Chapter Text
ONE by ONE
Osaka, Japan 2018
MSBY Black Jackal’s locker room was rather lively that morning. While they were usually so, this one time the members were chipper and there was a lot of snickering that they were not even trying to hide. All of their amused glances were directed at one person in the corner, who looked like his soul was at the tip of his mouth.
“What’s up with him?”
“Isn’t it because he slipped in front of everyone during the Fan Day Event yesterday?”
“What? That’s still bothering him?!”
Miya Atsumu didn’t bother to react anymore. He was the joke of the locker room that day. His mind was still in the clouds wondering why he was even born. He would suddenly grunt like he had gotten an intense stroke, and then go back to being soulless.
“What is he? A corpse??”
“I think the embarrassment keeps coming back periodically…”
“Someone really should talk to him before he goes to La La Land for real.”
The entrance of Black Jackal’s locker room suddenly slammed open. Bokuto Kotaro was seen standing on the doorway, mouth tight, eyes wide, and definitely in a composure resembling that of someone who just saw an alien and was still denying their existence. His golden eyes went scanning the locker room almost frantically.
“TSUMU-TSUMU!!” he suddenly shouted while pointing his finger at the said Black Jackal’s Setter.
Atsumu didn’t care to reply but he hadn’t even had the chance to because Bokuto already dragged him by the arm and dashed out of the locker room. They left the other members of Black Jackal confused for a brief moment, but they quickly went back to their peaceful morning routine.
Outside, where Bokuto dragged the poor soulless Miya Atsumu all the way to, the former Fukurodani’s ace simply let go of his grip. Atsumu successfully landed on a bench outside MSBY Black Jackal’s headquarters building in a comfortable sitting position.
“Bokkun… not now….” Atsumu whined weakly while letting himself lay down on the bench.
However, that didn’t stop Bokuto from grabbing his collar and pulling the setter back into a proper sitting position. Atsumu grunted listlessly when Bokuto shoved his phone screen onto his face and merely glanced at the white-grey haired man’s expression. He looked insanely desperate. Atsumu frowned as he questioned himself whether his eyes were playing tricks on him or Bokuto’s golden eyes were indeed swollen and teary.
That was enough to knock Atsumu out of his dark cloud, so he decided to grab Bokuto’s phone to see whatever it was he was trying to show him. At first, a vein popped out on Atsumu’s forehead once he saw the name Oikawa Tooru on Bokuto’s phone. A whole instagram account with a huge bot following, and to top it off, he could see a disgusting holiday picture with Oikawa and a foreigner beauty by his arm. Atsumu was ready to strangle the former Fukurodani’s captain if not for the sudden realization that he felt like he saw that shoulder length tangerine hair before.
“It’s Chibi-chan, right?...” Bokuto declared before Atsumu even finished his thoughts.
Atsumu looked at the picture again. He swiped to the second picture then got a more clear look at the person next to Oikawa. Indeed, a trace of that familiar face of Karasuno’s former middle blocker could be seen. His big doe eyes, that wide smile, his small face, as if he didn’t age a day despite the longer hair.
“It’s really Hinata Shouyou, right…” Bokuto declared again, this time his tone was more desperate yet weaker.
“How should I know~~" Atsumu replied, unconsciously rude, "Why dontcha ask the one who posted the picture? I’m sure Mr. CA San Juan’s Setter will answer a personal DM if it's from MSBY Black Jackal’s Outside Hitter.” He continued drily, not bothering to hide his little amount of dislike of the fellow setter, unaware of Bokuto’s change of tone.
Atsumu scratched the back of his hair uncomfortably and exhaled. Hinata Shouyou who disappeared for years after that tragic accident, suddenly showed up in Rio with Oikawa Tooru, the former Aoba Johsai’s captain that was once feared by Kageyama. How should he say this? Atsumu just doesn't like how it sounded.
“Anyway let’s go back before the old man chews us out~” The former Inarizaki's setter got up carelessly
Atsumu already took a few stomping steps due to his sudden change of mood, from gloomy to irritated, only to realize a few seconds later that Bokuto still didn't move from the bench and was still holding on to his phone with both hands. He looked fine for a moment but the next second Bokuto suddenly burst into tears.
"Da fuck?!" Atsumu cursed while looking startled.
His reaction only made Bokuto break down in tears even more. The 6'3 tall Outside Hitter of MSBY Black Jackal literally turned into a crying toddler. Atsumu just hoped there were no cameras around.
"shaang goodnesss…. shang God… Hessokaay…." Bokuto mumbled between his cries.
Atsumu stuttered, "W-who?? Ye mean Shouー Urgh, get a grip Bokkun.. ye don't knowー"
"I KNOW!!"
Atsumu instantly froze in horror as the tearful face of Bokuto was suddenly right in front of him, his hand yanking his collar.
"I KNOWー hic.. I KNOW CHIBI-CHAN ANYWHERE!! IT'S HINATA-KUN! HE GREW UP WELL!!"
Bokuto was by no means a violent person. Even when he just yanked his collar with a murderous grip, his pitiful expression resembling that of a toddler was enough proof. But at the moment Atsumu was suddenly too terrified to deny his teammates' words.
"O...kay...." Atsumu carefully said, feeling a wave of relief as Bokuto finally let go.
The former Fukurodani's ace now dropped himself on the ground to sit and take a look at the phone again.
"Thank God…" Bokuto wiped his own tears, "Thank God.. he looks healthy…" he still mumbled in tears, but this time, he had a smile curved on his lips.
Atsumu finally put himself back together as he realized he was as much of a mess after being startled. He took a deep breath then scratched the back of his hair again. Atsumu kinda gets it, he knew Bokuto and Hinata's history ran deep. One training camp in high school between Inarizaki, Fukurodani and Karasuno, was enough to tell everyone's story. Back then, almost everyone was either alerted or admired the strongest decoy of Karasuno. Bokuto was especially fond of Hinata in an almost parental way. That's why, back then the sudden disappearance of Hinata was…
Atsumu stopped his train of thoughts as felt a sudden chill on his spine. He abruptly turned his head only to find his captain Meian Shugo and Sakusa Kiyoomi standing not far from them by the building. Atsumu instantly froze.
Sakusa and the Black Jackal's captain shared almost similar looks. It was something between highly disgusted and extremely confused.
"Hold up…" Atsumu suddenly realized that him standing tall with a crying Bokuto sitting on the ground right before his legs could cause a misunderstanding.
The Black Jackal's captain and the former Itachiyama's ace exchanged eyes for a brief moment then stared back at Atsumu with the same highly disgusted and highly flustered look. They gently took a few steps back before hurriedly turning around and leaving.
"AT LEAST SAY SOMETHING DAMNIT!!!"
～＊～
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil 2018
The Tijuca National Park is claimed to be the world’s largest urban forest. It lies in the mountains of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and is one of the best tourist attractions in the city. The park contains a number of attractions, most famous being the colossal sculpture of Christ the Redeemer. However, for some people, the real treasure of the National Park was its well maintained ecology as part of the Atlantic Forest Biosphere Preservation.
The fresh air and the green view contrasted the urban city of Rio and caused a pleasant feeling to the body and mind. Oikawa finds himself taking shelter against a large tree by the small pathside, typing on his phone. His eyes hidden behind his sunglasses, he glances up. Not far ahead of him was Hinata Shouyou, or as he just introduced himself not long ago, Sunny Lee. A professional photographer.
Hinata already got along well with Mateo and Pedro. The three of them were enjoying themselves near the dodo bird attraction. Mateo and Pedro were never the intolerant type and had carefree souls, so it was to no surprise. But he knew his two mates were obviously smitten by Hinata; his baby face beauty, or the comforting gentle air around him, he wasn’t sure what captivated them.
Gentle…
If Oikawa was to take a look back a few years ago during his high school days, he had to remind himself of when he first caught sight of that tangerine baby crow from Karasuno. The kid was cute, lovely if Oikawa may say, but by the time their volleyball journey collided, Hinata was annoyingly loud, bouncy, and most importantly, he was unpredictable on the court. That last part made him admit that at one point back then, he might have admired him.
However, now… Never in the world would Oikawa have thought that words such as gentle, graceful, soft spoken… and beautiful would describe Hinata Shouyou. Yet here he was, looking at the current Hinata Shouyou, standing with a dodo bird on his slim hand, shoulder length, tangerine shade strands softly swaying with the wind, smiling as the bird welcomed the gentle petting of those slim fingers. Mateo seemed more than happy to take the pictures, and Pedro behind him encouraged Hinata to kiss the bird.
His smartphone vibrated and Oikawa smiled at the text message. His former vice captain undoubtedly gave a hilarious reaction, but he couldn’t blame Iwaizumi for reacting that way. Hinata Shouyou might be unknown in Japan’s current Volleyball world, but some people, who were in the same court as him, who witnessed how high a small crow could fly, saw a promising star mysteriously disappearing. And some of those people knew that the bird had lost its wings in the sea.
Oikawa slid his finger on the screen looking at picture after picture. The group of three became four. Hinata had never been to Rio, so knowing that, Mateo and Pedro were more than willing to show Hinata around. It's like he suddenly became the center of the group and Oikawa had absolutely nothing against it.
The pictures were proof of how accepting the three of them were of the new member of their holiday group trip. A lot of group selcas and couple selcas, some goofy candid shots and of course a proper picture with the four of them with a beautiful green view behind them, courtesy of the kind passerby who kindly helped them take it.
With that in mind, a tiny bell inside his head timidly started ringing. Not long ago, Oikawa posted a few photos on his Instagram account. Nothing went through his head, just the thought of sharing like everybody else. No harm in sharing your holiday picture, especially one with an old acquaintance that you haven't seen for years. Yes, no harm done.
“ Hei, Tooru~” he saw Mateo approaching him, “ How about lunch in Os Esquilos? It’s not far from here.”
Oikawa who just put his phone back into his trouser shorts simply shrugged, “ Are you sure? We know a place with better food. Tho Os Esquilos wasn’t bad. ”
“ Sunny said he’s curious about that place."
Indeed they both were smitten. Oikawa had been to Rio so many times with Mateo and Pedro that the three of them already had a regular spot to have meals and this was the first time he heard them willing to change their view for someone else. Oikawa simply shrugged again implying he'd be okay following their lead. He saw Mateo leave his side to chase Pedro ahead. Hinata was following behind quietly, until the younger male eventually stopped then got closer to the woods by the roadside.
It seemed something in the woods caught Hinata’s eyes as the younger lad carefully raised his camera with a serious look in his eyes, visible even behind the sunglasses. Oikawa might not know much about photography stuff but he could tell that the camera Hinata held was some serious gear. He did say that he came to Rio for work.
“What is it?” Oikawa approached behind him.
“Shh…”
The former Captain of Aoba Johsai VBC found himself instantly complying with the soft command. There was a quite long brief of silence before he could finally hear the repeated tiny click sounds from Hinata’s camera. The tangerine haired lad then took a brief moment to look up from his camera. Hinata inhaled deeply while a smile took over his face. He took a moment to appropriate the view with his own bare eyes and then went back to his camera to give more clicks. Oikawa saw the smaller man still wearing that childlike beaming smile while looking at the small screen.
"Look…" he whispered, softly but with a glint of excitement.
The CA San Juan Setter seemed caught off guard as Hinata let the camera hang on his neck and suddenly reached his arm to bring their bodies closer. And no, Oikawa wasn’t startled when Hinata patted his chest before he pointed out something up in the tree.
"Holy....shhー" Oikawa paused his cursing and now wore an almost identical beaming smile.
On a branch up on the tall palm tree was a blue macaw bird hanging and busy cracking a baby coconut with its beak and claws like it was unaware of any human beings beneath. The former Aoba Johsai's captain almost chuckled before he bit his own bottom lip, suddenly forgetting how cautious he was a second ago, afraid Hinata would realize his fast heartbeat.
Oikawa then whispered with the same hint of excitement, "Is that the real life blue bird from that Rio movie? The one with Anne Hathaway and Jesse Eissenberg?".
Hinata chuckled lightly, "You can say they’re distant relatives, the one in the movie is the Spix’s Macaw or as most people know it, the Little-blue Macaw. That’s the Hyacinth Macaw. The largest macaw and the largest flying parrot species in the world. Their wing spans go more than a meter.”
Oikawa exhaled in awe, “Great Scott. It does look big.” still having the same beaming smile on his face while looking up with Hinata.
“Indeed.” Hinata nodded, then added, “And of course highly endangered due to habitat loss and illegal trapping for pet trades.”
Oikawa instantly frowned, “Ouch…”
Hinata simply cackled amusedly, "I've never been to the Tijuca Park before… I had some expectations but this is definitely beyond it. I never saw a macaw bird outside a cage and in the wild… It’s the first time."
Oikawa shook his shoulders with a snicker, “I’ve been to Tijuca Park a couple of times and I never saw a bluebird just hanging around on the tree before. First time for me too.”
Hinata cackled lightly, raising the camera for another picture then stopping again, only to enjoy the peaceful view of the blue macaw still cracking that small coconut. Oikawa didn't change his composure still in awe and decided that maybe he should preserve the moment.
Oikawa exhaled again, "Just… wow."
Hinata glanced at the taller man beside him who was aiming his smartphone camera at the bird, Hinata then looked up again with a gentler smile, "You know, their habitats are mostly in northern Brazil, so to see one of them here in the south is… an extremely rare opportunity."
Oikawa chuckled, "Just like Leonardo getting an Oscar." He smiled proudly at the photo result on his smartphone and showed it to the smaller man.
Hinata tsked with a slight smirk, "Not bad…"
Oikawa merely put on a cocky smile then fixed his sunglasses while looking up again. He took a brief moment and enjoyed the peaceful view of the blue macaw again. "You know…" Oikawa took a moment to exhale a light sound of breath, "I think this is a sign of good luck. I think good things are about to come our way…"
Hinata was still smiling softly at the bird while humming, "The hyacinth macaw's population is less than 5000 in the world and keeps decreasing due to the enthusiasm for exotic pet birds that lit up the illegal trapping."
Oikawa instantly frowned again at Hinata, "That's terrible."
"But I do like your perspective."
Oikawa shrugged while looking up again, "What about the little-blue macaw? Are there any chances we can see them in the forest?"
Hinata took a brief moment and bit his bottom lip with a contemplating face as he put his camera back into the bag, "Absolutely…. Not a chance."
Oikawa blinked abruptly, looking at it again just as the hyacinth macaw had taken off. The veteran setter simply whistled at the beautiful view of the macaw, expanding its wings and flying like it was carried by the wind. It was a majestic view. He then effortlessly caught up with Hinata who was already a little ahead.
"Why is that? Was the Rio movie actually real? There were only a couple of them like Blu and Jewel?" Oikawa asked, a little more than curious behind his casual tone.
"Hmm, close... The Spix macaw or the little blue macaw are considered extinct in the wild from the year 2000."
The former Aoba Johsai's captain froze on the spot. Hinata merely shrugged his shoulders at his reaction while continuing on walking.
"... Now I can't watch the Rio movie the same way again." Oikawa stated as he was now walking side by side with the tangerine haired photographer.
Hinata curved a smile at him, "Last time I read that there are still about 86 birds living in captivity. They're still trying to find a way to return the little blue macaw into the wilds. Like in the second movie."
"They better be." Oikawa retorted as he took another look at the sky.
Something about the clouds made Oikawa keep his gaze up while still walking, he felt light and relaxed. His gaze then went back lower to the shorter male beside him, who was now busy with the camera again, looking at the pictures one by one while strolling with him. The sunglasses did nothing to hide the tender look on Hinata's brown eyes while observing the resulting pictures of the blue macaw he took.
"Is that your kind of thing?" Oikawa asked, tone light, eyes gazing at the path ahead.
"Mm?" Hinata merely hummed without averting his gaze off the camera.
"Wildlife photography?"
Hinata merely chuckled, "I wouldn't dare…"
"No? The way you were fascinated about that blue macaw kinda gave of that vibes."
The tangerine haired boy finally averted his eyes off the camera "I have a friend who happened to be a wildlife photographer. She has a passionate enthusiasm for rare birds. It's kind of contagious."
This time Oikawa is the one who chuckled, "I have to agree with that."
Hinata chuckled as well, they exchanged smiles and eye contact behind each other's sunglasses. Oikawa decided he had to break eye contact, suddenly feeling unconsciously bashful, effortlessly covering the feeling behind his confident smile and sunglasses.
"Then what kind of photography is your kind of thing?" Oikawa lightly asked while casually fixing his sunglasses with a lift of his pointy finger.
"Erotica…"
The no breath gap between his question and the answer caught Oikawa off guard. Of all the answers he expected to receive, that one was definitely not one that came across Oikawa's mind. Therefore, even beneath that tranquil and chill look on Oikawa's face, Hinata was still able to see what most people wouldn't be able to see. He gave Oikawa an amusing light smile.
"So…" this time Oikawa fixed his sunglasses with a mild smile, still looking slightly awkward, "You take nude pictures?"
Hinata cackled, "It doesn't have to be nude." Both of them were still walking.
The way the bright haired male answered without a pause made Oikawa able to only respond with a hum, "Oh…" he casually replied. "Then.. you like the human body?"
The way Hinata chuckled amusedly, close to a laugh, made Oikawa regret his question, "I do. I love the human body."
There was an awkward silence between them or maybe it seemed that way only for Oikawa because he saw Hinata still smiling while looking ahead, like he was having a good time. A few years in Argentina and Oikawa was shaken because Hinata Shouyou casually stated that he loves the human body. It's like his sexual adventure and memories of wild nights in Cordoba suddenly never happened. Indeed Oikawa is a volleyball idiot or maybe this former baby crow just grew into a swan.
Oikawa exhaled, this time openly throwing his confused frown at Hinata, "It doesn't have to be nude?"
"Yes." Hinata slightly nodded, his tone was soft but almost enthusiastic, "Erotica is like an appetizer before a meal. They serve to stimulate your hunger. Kind of like… foreplay before sex."
This time Oikawa hummed lightly, "Oh.." perfectly hiding his flustered face by taking a drink from his water bottle, "Makes sense…" he added after a few gulps.
"For example…"
The way Hinata spoke with that soft whispery yet almost commanding tone, perfectly caught the veteran setter off guard.
Hinata gently took off his sunglasses in a way that made Oikawa not being able to help but stare behind his own sunglasses. The young and smaller lad was now openly staring at him. Down then up with lips curved in a smile that was almost, almost flirty. Indeed the baby crow has metamorphosed into a swan. He acknowledges that the former Karasuno's number 10 has grown up beautifully, but Oikawa never thought he could look this gorgeous while taking off his sunglasses.
"Even the way you drink from that bottle can be arousing for someone…"
With that, Hinata gently put on his sunglasses the same way he took them off. He continued his steps, casually, lightly as if he didn't mean to leave Oikawa behind. It's just that the former Aoba Johsai's captain was momentarily stunned. Again, Oikawa showed his ability to keep his composure tranquil despite everything going in his mind.
Up ahead, they finally caught sight of Mateo and Pedro who had a sour look on their faces. They arrived by the doorstep of Os Esquilos and they had definitely been waiting for quite long to be that pissed. Of course the two of them only lashed out on Oikawa and let Hinata walk through the front desk, see the waiting list and ask for today's best seller on the menu.
" This is the hyacinth macaw. The largest flying parrots in the world. Their population is only less than 5000 in the whole world and they mostly inhabit the northern part of Brazil. So to see this here in the south is like a whole Yoda moment. Can't just pass on that ."
" Cut itー "
" You never gave a damn about birds."
A few meters behind Hinata is Oikawa proudly showing his smartphone when Mateo and Pedro had already landed a few playful punches on his guts. As Hinata had already arranged their table booking and was about to call the three of them to get inside, he saw Oikawa still persistently reciting his new knowledge and fascination for the macaw birds while Mateo and Pedro looked like they had had enough and tried to snatch the setter's smartphone. The young lad smiled. He was reminiscing about old memories he didn't mean to forget yet he admitted that he might have been trying to lock away. With that, the curve of Hinata's smile went lower.
I'll see you again, Kageyama.
Yeah, see you…
〜tbc〜