so Natsu could get down from his shoulders and Daichi opened the door for her to get in the back seat. Shouyo sat in the passenger side after he got his bike in and Daichi sat behind the wheel.

"Shouyo! They said i could play on the soccer team! I just need the shoes they wear! They're called...Clease.... or something." She pondered over the word. "Cleats?" Shouyo supplied and she nodded happily and laughed.

"That's awesome! I'll take you to get some before i leave for the training camp, okay?" Shouyo said. Daichi had pulled out of the driveway and handed Hinata his phone so he could search the address and directions for him. Natsu pouted, crossing her arms.

"Are you sure you have to be gone a most the week?" She asked weakly and Shouyo gave her a sad smile as confirmation. She already knew how excited he was for the training camp.

Daichi didn't seem to know what to say so Natsu decided she'd have to speak first. She had a question for him anyway.

"Um... Daichi-san?" She asked and he glanced at her in the rear-view mirror, he cleared his throat slightly and gave her a small smile, "Yes, Natsu?"

Natsu pulled at her hair nervously and waited a moment to gather her thoughts before asking "Does Shouyo have friends on the volleyball team?"

The questioned surprised both high school boys and Shouyo shifted in his seat so he could look back at Natsu. Seeing that Hinata was also startled, Daichi responded before him with a nervous "Why do you ask?".

"No one played volleyball with him before!" She said, leaning forward.

"That's not true, Natsu." Shouyo shot back quickly, a little flustered. Natsu glared at him "Izumi-san and Kouji-san don't count! They didn't even know the rules before the game, you told me so!" She argued.

Daichi cleared his throat to cut off Shouyo's response back "Yes, Natsu. Hinata is friends with lots of people on the team. We all really like your brother."

Natsu narrowed her eyes and looked in the rear view mirror at Daichi, searching his face for any tell tale sign of a lie but couldn't find any so she relaxed, content with his answer.

Shouyo's face was a bit red and he laughed a bit awkwardly, rubbing the back of his neck, "Sorry about her. She just says whatever comes to mind. No filter whatsoever."

Natsu made a noise of protest and was met with Shouyo turning around to scrunch his nose at her which she did the same back to him.

About halfway through their drive home, Natsu asked "Shouyo, is Daichi good at volleyball? He has to be if he's the captain, right?" which caused Shouyo's eyes to sparkle as he excitedly began telling her all about the receives he made and all the cool stuff he saw Daichi do. Natsu listened with just as much excitement as Shouyo talked with and didn't notice Daichi's flushed face from Hinata's praise.

Finally home, the two Hinatas left the car and waved goodbye after taking his bike from the back of his car, thanking Daichi for the ride. On his drive back home, Daichi pulled over to take out his phone and dial a number.

"Suga, i just drove Hinata and his little sister home and now I get what Noya was saying about it being like the sun smiling at him."

Chapter Text

Natsu leaned against the wall for support and yawned, lazily watching her brother tie his shoes and put his bag over his shoulder. she rubbed her eye and smiled slightly as she watched him bounce around the house to gather everything he needed.

Shouyo was almost always filled with energy. Even if he fell asleep around the same time as Natsu herself, he'd be up before her. Their mom called it a gift that Shouyo could run on only 5 hours of sleep with the same energy as if he had slept for 12 hours. Natsu didn't understand how he could. The sun wasn't even up yet!

Shouyo turned to face her and patted Natsu's head affectionately. He was smiling widely, excited for his training camp and Natsu gave him a weak hug before he pulled away and opened the front door.

"I'm off now!" He said happily and Natsu called out a small goodbye after him before watching him from the door's window. He got on his bike then took off down the street. Once satisfied with their goodbye, she all but crawled back towards her room and fell onto her bed, falling asleep once her head hit the pillow.

Shouyo was gone for 5 days. 5 days and 4 nights. Most of their summer vacation. He returned on the night of the fifth day, and Natsu couldn't wait to see him again. She enjoyed going out with her mother and sleeping over with a girl from her class during the break, but ultimately she missed her brother. They usually spend summer break together. When she felt the loneliest, she sat in his room, holding his volleyball that he kept at home. She couldn't be mad at him for going, he was so excited to go play volleyball with other people, and Natsu wanted him to be able to play on a real team. She just missed him is all.

On the 5th night, she sat in the hall, watching the door intently. Unlike Shouyo, Natsu was perfectly fine sitting in one place for a long time. She could get lost in her thoughts for long amounts of time.

She head footsteps and once she heard the jingle of keys, she jumped up and threw open the door. Shouyo looked a bit surprised at the sudden action and Natsu lit up and smiled, jumping onto him and hugging his waist with all her might. Shouyo made a sound of struggle and picked her up, letting her wrap her arms around his neck. The door closed and Natsu peeked up to see her babysitter gone, so she must have left when Shouyo walked in.

Shouyo carried Natsu over to the couch and dropped her onto it which surprised her but still made her giggle.

"Shouyo! I missed you so much! Did you have fun? Did you learn anything cool?" She asked, beginning to rattle off questions but Shouyo put his hand over her mouth to quiet her.

"Natsu! I missed you too but one question at a time!" He said. Natsu glared, scrunching her nose up and licked his hand which caused him to pull it away and make a disgusted face before wiping his hand on his shirt. His white shirt was sweaty and sticking to his skin.

"Let me take a shower then I'll tell you all about it. I have a friend coming over in a bit to spend the night too." He said, patting her head and walking to his room. He took off his bag on the way and dragged it behind him. He must be exhausted.

Natsu sat on the couch and after he went in the bathroom she stopped to think. What friend would he bring over? Kageyama? He sounded scary, she hoped he didn't come to her house. Daichi-san maybe? He seemed nice. Or maybe it was just Kouji-san or Izumi-san, they hadn't been over in awhile.

Shouyo eventually finished his shower, coming out in a fresh sweater and black shorts. He looked a lot more relieved and relaxed after the shower, walking over to the couch and plopping down next to Natsu. She grabbed his arm and shook it impatiently.

"Tell me Shouyo!" She begged and Shouyo took a deep breath before turning to her, smiling widely.

He began to tell her about the training camp, what they did, how they practised, the boy he met when he got lost on a run ("You always get lost, Shouyo!" "SHHH Natsu! I'm telling a story!"), his jersey number, he went on a for awhile about Kageyama and what he acted like, before talking more about the training and his other teammates. They all sounded awesome and really good at volleyball, except Shouyo looked bitter when he talked about his tallest teammate. Apparently they didn't get along. Finally he got to the practice game and he revealed that the boy he met well lost was from the opposing team.

He spent awhile talking about the first game they had as well as the opposing team. When he started his talk about their second game, the doorbell rang. Natsu glanced at the kitchen stove and realized it was over an hour from when Shouyo had started telling his story. She jumped up faster than Shouyo did, jumping over the back of the couch and sprinted to the door at full speed, sliding in her socks to kill her momentum in front of the door and opening it. She reeled back as she took in the boy in front of her. She didn't know him.

He looked like a middle school kid, short, with slicked back brown hair except a bit of the front was dyed blonde. He looked at Natsu in equal surprise for a moment before laughing loudly.

"You look like a mini Shouyo! I didn't know he came in extra small!" He teased and Natsu pouted. Shouyo grabbed her shoulder, and looked at the boy. He smiled widely, positively glowing at the sight of him.

"Nishinoya-Senpai!" He called excitedly and the boy raised his arms up  above his head and replied "Shouyo! My favourite kohai!" equally as excitedly. Shouyo moved aside and pulled Natsu out of the way so the boy could walk inside.

He took off his shoes and Natsu moved back to the couch, watching them converse.

"Dude, i would have been here so much sooner but your house was so hard to find in the dark!" The boy said and Shouyo rubbed the back of his neck, embarrassed.

"Sorry, did the picture i sent help at all?" He asked.

"Eh, more or less. Glad i finally found the place, I'm beat." He said, putt his hands behind his head. "I had no idea the matches against Nekoma would be so hard. Especially their libero!" He said a bit bitterly.

"Shouyo!" Natsu called from the couch and Shouyo turned to look at her, pausing for a second before realizing what she wanted.

"Eh, Noya-senpai, this is my sister, Natsu. Natsu, this is Nishinoya. My team's Libero." He introduced cheerfully and Nishinoya did a dramatic bow towards Natsu.

"Libero?" She questioned. She had heard the term before. "With the awesome receives, remember? The guardian deity!" Hinata said, bouncing on his heels, looking excited at the thought.

Natsu's eyes widened in realization and she gasped, jumping up to stand on the couch. "Really? With the rolling thunder? and the cool tricks? who taught you how to not get hit in the face? Who wears the orange uniform?" She questioned, bouncing up and down. Her eyes were filled with admiration and Noya flushed at all the praise.

"Can you show me?" She asked, bouncing off the couch and over to the short boy, grabbing his hand. "Please show me your receive. Nishinoya-senpai!"

So that's how they spent the little bit. Hinata grabbed his volleyball and tossed it for Noya to receive and every time he did Natsu's face would explode into a bubbly laugh and admiring eyes. Noya looked like he was about to combust under the positive attention. Nishinoya took a picture of the three of them, both Hinatas faces had wide smiles and sparkling eyes. Noya sent the photo to Tanaka with a following text that just said "I've been blessed bro"

Eventually Shouyo and Natsu's mom came home and convinced Natsu to leave the boys alone since she'd have all of tomorrow to catch up with Shouyo, and he should actually spend time with his guest. Natsu protested at first of course, but eventually she gave in and went off to her own room well the two boys hung out in Shouyo's room.

When school came back the next day, at recess Natsu saw Noya walking with a few other tall boys towards the place that high school kids usually walked to for lunch. He waved and smiled at her which she gratefully returned. Her friends questioned her on how she knew him but she had nothing to offer other than a shrug before leaving to play kickball.