Moonrise

Sun, Moon, & Stars

"I love you, Nii-chan."

The first time Kei heard Natsu say that, he froze. So did she. Neither of them expected it. It was just a slip, he thought, as she was hugging him goodbye. But still. She was leaving for the semester since university was starting back up again, and she was in her senior year.

When they pulled away, she was smiling up at him. She looked just like Shoyo; bright red-hair, caramel-colored eyes, a smile that could outshine the sun. Natsu Hinata had grown into a pretty girl, and would be breaking hearts if she wasn't in love with volleyball. Just like Shoyo.

But Kei? Kei wasn't even related. Not even distantly. The only connections he could claim to her and her family were being on the same volleyball team as Shoyo for three years in high school, and being on the same team of friends and former teammates during his run from his grandmother.

And Shoyo's stars.

The stars given to him from Shoyo through Oikawa. The stars engraved with Shoyo's name and Tobio's. The stars that were never used, and will never be used. The stars that should still be Shoyo's. Except, Shoyo was gone and would never come back.

She'd sent him pictures of the three shuriken he'd given to her, which she had mounted in a glass case and hung on her bedroom wall. It was a centerpiece of a montage of photos of Shoyo, of herself with Shoyo, photos of Shoyo and Tobio, plus several more from when Kei and Shoyo were in school. Nearly her entire wall was covered.

It moved him to do something similar, though he didn't have as many photos. In fact, he only had two: one of them as third years, with Tadashi, Tobio, and Hitoka, all in their team uniforms. The other was the five of them on their graduation day. Before his world, and theirs, was turned upside down. Still, he sent her a photo of his own: both photos to either side of his three shuriken, placed in a little corner of the home he shared with Tetsu above his bookshop.

~*~

"I love you, Nii-chan!"

The second time Natsu said it was after her graduation from Tokyo University, with a huge hug for him and Tetsu, at the party they (and Tetsu's mom, *and* the ladies from the quilting club) threw for her and several of her friends. Originally, Kei wanted to have the party at one of the local hotels with a small ballroom to rent. In the end, Tetsu pulled some strings, and the party was held in the main gymnasium at Nekoma High School. Complete with a volleyball net set up.

Natsu was just as much a fool for volleyball as Shoyo had been.

It didn't take long before a game broke out, and she pulled him out on the court with Tetsu, all of them on the same team. Kei and Tetsu shared a look, and they played... but they let her shine. And shine, she did. She'd been the Ace on her team at Niiyama High, as well as her college team. But, she also excelled at being a decoy. Like her brother before her.

After the game, her smile was bright, and she launched herself into his arms. "Thank you, Nii-chan," she said softly in his ear. "Best. Party. Ever!"

For the rest of the night, she stayed with them, telling them all about the scouts for several professional women's teams that had reached out to her. Teams from Okayama, Saitama, Kurobe, and Himeji; all of them were interested in her, and extended invitations for try-outs.

"Which would you choose, Nii-chan?"
"Shouldn't that be my question to you?"
Natsu shrugged. "I can't decide. They all sound great, really. Their offers are roughly the same, so..."
"Well, tell me about them," he suggested. Meanwhile, Tetsu had brought out his phone and was looking up where each team was located.

Natsu, ever the excited one, began to talk. She'd done her homework, gathered as much information as she could and came up with pros and cons for each team. Kei was smiling as she talked. Here, she was completely different from Shoyo. Natsu did well in school, her grades easily placed her in the top ten percent of her class in high school, and top fifteen in college. She loved learning, whereas Shoyo did only enough to pass. Volleyball was his lifeblood; Natsu found the balance between both.