#ah its so fitting that the first two things i write are kageyama and hinata pieces lol like i said not much has changed | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

revasserium · 3 years

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beauty as a perspective (or a study of truth through the lens of a boy who has always believed in fairy-tales)

anon: And it is beautiful with Hinata First love with kageyama? Please :)

101. and it is beautiful hinata ; 1.8k words

there are so many things he considers to be beautiful -- the sunrise, the sunsets, the way the moon lingers on the horizon after a whole midsummer’s night, like it’s waiting for the first rays of sunlight to spill across the world, the way the stars are relentless in their twinkling, as if emboldened by the darkness that beholds their very beings -- that they are made all the brighter by night’s all-consuming dark.

there are other things too -- a well-aimed spike, crystal cut and down the line, right next to the pole, a perfectly arched toss, slow enough for thought, but too fast for the opponents to follow, the double-rolling saves that noya-sempai had promised to teach him and still hasn’t gotten around to, the way a clean sneaker sounds against the well-waxed floor of a freshly cleaned gym, the sound of a volleyball meeting skin, the flutter of a net, the chorus of voices as it echoes towards the ceiling.

the cheers of the crowds when a point gets scored. when a match is won.

the weight of happiness, so light and yet so, so heavy too, enough to make his bones feel like they’re filled with gold or silver or maybe magic itself. he thinks there’s nothing more beautiful than playing... and winning.

until he meets you.

your name breezes through him like a summer wind through wheat, leaving no part of him unruffled and untouched, all this thoughts tangled and out of ordered, but so beautifully so. he watches you go like a child watching the end of a really good dream, powerless to stop it, but still with the naïve hope that perhaps, if he just kept his eyes open (or closed) for a moment longer, maybe, just maybe you’ll stay --

“hinata-kun, its your turn to help clean the classrooms.”

he snaps out of his reverie (did you know that’s the word for daydream in french? how fitting, right? and when tsukki had asked, drop-jawed and all, where the hell hinata had learned such a thing, all he could do was shrug and blush and say he’d read it somewhere -- to tsukki’s compounded shock and confoundment), the teacher is watching him with a hiked eyebrow, and half the class was giggling. but you, you’re standing next to his desk with a sweet, expectant smile and he’s lost all over again.

(who was he, anyway? before he knew what your smile looked like? what your voice sounds like? what the color of your hair was beneath the morning sun, or in the golden glow of dusk?)

“let’s do our best, hm?” you offer him your hand.

hinata had never wished for after class chores to last forever, but he has now.

he doesn’t know how you get onto the topic of volleyball, but it always ends up there somehow... with him -- and he finds himself rambling like he always does when he’s nervous, blabbing out an invite because yeah! it’s pretty cool! and there’s a practice match today! and oh, yeah! i’m on the starting lineup and of course you can come watch! i’m super awesome y’know! --

and then the horrifying, daunting realization that he’s going to have to play. with you watching him. with your eyes, like pools of amber so deep and clear they remind him of melted caramel during the holiday school fairs, with your smile like tasting a favorite treat after a long, hard day’s practice, with your laughter and your voice like -- like --

“what’s this? hinata’s brought a friend?” there’s something in the texture of suga-sempai’s voice that hinata isn’t sure he likes but he’s too nervous to call it out at the moment. instead, he tries desperately to explain why the hell he’d brought you along, not that he’s really sure either, other than the fact that he doesn’t ever want you to leave his sight ever again in his whole life but, well, he can’t really say that out loud without sounding like a freak --

“uh -- it’s not -- i mean, yeah! we’re friends! i think so at least -- well anyway -- ahhhhh -- she likes volleyball and there’s a practice match today and i told her she could come and watch cause i’m really awesome at it and she just moved here from tokyo, or actually she stayed in france for a while before that! can you believe it? hey -- wait do you know kenma from nekoma? they’re from tokyo too, right --?”

kageyama fixes him with a flatlined look even as you smile.

“she’s not from the same school, idiot.”

hinata puffs up as he turns to kageyama but thankfully, daichi is there to pull them apart before things get really nasty. he flashes you a sincere and somewhat apologetic grin.

“ah, thanks for coming. you can find a seat up there, and uhm -- welcome to karasuno.”

hinata finds himself watching you go (he nearly yells when you wave at him from the second level, that is until kageyama elbows him so hard in the side he actually does yell).

“focus, boke!”

“shut up, crappyama!”

“ha? what did you say?”

“both of you, quiet!”

they both flinch at the sound of daichi’s voice.

but hinata can’t help stealing another glance towards you, thinking that this feels different, somehow. different than all the other practice matches he’s played before. it’s like his vision is sharper, all his senses on high alert -- he can smell the sweat on his teammates’ skin, can see each spec of light as it refracts off of the newly waxed gym floors, can feel the weight of your eyes on him like a superhero’s cloak -- beautiful and full of responsibility.

and he plays well that day, he thinks -- got a few really solid quick’s in, and he only messed up on two of his serves, which, all things considered, is probably a record low for him. kageyama only yelled at him five times, also on the low side.

they manage to scrape a win, and it was mostly asahi-san’s doing -- noya-sempai being awesome as ever, too. still, he thinks it’s been a good day. he almost forgets that you’re watching for a while, but only for a while, and as the match draws to a close, he’s again keenly aware of your eyes on him.

he turns to grin up at you, shooting you a thumbs up. he finds you no longer sitting, but standing by the railings, your eyes huge and happy as you wave down at him. there’s a flush to your face that makes him want to walk off a bridge right into a very, very cold river but he shelves that thought for later as you make your way down the stairs, jogging right up to him, your smile so brilliant he thinks he might go blind if he stared too long.

he blinks, still dripping sweat down his now very wet uniform.

“shouyou! you were amazing! i mean, you are amazing --!”

he almost jolts at your use of his given name, but then he remembers you asking (because you liked the sound of it or something; he’d forgotten what you said after that cause he was too busy marinating in the fact that you liked the sound of his name) if you could call him that. and him saying yes.

“for a while there it looked like you were flying, like really flying!”

he nods along with your excitement, his smile growing so wide his cheeks are starting to hurt and god, what what happen if he just kept on smiling wider and wider? what would happen to his face? would it stretch and keep on stretching? or maybe he’ll accidentally split his face in half and have to get stitches from the hospital, which wouldn’t be fun but for you, he thinks, it’s worth it.

“y-yeah! cool! right?” he leaps ups as if to illustrate, but as with all things he does on a spur of the moment impulse, it doesn’t go quite as planned. he ends up smacking his head on the doorframe of double gym doors, leaving him whining, curled up into a ball on the ground, and you kneeling by his side.

“shouyou? are -- are you okay? oh my god, what happened?”

he winces as he pushes himself up into a sitting position, grinning awkwardly up at you.

“i wanted to show you!”

“show me what?”

“what it looks like to fly!”

tanaka is fussing over hinata, loudly asking if he’ll get a concussion while tsukki is remarking to that getting a concussion might be good for him; noya and tanaka are both laughing so hard they’re also curled up on the ground.

you giggle, “save some flying for next time.”

“for... next time?”

“yeah, for the next time you play.”

“will... will you be there?”

you smile, nodding, offering him a hand.

“if you want me to be.”

“yes! yeah -- oh man, i do! i really really --”

“good, then i’ll be there.”

“aahh, that’s amazing! super great! ahhhh i’m so --- mmmm -- i’m so happy!”

he leaps up and is about to jump up again before he realizes you hadn’t let go of his hand yet.

he blinks, heat washing up his face like jumping head-first into a steaming onsen.

“hey! you said you’d save some for next time, right?”

hinata laughs, “right -- for next time.”

you give his hand a squeeze before letting go, turning to greet his teammates. hinata watches you, like he’s been doing from the second he’d set eyes on you a week and a half ago, when you’d introduced yourself to the class.

like when he’d all too enthusiastically volunteered to show you around the school, like when the pair of you had stopped in the library, and you’d run your fingers along the spines of all the books like greeting old friends.

like when you flipped open a book of fairy-tales and traced the outline of a boy with melting wax wings, plummeting from the sky.

“you know, i used to always daydream about flying as a kid,” you said.

hinata quirked his head, “why?”

you smiled, “dunno, seemed like a fun thing to do.”

hinata smiled then too, “well, it’s not that hard.”

you looked at him, “you... know how to fly?”

“sure i do!”

you laughed, then, but not a mocking kind of laugh -- a delighted, dancing kind of laugh that made hinata’s whole chest fill with hot air and helium.

“you promise to show me some day?”

hinata had nodded so hard his head might’ve come right off it’s hinges.

“hey, what’s ‘daydream’ in french?” he asked.

you blink at him, “reverie.”

“wow... beautiful.”

you laughed again, nodding, “it is, isn’t it?”

and he decides then, watching as you smile at something suga-sempai says, as you quirk your head curiously at kageyama, making him flush a hilarious shade of crimson as well, that sure, there are a lot of beautiful things in this world.

but none of them quite so beautiful as you.

#haikyuucreations #haikyuu!!#haikyuu imagines #hinata shouyou #haikyuu headcanons #hinata shouyou x reader #hinata shoyo x reader #hinata shōyō #hinata #floofy floof floof #haicuties #idk where the title came from dont ask me #ah its so fitting that the first two things i write are kageyama and hinata pieces lol like i said not much has changed #god i cant wait to reread the final arc and write the shit out of timeskip hinata and kageyama #fuCK timeskip everyone go d i love grownup casts #the ending took my soul and trampled it in the best of ways and just wow i have a lot of eelings and thoughts about it #but yeah anyway as always stan hinata and kageyama they legit dont get enough love eventho they be the fuckin main characters okay

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suckishima · 4 years

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suckishima’s hq!! 30 day gif challenge masterpost

I’m doing the 30 Day Haikyu!! Gif/GFX challenge! But I’m slightly modifying the rules so it’s more fun for myself.

Link to the prompts here!

I’m skipping a few prompts because I felt like it lol. So I’m doing 22 of the 30 *shrugs*

I’m not allowed to repeat any characters, because if I did, well, basically the whole challenge would just be Tsukki gifsets and as much as I love him, that wouldn’t be much fun for me or for anyone else lol. This also works out for me because I’m generally bad at choosing definitive favorites, and now most everyone gets a turn.

I’m only choosing moments from the anime and therefore doing gifs only, because it would have just taken me too long to add colorings into the mix. Maybe one day I’ll do the challenge again but with only gfx/manga edits. That does sound fun lol, especially since a lot of my favorite moments haven’t actually been animated yet.

If I’ve done my math/timing right (and I stay on schedule) there should be one set every day from today until the second cour of Season 4 airs on October 2! So it’s kinda like a countdown event? idk lol

See which ones I’ve done so far here!

I’ve listed why I chose what I chose for each day under the cut if you wanna see me ramble on some more!

(I’ll update each prompt with a link to its post when it’s uploaded)

Favorite character: Yamaguchi Tadashi. Tsukki is probably more of my actual favorite, but he fits better for the character development category for me. So, I went with my second favorite, Yamaguchi! I love him so much, he’s such a sweetheart and I really like how we get to see him slowly grow more into his own. His big moments are some of my favorites of the entire series and I just really relate to his drive to just get to play with the rest of the first years.

Character first fell in love with: Hinata Shoyo. This one was easy peasy lol. Hinata is the light and love of my life and I’d honestly be surprised if anyone picked anyone other than Hinata for this prompt. He’s just so *clenches fist* good. Hard working, fun, determined, a little dumb, and so so caring and compassionate. And I’m so proud of him too tbh. I don’t care how cliche and overrated it is to say this, he is a ray of sunshine and I love him.

Character gradually warmed up to: Tendou Satori. Again, this could easily be Tsukki lmao since I didn’t like him at allll at first until he slowly began to grow on me in s2. Anyway, Tendou also grew on me. I tend not to like characters that feel chaotic just for the sake of it, and that’s how I felt about him at first. But as the Shiratorizawa match goes on, and especially in the Ball Boy arc as we see him interact with his teammates more I realized he just wants to have a good time and shame on me for wanting to be down on that. He’s funny, fun, doesn’t give a fuck what people think, and is a supportive friend. Nothing not to like tbh.

Favorite karasuno ship: Tsukkiyama. I mean, it’s my two favorite characters together lmao, it was bound to happen. Especially since a lot of the reasons they’re my favorites is because of their interactions together. I feel like each significant interaction between them isn’t just development for them together, but for them individually and I love that. There’s like this silent building each other up. They’re both there for each other without having to say anything, but then when they do voice it, it makes it that much more powerful. I just love how strong their friendship feels by the end of nationals arc, it feels so earned and genuine. I love that Tsukki is proud of how far Yamaguchi has grown, and that Yamaguchi is proud of not just Tsukki with volleyball, but Tsukki’s relationship with Akiteru. They’re both just so proud. I’m cool with all ships being just platonic too, but if we’re talking non-canonically, them being together just makes me happy. I’m a big ol’ sucker for friends to lovers.

Favorite episode/chapter: Illusionary Hero. Sensing a pattern yet? ha ha haaaa. The relationship between the Tsukishima brothers is one of my favorite in the series (i still cry over the peace signs), and this episode is where I really began to not only fall in love with Tsukki but the writing of the show. I too had been wondering “what IS the point of them working so hard,” and I loooooved how Furudate addresses that question through Tsukki’s backstory. Great stuff. (favorite manga chapter is 298 when yams and tsukki do their successful serve and block for the first time, if you were interested lol).

Favorite team: Karasuno. This was another easy choice. I love every single team in the series, truly. But I can’t just abandon my boys lmao. Karasuno is the heart and soul of the show, and they are also now my heart and soul.

Favorite position: Setter. “The setter is the information tower of the team” is the “the mitochondria is the powerhouse of the cell” of volleyball. Okay, not really, that quote was just repeating in my head while I made this set. I don’t have any cool meaningful reasons for this one. Setters are just cool.

Favorite wing spiker: Ushijima Wakatoshi. Ohhhh how I love Ushijima. At first you think he’s just big huge muscle baddie (and, like, he kinda is) BUT he’s also some of my absolute favorite comic relief in the whole series. He is so frickn earnest and blunt and doesn’t give a Fuck what people think and I love him.

Favorite middle blocker: Kuroo Tetsuro. This was a hard choice lol, because my top three favorite characters (tsukki, yamaguchi, and hinata) are all MBs, so I was like uhh which one do I choose? Aone was a close second to Kuroo too.

Favorite libero: Nishinoya Yuu. He’s just so dang cool.

Favorite setter: Kageyama Tobio. My boyyyyyy. God I love Kageyama. I’m not sure I can put into words how much he means to me. His character arc of shedding the King mantle only to pick it back up again with a new context is one of my favorite character developments of all time. His arc is all about learning to communicate and not only relying on others but learning to be relied on and I just ah - and the stuff about self care??? i love him.

Favorite captain: Sawamura Daichi. He just, is The Captain ya know. He’s got the vibe down pat. We love a good solid foundation for our team. He’s integral and Karasuno would have never made it as far as they do without him.

Favorite manager: Yachi Hitoka. I love Shimizu too, I do, but Yachi’s very unique brand of crazy is just too much fun lol. The first season feels so empty without her, and she brings so much joy to the team and to the show.

Favorite match: Shiratorizawa. Of the whole series, my favorites in order are actually, Nekoma, Inarizaki, Kamomedai and then Shiratorizawa, then Aoba Johsai 2. But since most of those aren’t animated yet, we get to focus on Shiratorizawa. Which I do still love, the hype is SO real the entire match, I still get chills at the end and during Tsukki’s Block.

Favorite non-match scene: BAR-BE-QUE!! Lmao tbh it was a close one between the fun of the bbq and heartwrench of the meal after the lose to Aoba Johsai in s1. Furudate said let them eat.

Favorite arc: Tokyo Training Camp. I love to see them improving and practicing and growing and ah it just makes me all warm and fuzzy inside.

Favorite underrated character: Tanaka Ryuunosuke. I LOVE HIM. HE IS SO FULL OF LOVE. And he’s so slept on I feel like. He is one of the most supportive characters in the show. He is always positive and is a great morale booster and is just an overall Good Boy. Yeah yeah he’s a bit intense with his crush, but he’s always respectful and I’ll fight anyone who thinks he’d do anything that makes Shimizu uncomfortable.

Favorite character development: Tsukishima Kei. Ah, we’re finally here lol. The top two reasons Tsukki is my favorite character is 1 because I relate to him sooo so much and I’ve never seen a character written in a way that feels so much like just how I personally think about and see things. 2, because of just how amazingly earned and cathartic his development is. I could ramble about this forever so I won’t. But when I found out he was still playing volleyball after the time-skip, I actually cried. Like, after everything, he’s still playing? He WANTS to play?? godddd.

Favorite non-player: Tsukishima Akiteru. Ah, I gotta say I relate to his struggle. Plus I love how expressive he is lmao, crying over like every little thing.

Favorite friendship(s): The Tsukishima Brothers. They are so important to me okay. The admiration, the falling out, the chasm for years that affects how they both interact and even see the world, the slowly piecing things back together, and then the reversal of the peace signs in the Kamomedai match, wow. (kageyama/hinata is a VERY close second, i’m bad at favorites)

Favorite pairing(s): Kageyama/Hinata, Bokuto/Akaashi, Shimizu/Yachi, Ushijima/Tendou. There’s so so many more tbh, but I had to narrow it down.

Favorite rare pair: skipped

1st, 2nd, or 3rd years: First Years. They’re my babies. I love them all and they way they all interact and I need them to be friends forever thanks.

Girls: skipped

Most relatable: skipped

Most like to be friends with: skipped

Most heartbreaking moment: skipped

Most heartwarming moment: skipped

Stage play day: skipped

Your choice: skipped

#i told my boyfriend i was working on this and he was like 'cool! like a haikyu advent calendar!'#ive been marking down times for months now lol and hoping to try some new techniques for a few of the sets #we'll see how it goes lol #hq #hq!!#*30days #haikyu #haikyu!!#long post #in case the read more doesnt work for some reason #x

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fire-bear · 7 years

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Can I request sentence 2 with Kagehina?

Dearest Anon,

I am so, so sorry this took so long. I kept redoing one idea before I completely changed what I was doing. And I was also, y’know, writing other stuff…

So I’m very sorry.

Anyways, in case you’ve forgotten, this was for this thing.

My original idea is sort of in here, too, but with less Steampunk/Fantasy.

BedtimeStory

“When I said, ‘Whatever helps you sleep at night’,”said Kageyama as he glowered at his teammate, “I didn’t meanthis.”

Hinata only grinned back at him as he bounced ontoKageyama’s bed, abandoning the futon his mother had set out for him.“Oh, come on! Don’t be stingy! You said 'whatever’ so you haveto do it!”

“No I don’t.”

That made Hinata pout,huffing. “Urgh! Come on,Baaaaaakaaaaageeeeeyaaaaa-”

“All right, fine!Just shut up already!” Kageyama snapped.

“Yay!” Hinata exclaimed.

“Shush! My parents are sleeping, dumbass.”

Grimacing, Hinata actually lowered his voice. “Sorry,”he muttered.

“Let’s get this over with, then,” Kageyamagrumbled. “Long, long ago-”

“Wait!” cried Hinata. “We have to dothis properly!”

“What are you-?” Kageyama demanded, scowlingat the smaller boy. But Hinata didn’t pause to listen to him andcrawled from his spot halfway down the bed towards Kageyama. SinceKageyama was sitting propped against his pillows in the centre of thebed, Hinata had to scramble over him, his hands and knees and calvesbrushing against Kageyama’s legs. Kageyama stopped speaking, hisbreath caught in his throat as he watched Hinata coming closer. ThenHinata spun himself around and, in one smooth movement, wriggledhimself between Kageyama and his bedside table. He leaned intoKageyama, his weight making Kageyama wobble.

“Move over,” Hinata grumbled, shoving atKageyama.

Sighing to make his displeasure known, Kageyama turnedhis head away from Hinata to shuffle across the bed. It also hid hisblush as he took a deep breath and told himself to stop being stupid.Once they were both situated and Kageyama’s heart rate had gone down,Kageyama turned a stern stare on Hinata. “Happy now?”

“Yup!” declared Hinata. He looked at Kageyamawith a bright smile and waited patiently, though Kageyama could feelhim vibrating with excitement through his arm which was pressedagainst him.

“As I was saying,” Kageyama said, pointedly,“long, long ago, in a far off land, there lived a young man.”

“What was his name?” Hinata asked.

Thrown, Kageyama blinked at him, confused. “What?”

“His name,”said Hinata, slowly. “What was it?”

“Uh, I don’t know. Suga-san.”

“'Suga-san’?” Hinata sounded incredulous.

“Are you going to let me tell the story?”

“Fine,”Hinata whined.

“Anyway, the young man-”

“Suga-san.”

“Suga-san,”Kageyama continued, shooting his best glare at Hinata who flinchedaway slightly. But the redhead brightened again as Kageyama went on.“Suga-san was working on his farm-”

“I don’t think Suga-san works on a far-”

“This.One. Does.”

Hinata pouted. “Okay…”

Taking a breath to stop himself from yelling at theidiot, Kageyama forged ahead. “While he was working, a brilliantwhite crane came swooping down and crashed at his feet. The man –Suga-san – noticed that there was an arrow piercing one of its-”

“Ah! I know this one!” Hinata said, sittingup straighter and looking delighted. “He helps the crane and itcomes back as his wife with rice and then she goes into a room he’snot supposed to go into and makes this really pretty cloth which hesells off for a lot of money. Right?”

“What’s the point of me telling a story if you’rejust going to do that?!” Kageyama exclaimed, momentarilyforgetting his parents.

“Well, you have to tell me a new one,” saidHinata as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Kageyama sighed and tried to resist the urge tostrangle him. “Fine. Once upon a time, there was a princess whohad a golden ball-”

“A golden volleyball?” Hinata asked, eyesalight.

He paused, thinking. Kageyama couldn’t remember thekind of ball it was. But it was fitting, so why not? He nodded.“Yeah. A golden volleyball. Anyway, she was playing near a wellor pond or something-”

“Well, which is it? A well or a pond?”

“Uh, a well. A big well. Large enough for the ballto fall down it.”

“Did she spike it?”

Shrugging a shoulder – and jostling Hinata in theprocess – Kageyama said, “She might’ve been practising hersetting.”

“I think she spiked it,” said Hinata, firmly.

Sighing again, Kageyama shook his head. “Whatever,dumbass. Let me tell the story!”

“Oh, yeah, sorry.”

“So she dropped it down the well and had no way toget it back-”

“Couldn’t she have pulled it back up with thebucket?”

Kageyama paused once again, unsure. “Uh, it didn’twork. Besides, she’s a princess – she wasn’t strong enough to pullit up.”

“Ah.”

“So, this frog appears and says, 'Princess, Iwill-’”

“Oh, wait, is this the Princess and the Frog? Isaw the Disney film. He turns into a prince when she kisses him,right?”

“Hinata!”Kageyama growled. He twisted his body so he could use both hands to-Well, he wasn’t sure what he was going to do but Hinata saw himcoming and, with a yelp, he pressed a hand to Kageyama’s face andpushed him away, shrinking against the bedside table. “Stopdoing that!”

“I said a new story!” Hinata exclaimed,trying to push Kageyama back. Unfortunately for him, Kageyama hadlonger arms and he had also caught hold of Hinata’s pyjama top, hisgrip firm.

“Whatnew story?!”

“I dunno – make something up! Mum always does!”

Kageyama glowered down at Hinata. In response, Hinatapouted, pushing at Kageyama again. With an incoherent grumble,Kageyama straightened and dropped Hinata who barely caught himselfbefore he whacked his head off the table. Hinata sat up quickly,whole body wary as he watched to see what Kageyama would do, clingingto the table. Kageyama resisted the urge to reach out and draw himcloser.

“Fine,” Kageyama growled. He opened his mouthto speak but paused. What was he going to make up a story about?

“Really?!” said Hinata sitting up straighterand bouncing beside him. He almost fell into Kageyama’s lap butKageyama effortlessly caught him by the arm and kept him upright.“Thanks, Kageyama.”

A silence fell between them as Kageyama struggled tothink of a story. All he could really think of was Hinata’s broadsmile and his shining eyes as he watched him with excitedanticipation. His pale green pyjamas were slightly rumpled alreadyand he’d only been wearing them for an hour or so. Probably becausethey kept getting into scuffles every few minutes. He wondered whathe would be doing if they’d never met and suddenly realised that hehad a story to tell.

“Once upon a time,” he said quietly, quieterthan normal, “there was a king. He was young and… silly, Isuppose.”

“What was his name?” asked Hinata withinterest, blinking up at Kageyama.

“Tobio,”said Kageyama without hesitation. He watched Hinata’s eyes widen withsurprised recognition but he continued quickly before Hinata couldquestion him. “He ruled over a vast kingdom, conquering otherkingdoms as his own gained in strength. But he was impatient and…”

“Mean?” Hinata suggested with an amusedsmile.

Kageyama crossed his arms over his chest. “Fine,yes, whatever. Dumbass.”

“Hey!”

“The king wanted his knights and subjects to workharder and harder. They began to resent him, forgetting how young hewas and that he needed an advisor. Not that he listened to them whenhe did have them.”

“Still doesn’t,” muttered Hinata.

Ignoring him, Kageyama continued, quickly trying tocome up with something to make the story more interesting. “Hismost trusted knights got fed up with him so they went to a powerfulwitch.”

“What was her name?”

“It was a him, actually,” said Kageyamasmugly, watching Hinata grimace at his presumption. “His namewas…” Kageyama quickly tried to think of someone who would fitthe role. Finally, he said, “Tooru. And he was willing to teachthe king a lesson. He laid a curse on the king and, in return, theknights had to serve him. They accepted and he did as asked, turningthe king into a statue upon his throne.

"The kingdom heard of his fate and celebrated. Butnow they had no leader. Without anyone to guide them, the witchsuggested that he would lead them as he was also a prince fromanother kingdom. The two kingdoms merged and, when his parents died,the witch prince was made king.”

“A Grand King,” said Hinata with a grin.

Kageyama nodded. “After some time – and aftermarrying his favoured knight-”

“The Captain?”

“Mm. After that, the Grand King decided the firstking-”

“Tobio,” Hinata interjected.

His name being said by Hinata made Kageyama lose hisbreath, freezing to keep himself from shuddering. It took him a fewmoments to regain the thread of what he had been saying. Then he tooka breath and nodded. “Mm. The Grand King announced that the kingwas able to be saved. But only by those that truly wanted to savehim.

"Men and women came from all over the world in anattempt to save him. Many believed in the tales of 'true love’ andtried kissing him. Others tried spells they had bought from witcheson their journeys. Some even tried striking him with swords to removethe stone but it did little but hurt the frozen king. A few triedworshipping him, declaring to the statue that he was the greatestking to have ever lived. But none of that worked.

"People grew bored of trying and the king faded intheir memories. The Grand King watched over it all and, after peopleforgot, he took his husband and the knights who had betrayed theking-”

“Only 'cause he was a jerk.”

“Hey!” protested Kageyama, turning a glare onHinata. But the smaller boy just smiled back, a twinkle in his eye.Kageyama swallowed and shook his head. “Fine. Whatever. He tookthem all and disappeared, leaving the kingdom to his nephew. Who, bythe way, is loads nicer than Tooru.”

“He probably took pity on you since- Gah! Okay,okay! I’m sorry!” Hinata cowered as Kageyama gripped his topagain, growling at him. “Did the nephew save Tobio?” Hinataasked quickly and Kageyama dropped him as if he’d been burnt, leaningback to settle against his pillows again and trying not to blush.

“No,” Kageyama told him. “Centuriespassed and everyone moved on. Things changed around the palace and itbecame hidden by a forest and these thorn things. Nobody could reachthe place so nobody tried. But the story lived on, passed downthrough bedtime stories.

"And then there was a boy. He was small and brightand- And his mother told him the story. He was fascinated by it, notleast because he lived close to the forest and, if he climbed thehill behind his house, he could see the roof of the palace.”

“What was his name?” Hinata asked, leaningforward so Kageyama could see his curious look.

“Shoyou,” said Kageyama without hesitation.

Hinata smiled, a fond one instead of one of his biggrins. Kageyama had to look away from him to try to keep his heartunder control: it was beating far too fast for just sitting on hisbed. “What did… Shoyou do?” asked Hinata, catchingKageyama’s eye.

He saved him.

Clearing his throat, Kageyama leaned his head back tostare at the ceiling. That calmed him down and he managed to continuehis story. “He wanted to see if it was true so, since he was sotiny-”

“Hey!”

“-he managed to squeeze through the densevegetation. When he reached the palace, he walked through the silentcourtyard and through the empty entrance hall and into the throneroom. And he found the king.”

“And he lifted the curse?”

“No. He was just a kid. But he was fascinated thatno-one thought it was real and began to visit the statue whenever hefound a spare moment. He told the king about everything that hadhappened since he had been cursed. The stories of knights and kingsand magic made him determined to become a knight himself. So, when hewas old enough, he travelled to the capital of the combined kingdomsand begged to be let in.

"However, he hadn’t grown much” – Hinatahuffed at that – “and he was turned away. Upset, he attemptedto follow knights much braver and larger than him. They humoured himand soon he had become a part of their group. But they never let himfight or help rescue the princesses and maidens as they had becomerather protective of him. There was no way for him to prove he couldbe a knight.

"His thoughts turned to the king-”

“Oh!” cried Hinata excitedly, bouncing alittle and leaning towards Kageyama again. “If he saved theking, he’d make him a knight, wouldn’t he?”

“Stop doing that!” Kageyama grumbled.Reluctantly, he nodded. “Yeah… Anyway, he left his friends andtravelled home and to the palace. There he went to the king and-Well, he didn’t know how to save him. After all, everyone else hadtried and nothing had worked. And he wasn’t particularly clever. Sohe was ready to give up in despair.”

“I would never-!”

“But!” Kageyama gave Hinata a pointed look asthe smaller boy pouted. “But, before he could leave, he heard anoise. Startled, he hid behind the throne and watched some bandits orsomething come in. They laughed at the statue of the king – forthey had also heard the story and they felt the king deserved theirscorn.”

“Were their names Kei and Tadashi?” Hinataasked with a grin.

Kageyama smirked back. “Yeah, sure, if you want.Shoyou was annoyed to hear them mocking the king and became angrywhen he saw them begin to strike the statue with their swords. Heleapt from his hiding place and scared them off, defending his kingwithout a weapon.

"Once the bandits had left, Shoyou declared to theking that he would save him. This time, he intended to save him sothat the king would never be treated like that again. To save himpurely for the sake of saving him instead of money or romance orglory. Because he was his… friend…”

Trailing off, Kageyama glanced at Hinata who waslooking back at him, a smile still dancing on his lips. “Did theking wake up?” Hinata asked, clearly still intent on the story.

“Yeah. Uh. Let’s see. Shoyou… I don’t know… hegave him a peck on the cheek or something?” Kageyama could feelhis own cheeks heating up and he kept his gaze trained on hisfingers. “That was enough to wake the king. The magic that kepthim like that broke and the forest disappeared, finally revealing thepalace to the people. And the king made Shoyou his advisor orsomething. Everyone lived happily ever after, the end.”

Hinata chuckled before he yawned, pressing a handagainst his mouth. “Thanks, Kageyama,” he said, soundingtired all of a sudden. “That was a pretty good story. But yougotta tell it better next time – that ending was pretty bad!”

“Why, you-!”

“Bedtime now!” Hinata declared, shufflingaway from Kageyama. “Goodnight!” he added and, before hehopped off the bed, he leaned over and gave Kageyama a peck on thecheek. Kageyama froze at that, eyes wide. Hinata didn’t give him muchchance to respond as he skipped away to turn off the light andreturned to his futon.

Kageyama blinked in the darkness and lifted his hand tohis cheek. He stared in the direction of his light switch, the lastimage of Hinata imprinted on his eyes. And he realised something: thestory may have made Hinata start snoring as soon as he lay down butKageyama was fairly sure he wasn’t going to be getting much sleep…

The first story Kageyama tries to tell is Tsuru no Ongaeshi or The Grateful Crane. It was one of the things I found when looking up ‘Japanese bedtime stories’. Hinata doesn’t tell the whole story, of course, so if you want to go read it…

I was trying to go with lesser known western fairytales for the second one but one that Kageyama would be likely to know. Thankfully, I chose the one with the volleyball. :)

#haikyuu!!#fan fiction

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