Notice Me Kageyama-senpai 🏐

Part 1

Kageyama never had an easy time making friends. He was too quiet, or too honest with his words; often reducing his peers to tears. So, he spent the first six years of his life alone. His parents barely had time for him as it was, and his teachers had enough on their hands with all the troublemaking children to worry about the only quiet kid in class.

And them Iwaizumi Hajime moved into the house next to his.

‘’Hey!’’ Kageyama turned around to look at a boy with spiky brown hair. He had jumped up and was balancing on the railing of the fence separating their two houses.’’What’re you doing?’’

‘’I-’’ Kageyama stuttered and clutched his ball to his chest. He tried to shake his head and find words s´to say. Nobody ever spoke to him if they could help it. But the boy looked at him with such genuine eyes, no hint of malice in them. It gave him confidence. He licked his lips before starting over. ‘’I’m playing the best sport in the world. Volleyball!’’

‘’Cool!’’ The boy exclaimed and fell forwards in his excitement. He crashed to the ground in an ‘’oof’ and groaned loudly before standing up. In a way only children can, he shook his shoulders and the pain disappeared. INstead, he marched towards Kageyama with the biggest grin Kageyama had ever seen. ‘’Can I join?’’

His only answer was a smile in return.

**

From the fateful day where Iwaizumi literally clashed into Kageyama’s life, it wasn’t often that you saw one without the other. Always playing or chatting about everything between heaven and earth. Iwaizumi had joined Kageyama in his after school volleyball classes, and the two of them fell in love for the first time.

Kageyama had been praised since his first day as a genius, but Iwaizumi had been there; a steady hand always ready to slap him back to reality when his ego got to big.

Especially in their first year at Kitagawa Daiichi.

‘’Hey, Shittyama, how do you expect me to spike that toss?’’ Iwaizumi growled at his best friend and stomped towards a stray ball to throw at the setter’s head.’’I’m as fast as I can be, and you know damn well I’m stronger than you so quit setting that godlike toss. You have to set in a way that gives the spiker a chance to spike it, otherwise it doesn’t matter how impeccable your form is or how amazing your tosses are!’’

‘’Oy! Bakeyama, open your stupid mouth and communicate! We can’t read that mind of yours!’’

‘’No matter how good you are, you need to make sure your team is able to match with you. Or rather, be good enough that you can match to any team. Don’t rely on your own talent, you have to make it so that other players, no matter where they are on a spectrum of talent, can hit a great toss and make it amazing.
That’s what makes a good setter, that’s what makes an extraordinary setter. Be extraordinary, Kageyama.’’

By second year,it was obvious that Kageyama was leagues ahead of the current reserve setter, and replaced the old starting setter when he retired. Taking Iwaizumi’s words to heart, kageyama made sure to train with every single player on their team during practice, and on his days of or even after practice he would go the the rec center and play with the local neighbourhood teams to try and match with them.

**

‘’Kageyama Tobio? Oh you mean that genius setter from Kitagawa Daiichi? yeah, that boy sure is headed to nationals! Maybe even then national team!’’