Volleyball League Practice Catch-all

[bluecastleace]

Who: primarily those who signed up to participate in the Void’s new volleyball league, but anyone and everyone is welcome!
What: volleyball practice for the new Void volleyball league
Where: the underground gymnasium
When: early December
Content Warnings: none yet, but will update if necessary!


((ooc: this log is gonna be used for a few practice sessions, as well as a practice game and other such things! Iwaizumi will be sharing his knowledge with everyone and acting as a coach of sorts until the practice game, so feel free to use the TLs to interact with him, or make your own TLs under the sections to start your own threads with your teammates or others participating! also, if you are not a player but want to be in the audience or are playing another role, feel free to make TLs reflecting that! everyone is welcome (walk/ins included!) If you have questions or want to plot, feel free to add me on Plurk at pantheraliam))

Comments

[hightouch]

[After a second of hesitation, Shouyou trails after him. To anyone unfamiliar with them, the scene isn't an odd one: two high school boys in clothes meant for sports, heading into a locker room. To anyone who is, Shouyou's heavy silence as they walk is a dead giveaway.

Once they're in the locker room, Shouyou sits on one of the wooden benches, dropping his bag to the ground. Then, he looks up at Iwaizumi expectantly, his gaze sharp enough to cut. Okay, we're here, his eyes say. Now talk.]

[bluecastleace]

[Iwaizumi takes in a heavy breath, returning Hinata’s sharp look with one his own as he takes a seat on the bench a few feet away from him - really, it’s nothing in comparison though. The way Hinata stares at Iwaizumi is enough to threaten his body with chills. What is with this little freak?]

Alright. Now don’t go running for the door again as soon as I open my mouth again, got it? [His tone is firm, but he doesn’t wait for Hinata to acknowledge it.]

We’re in a place called the Void - the people here call it the Void, like I said, but it’s all half-done. It doesn’t really have a name.

It’s a place made from our memories - the buildings, the animals, even shit like the weather and the sky. [He gestures around the locker room then, his eyes still firmly holding Hinata’s gaze.]

This gym is from mine.

There are a whole bunch of people here from all sorts of worlds, and not just humans. There are aliens, robots, even dragons - and no, I’m not crazy. You’ll see them for yourself soon enough.

[He takes another deep breath then as his eyes finally drop to the bench between them.]

I’ve been here for I don’t know how long. At least a month I’m guessing. Time doesn’t work here like it should. [His eyes go back up to Hinata then.] You’re the first person that I can tell comes from where I come from, and sure as hell the only one I’ve seen before.

You and me. That’s it.

[hightouch]

[This--all of this--isn't exactly what Shouyou wants to hear, considering he's essentially stuck here, if he's understanding Iwaizumi correctly.

And yet, something in his anger seems to dissolve, two main emotions conflicting inside him for a second before leaving behind a look of childish awe, like he hadn't just been glaring at Iwaizumi just now.]

There are dragons here? [It's asked softly, voice hushed, like the answer might change if he raises his voice.] And aliens?

[And then the frown returns, not quite as severe as it was minutes ago.]

Wait...a month? That can't be right. If you've been missing that long, we would've heard something by now!

[bluecastleace]

[Listen, dragons are exciting (Oikawa would probably be more jazzed about the aliens), so Iwaizumi doesn’t really judge Hinata for shifting gears (though he does abandon that terrifying vigor pretty quickly), but when he makes his final point, something clicks for Iwa and his eyes go a little wide.]

Wait—- Then you haven’t? [Miyagi is a small place. This kid is right - surely there would have been a missing persons case put together by now if—-

[If what? If time were still moving back home without him? It had to be, right? Then again...]

Hey. Listen for a minute. You said you were taken from a Nationals match, right? [Oof. He hopes bringing that back up won’t ignite this weirdo’s little flame again. He moves on from the statement quickly.] That doesn’t seem right either.

When I showed up, you were getting ready to face off with Shiratorizawa and that bastard Ushiwaka. The timeline doesn’t make sense, right?

[So then it is true. That means—- Ugh, his head hurts.]

Hold on, kid. This could be good news.

[hightouch]

[Now, Shouyou might not have the patience for math, but even he can see that things don't add up here, like Iwaizumi's pointed out.]

But the Shiratorizawa match was at the end of October. It's January now! Or...it was for me. And I saw Kindaichi and Kunimi just a couple weeks ago... There's no way they would've kept quiet about this!

[He groans, burying his hands in his hair.]

None of this makes sense! Does this mean no one's going to notice if we're gone?!

[bluecastleace]

You’re not getting it, kid. [Not the full extent of it anyway. Iwaizumi tries to reestablish eye contact, to connect with this kid long enough that he can make him understand.]

If time back home isn’t moving on without us, then that means no one’s missing us, and we’re not missing out. [Get it yet? That means he won’t be wasting his last few months of high school trapped in another dimension while Oikawa goes nuts looking for him and/or thinking he’s abandoned him, and for Hinata, that means...] Wouldn’t that make your Nationals match safe, kid?

You’re right. If I were missing, you would have heard about it, which means I’m not and neither are you. Get it?

[hightouch]

[He does get it. He really does. It's just taking a little longer to sink in because it seems too good to be true.

Shouyou scoots closer, sliding across the bench to close the distance between them. This time, when he reaches out, it's tentative, searching for comfort rather than confrontation.]

You...really think that? [He stares up at Iwaizumi, painful hope written all over his face.] It's... that easy. No one's gonna freak out about us being gone. And... I'll get a chance to stand on that court again?

[bluecastleace]

[Iwaizumi’s face reflects painful hope right back at Hinata, though he probably does a better job at hiding it. He doesn’t try to pry the kid away this time, only sighs.]

I hope so, kid. I mean that, I really do.

[Because yes, this kid is part of the team that took away his chance at Nationals, and no, he doesn’t know him, but he does know how it feels to be trapped here, how hopeless and terrifying and overwhelming it was at first, and it continues to be. He doesn’t hold any ill will toward Hinata in this moment - if anything, he just wants to make this transition easier for him, as painless as possible.]

You got a name, Number 10?

I’m Seijoh’s ace, like you said. [It’s hard to catch, just barely there, but Hinata isn’t imagining things if he can hear a slight wavering in Iwaizumi’s voice when he says that.] Hajime Iwaizumi.

[hightouch]

It's Hinata! Shouyou Hinata!

[Even if Iwaizumi isn't positive about the way time works in this place, it's enough to give Shouyou hope. Enough to calm the storm that's been raging in him since he first thought he'd lost his chance at seeing the rest of Nationals through with his team. It's something he can cling onto.

And apparently, it's enough to make all the wariness finally retreat, leaving just the pep that Iwaizumi had probably expected from the beginning. Though, that bright smile dims when he catches that waver in Iwaizumi's voice and other implications begin to sink in.]

Oh. Iwaizumi-san... that means you've been here by yourself this whole time.

[bluecastleace]

[Iwaizumi flusters a little at the response, a stubborn frown overtaking his face.]

Yeah, what of it? [He doesn’t mean to sound defensive, but try as he might to hold himself together, it’s almost impossible to hide the emotion behind his eyes as he speaks.

[He’s been alone, yes, and it’s been hard - beyond hard. Truth be told, even though he doesn’t know this kid, even though all this kid really is to him is Karasuno’s Number 10, seeing him immediately ignited such an overwhelming spark of hope in him that Iwaizumi now feels like he’s about to crumble with relief. He turns his face away when his eyes start stinging, and stubbornly (and quickly), runs a hand over them, forcing a lump down in his throat.

[He has to suck in a sharp breath before turning back, face steeled again, expression hard, but...soft all the same, somehow.]

Like I said, it’s just you and me now, so...

We oughta stick together, okay?

[It feels more like a plea for Hinata not to leave him, because he’s the closest thing he has to home, but he hope that desperation doesn’t show through.]

I can show you where I stay. And you’re welcome to it if you want.

[hightouch]

[In that moment, Iwaizumi easily cements himself into Shouyou's life, becoming a fixture that Shouyou is all too grateful for after the scare he's just had. His family nor his teammates might not be here with him, but Iwaizumi's proven himself to be just as reliable, just as kind in the face of Shouyou's temper.]

Nothing... it's like you said. We should stick together. [It's a simple answer for such a complicated situation. But Shouyou feels a pang as he watches Iwaizumi struggle with his emotions, feeling terrible about having likely made everything worse.

Tentatively, he reaches for Iwaizumi again, just a light, sincere press of his hands around the ace's for a moment. It's only fair that he give some comfort back, when Iwaizumi's done his best to talk Shouyou around.]

If we stick together, that means neither of us will be alone. [Anymore, like Iwaizumi's been for the last month.]

[bluecastleace]

[Iwaizumi let’s his hands rest in Shoyo’s for only a moment before his pride makes him pull them away again and cast his eyes off toward the wall. Even so, he nods. He can’t deny the value of that, not being alone. It’s not as if he hasn’t made friends since coming here, and it’s not as if he doesn’t care for them, but having someone from home, it’s just...different.

[He turns back to Hinata, expression even but unable to force a smile.]

Come on, then. Let me show you around. It’s a lot to take in at first, but you’ll need to know how to get from place to place.