5 Years Later
As he walked onto that huge centre court, the blinding lights caused his eyes to squint slightly. But as he adjusted to it, a smile appeared on his face and he waved to the crowd surrounding him.
Feeling a hand being placed on the small of his back, he looked down and locked eyes with Hoshiumi, who flashed him a cheesy grin as a sign of good luck.
Today, the Adlers were facing off with the Black Jackals, a formidable team indeed. Their members intimidated even Kageyama, and rightly so, as the familiar faces across the net from him were not ones to be messed with.
Kōtarō Bokuto was stood there with his chest puffed out, his usual catchphrase of 'hey, hey, hey' ringing from the crowd as he egged them on. Next to him stood the fearsome Atsumu Miya, looking as proud and cocky as ever, and Kageyama just managed to catch a glimpse of Sakusa taking off his mask on the sidelines.
But some reason, something felt missing. He didn't know what exactly, but there was just a strange, unnerving feeling in the pit of his stomach telling him something - or someone - was missing.
That was until Nakashima Takeru came speeding through the doors in his uniform, and stood on the court with the rest of his team. Kageyama chuckled slightly underneath his breath and curled his hands into tight fists.
-
"Can you believe our Kageyama is on the Adlers team?!" Takeda exclaimed, his voice starting to crack slightly as he turned to look at the rest of the reunited team.
"Yes, I can. Calm down specks, the game hasn't even started yet." Ukai replied, handing him a tissue in preparations, as he predicted that the small coach would be sobbing throughout the game.
Asahi and Daichi laughed loudly and Suga simply shook his head from side to side slowly with a wide smile. Tsukishima and Yamaguchi sat on the row behind the rest, looking down at the chaos unfolding in front of them.
Daichi quickly spun around on his chair and put a hand under his chin.
"So guys, when's the wedding?"
Tsukishima blushed slightly and looked down, in hopes that it would disappear. Noticing his partners obvious embarrassment, Tadashi answered for him, telling his former captain that it would be some time next Spring. Asahi looked over the moon for the pair and clapped at them genuinely, while Suga held up a thumb at them, imploring them to invite them all.
"Of course we will invite you. Honestly our social circle doesn't really expand from you guys much anyway!" Tadashi declared, chortling until Tsukishima gave him a quick jab in the ribs.
"The Volleyball League is proud to announce that the match between The Schweiden Adlers and The MSBY Black Jackals will begin momentarily. Players, please line up."
"SHUSH NOW! The game's beginning!" Suga shook Daichi's shoulder in excitement, his eyes wide and filled with light as he stared at Kageyama on that huge court. Reaching a hand up to the necklace hanging around his neck, he fiddled with the small charm on the chain and closed his eyes briefly. Squeezing Daichi's hand with the other, he said a quick prayer to whoever would listen, until the whistle blew with a screech, imploring him to open his eyes once again.
-
"Nice serve, Kageyama!" Ushijima shouted, as he made his way to the front of the court.
The Black Jackals were going to win. Kageyama knew this. They were 2 sets ahead, had a 3 point lead and were at matchpoint, so the likelihood of them pulling this back was very slim. But Kageyama had not given up yet, and didn't plan to give up any time soon.
Takeru received the ball on the other side of the net, but it was off slightly. Atsumu managed to get under the ball at an insane angle, and catapulted it towards Bokuto, who was already soaring through midair. Swinging his arm back, he launched it over the net and just as it was about to hit the floor, their libero, Heiwajima, picked it up, causing the crowd to go wild.
Almost slipping on his own sweat, Kageyama moved under the ball and got ready to set it to Ushijima. But just before he did, he noticed a soft glow appear in his peripheral vision, about where he knew his friends were sitting. He blinked a couple of times to make sure he wasn't imagining it, but when it didn't disappear, he turned his head quickly to look at it. As soon as he did, it had gone, but...he knew what it was. Or rather, he knew who it was, and a tear rolled down his cheek.
He set the ball perfectly to Ushijima who sent a powerful shot over the net, which was unbelievably received by Sakusa. Without a set, Bokuto smashed the ball over the net, causing it to bounce off the floor at such a speed, Kageyama had to check to see if the floor had cracked.
-
"Good job, Kageyama!"
"Tobio, well done!"
He could hear his former teammates screaming as the teams lined up to shake hands with eachother. He appreciated all of their goodwill and continued support, but there was one voice that he wanted to hear more than anyone else's. And yet, he knew he could never hear that persons voice ever again.
He quickly made his way down the line of players until he reached Bokuto's.
"Good game." Kageyama said with a triumphant grin.
"You made Hinata proud today." Bokuto whispered and gripped his hand tightly.
Kageyama gasped slightly, but nodded his head once and thanked him.
-
The crisp winter air attacked his lungs as he stepped outside. He watched as his own breath escaped his mouth in a swirling mist, and zipped up his puffer jacket closer to his chin.
Leaning against a fence that overlooked a serene looking river, he fixed his gaze to the sky above. The moon was now out, brightening the earth below with her pale light, and illuminating each ripple on the river. Surrounding the moon were the many stars that blanketed the sky every night, it's only company.
Kageyama had memorised the star map he had acquired all those years ago, and had now become a master stargazer. He realised a couple of years ago that perhaps the most beautiful thing about the stars was that they were constant, never-changing in an ever-changing world. Perhaps, he thought, this was another reason Hinata loved them so much.
Ursa Major. Aries. Orion's Belt. That's right, everything was there as it should be. He traced the sky, following each pattern as it would've been drawn on the map.
But as he scanned the sky, his eyes met with one he simply couldn't recognise. It was huge. Much bigger than any usual star. It sat right in between The Big Dipper and Gemini. But there wasn't supposed to be a star there. So why was there?
Looking at the positioning of the star, he noticed that it was hovering directly above the stadium he was just playing in, which was to the left of him. He was perplexed. He couldn't find any reasonable explanation for it.
That's when he remembered.
"Just know that when I die, I'm going to come back as a star and hang over you every night until you join me."
"I-I'll be the-the br-brightest star up th-there."
"Hey, Shoyo. You finally decided to show up, huh? Took you long enough." Kageyama said out loud in a quivering voice, a hand over his mouth.
A hand on his back, again. He prepared for the creepy eyes of Hoshiumi to be gazing up at him.
But instead, there was a glow. So bright. It was so bright, it made his eyes water even more. He would've recognised that orange hair anywhere.
"H-Hinata?"
"It'll be okay, Tobi."
He embraced that glowing figure harder than he had ever embraced anyone before. Letting out quiet sobs, he grabbed at their hair, feeling each strand run in between his fingers and taking solace in the knowledge that this was real.
This was happening. Hinata was here. He was was alive. He must have been having a bad dream this whole time. Of course he was! Hinata wouldn't wouldn't just die! He couldn't! Damn that was some dream though.
"Hinata, I can't believe you're here!" Kageyama exclaimed, his tears now soaking into their collar, causing their neck to dampen slightly.
"Of course! I said I would be here, didn't I? And I've told you Tobi, call me Natsu!"