his chest hurts so bad. he has no clue what is happening, the only thing he remembers is he was sitting on the bench and heard his brother's voice. once he gain his grasp onto reality, sora began to think the worst possible outcomes. luckily the pounding headache prevent sorashi from thinking too much.
he tried to open his eyes when he felt a cold hand with comforting touch on his eyelids. it is a big contrast against his firey hot body. he felt his body relaxed instantly but still under alert.
"..enjoying the game."
sora jolted up. with terror written all over his face. what the fuck? why is he suddenly being haunted like this?
"sora-san, can you hear me?" a soft voice called for him.
"a-ah, kiyo-chan." sorashi sighed in relieve.
"you passed out right before the second set, and we are currently in the third set." kiyoko informed still with her concerned expression.
"i'm okay kiyo-chan, 'm just a lil' exhausted t'sall." sorashi rubbed his face. he turned his head slightly to face kiyoko. "now hush hush, ya need to do your manager, right? i'll be fine, no worries." sorashi waved his hand with a small smile.
"but--"
"ah ah, kiyo-chan, i'll be alright." sorashi quickly shut kiyoko off. kiyoko reluctantly nodded and went off to do her things.
sorashi waited until everyone is back to their bussiness before he quit from the gym. he sat down on the stairs as he dramatically watching the orange evening sky.
tenma is always succesfully knock some senses up into sorashi's oblivious self. but this time, it feels so different. but what is it? what is the thing he has been missing?
enjoying the game? he is always enjoying the game, but--
tenma flicked his brother's forehead. "you idiot, you can't win by yourself! this isn't a violin competition."
"i know," sorashi answered.
tenma huffed in annoyance, "really? because all i saw in that match was your greed over perfection!"
"but i did good, didn't i?"
"hear me out, you have to play as if you were eating your last food,"
" you wanted me dead?"
tenma only rolled his eyes at his own brother's words. "you need to enjoy it, enjoy the game! it's not all about winning!"
sorashi really tried his best to overcome his weakness but in the end, he was always being outshined by everyone. he is nothing than a last resort when the team is in danger, and when they got out from the danger he is no more needed.
sorashi shook his head. what's with all of these negativities. where is the fearless sorashi? the one who decided to drop everything to join the volleyball club.
tenma is right though. but sorashi is not an ace like him. he is never an ace like him since the beginning. there is no sense of pride when he scored a point. he just played for winning the game without any feelings, unlike his brother who played by pouring all of his passion.
in reality, sorashi is a genius who has lost his way since long time ago. he didn't even have that satisfying feelings within his heart anymore.
like what he once said to his brother, he is just a mere background character with a superhero brother.
"you have everything that i wanted, sora. don't waste it, please, i'm begging you." it was all said to him when he didn't get any offer to join any professional teams.
sorashi was so shocked to the fact that his brother is not pursuing his volleyball career. but he was glad that he found another passion. sora sometimes thought, can he be a person like how his brother was? accepting everything that went out of expectation?
his phone's screen lit up and buzzing. tenma's number was written on it. sora groaned before he picked it up and swiped on the green screen.
"hello, big bro," he greeted with a cheerful tone.
"don't start. i heard you fainted, i was so worried y'know."
"aw, cute cute--"
"when will you realize that you are a dying star?"
"wow aniki*, you're so poetic!"
"stop hiding behind your jokes, if you don't realize your true potential and bring back those feelings in your heart, you will be nothing but a burden."
tenma is right for the thousands times, sooner or later, the team will see him as a burden.
;
hinata came to the third year's floor to visit sorashi. unfortunately the tall middle blocker is nowhere to be seen.
"excuse me, senpai, do you know where is sorashi-senpai?" hinata asked one of sora's classmates.
"maybe he is playing basketball, search him near the basketball gym!" the senior shouted from his seat.
hinata thanked the senior and bowed. he then walks away from the door frame. with head hung low, hinata began to think what is the thing that keeps bothering sorashi to the point he forced himself to his upmost limit.
back at the training camp, after he fainted, sorashi keeps pushing himself to his limit. he pushed himself to the point he vomitted straight after the match against nekoma.
hinata really wanted to know what happened to this madman called sorashi. he said he wasn't fond of being too tired, but what is it that has been triggered sorashi?
he walks towards the opened door of the gym. hinata could hear the squeaks of shoes echoed from his place. he took a deep breathe and entered the gym.
hinata's eyes widen when he saw sorashi ran and jumped to dunk the ball down the ring.
that satisfied grin and sharp eyes he has never seen before, sending chills down hinata's spine. the way everything is messy and sorashi is just enjoying himself is really a sight to behold.
hinata thought to himself, he never saw sorashi enjoying himself when he played volley. it's always 'i wanted to win against you let's play again' not, 'i really enjoyed this let's play again.' or 98% of the time it is, 'i wanted everything to be clean and perfect.'
he wonders if that was the reason.
"shoyo, what's up?" sorashi called. his voice is more monotonous than it used to be, startling hinata that he became a stuttered mess.
"shoyo," sorashi called again but softer. he petted hinata's hair slowly.
after calming down, hinata handed the papers to sorashi. "here is the next training camp's forms," hinata said.
sorashi read the first page with a frown. he then sighed before he glanced at the short middle blocker. "i don't know if i could go there again," sorashi explained.
"w- wait, what-- why?!"
"i need to go to brazil again," sorashi curtly said.
he sighed, "i'll inform keishin, later, see you."
only with that sorashi disappeared into thin air. leaving hinata alone in front of the basketball court.
"i wonder what happened to him," hinata said to himself. his gaze wandering to the bright blue sky.
"he is strange, yeah?" a male voice behind hinata surprised him slightly.
hinata turned around and found a tall man who looks like a punk holding a basketball on his hand. the man only grinned before he sat down on the stairs.
"he is really different from before, y'know he was an annoying perfectionist," the man started to speak again, gaining the dumbstruck orange haired middle blocker's attention.
"he can be handful sometimes, always trying to be perfect." his gaze glazed down to the first year.
hinata shivered. this man's eyes are as intense as sorashi's but still gentler.
"but after that volleyball camp or whatever it was, he is more carefree,"
"it was like one chain has broken off from his body,"
wait, what does that mean?
.
.
aniki* : (this is a japanese yakuza slang) a term for an older brother or a superior.
a/n: sorry for the super short chapter. i haven't proof-read this either, i'm so so sorry. but i'm really overwhelmed by the fact that haikyuu is ending on this month. i promise i'll update as soon as possible so i can catch up to the season 4 story.
thank you!