A Life Without The Sun

A Legacy

The next week, Kageyama returned to school.

As soon as he stepped through the gates, he could sense the stares and whispers that were directed towards him. Usually, stuff like that wouldn't bother him in the slightest, but for some reason it seemed to freak him out a lot, causing his heart to race and his forehead to dampen under his overgrown fringe.

Everywhere he looked, he was reminded of the person he lost. Every step was painful, every breathe felt like his heart was being stabbed over and over.

He noticed that the teachers were being extra nice to him that day. Almost too nice for his liking. Especially his English teacher, who would usually force him to stand up and read a passage in Japanese and then translate it into English all on his own, even though she knew it was his worst subject. But for some reason, she kept her mouth shut and ignored the boy, pity filling her eyes as she looked at him, and directed her attention to other members of the class instead. And while he appreciated not having to speak in front of the class, he didn't want the sympathy.

Somehow, he managed to get through the day and headed straight to the club room, where he was met with the shocked faces of Ennoshita and Yamaguchi.

"Kageyama! We didn't think you'd be back this soon! How are you doing?" Yamaguchi asked nervously, glancing at Ennoshita who didn't really know what to say for the best.

"Where's Tsukishima?" Kageyama replied, ignoring Yamaguchi's mini speech and looking at him dead in the eyes.

"Uh...he's already in the gym."

Without another word, Kageyama spun on his heels and stormed out of the club room, Ennoshita imploring him to get changed first, which he ignored.

Kageyama reached the gym and swung open the doors with a grunt. The whole team was in there, and they were now staring at Kageyama with concern.

"Hey Kageyama, you ready to..." Asahi started, but he was silenced by the sight unfolding before his eyes.

With annoyance in his step, Kageyama walked quickly over to Tsukishima, who had barely acknowledged his abrupt appearance. He grabbed on to Tsukishima's wrist and pulled him with him as he changed directions towards Ukai.

"Hey! Hey! Hello?! Let go of me, idiot!" Tsukishima tried to protest, however it was in vain, as even he couldn't loosen the tight grip around his slender wrist.

When they reached Ukai, Tsukishima looked down to notice the tears forming in Kageyama's eyes. He figured that this was most likely out of anger more than anything else. But he hadn't the slightest idea why he was angry, or more to the point, what the hell he was thinking by clutching on to him like that.

"Shoyo's locker." Kageyama whispered, his red eyes looking at Ukai's desperately.

Noya placed a hand on Kageyama's shoulder, but he swatted it off impatiently. The team looked at eachother in utter confusion, Daichi contemplating whether to say anything or not.

"Ukai! Shoyo's locker!"

Ukai looked him up and down for a couple of seconds, genuinely confused by what he was saying. Shoyo's locker? Why was he saying this to him? Then something clicked inside his head, and a sparkle entered his eye as he ran towards a safe that always sat on the bench. He held a hand out to Takeda, imploring him silently to hand over the key, which he did. He promptly shoved it into the lock and twisted it a couple of times, revealing only a small amount of club money inside. After shifting a few coins around, he produced a tiny silver key, and jogged back over to Tsukishima and Kageyama, placing it in Kageyama's palm.

"Thank you, sensei. Come on, Tsukki!" Kageyama declared, pulling him by the wrist again.

"Hey stop! Stop! And don't call me Tsukki!! What's happening?" He repeated this over and over as he was dragged out of the gym and towards the locker room.