ONLY ME || Haikyuu x Male

CHAPTER TWO

The school day couldn't go by fast enough. All throughout his classes, Ren was bouncing his leg and chewing on his lower lip in anticipation of what was to come. His tryouts for the volleyball club were today, and he'd spent a majority of the prior afternoon practicing. He couldn't fail. Not today.

As the bell rang, signifying the end of his very last class, Ren gathered up his belongings before bolting out the door, nearly running over five people in the process. He barely stopped to apologize before moving on, racing down towards the gymnasium. He wasn't about to be late, not by a single second. He practically fell down the steps and he collided with the gym door, shoving it open as he tumbled in.

"Woah! Someone's excited."

Ren froze at the sound of the gentle voice that addressed him. With slow, stiff movements, he looked up at Sugawara, his eyes widening. All of a sudden, it felt like his tongue was dry and he couldn't speak. He could feel his hands, no, his whole body trembling as he stood face to face with the very one that he'd hurt.

"S-Sugawara-senpai."

That kind smile, it was one of forgiveness. Forgiveness that Ren absolutely did not deserve. He bit down on his bottom lip, bruising it, and he swiftly turned away, hurrying past Sugawara to the locker rooms to change. His head was whirling, and he felt strangely numb. Too numb. Almost as numb as he did on the court, unattuned to the world around him. He changed out of his uniform robotically, setting his stuff down and pulling up his knee pads out of instinct. There were no thoughts to guide his actions. Nothing to keep him out of his mind.

"Ren! There you are!"

His head snapped up and he whipped around, coming face to face with Nishinoya. "Sugawara-san said that you went in here and you looked like you had seen a ghost, and I wanted to check up on you."

Ren sighed, running his fingers through his black and gold hair. "Yeah. I'm fine. I just...I guess I'm not quite ready to face Sugawara-senpai after what I did to him."

He hadn't been prepared for the hug that Noya pulled him into, and with their difference in height, his friend had his arms around his abdomen. But still, it felt nice, and slowly but surely, he wrapped his arms around Noya too.

"Hey, it's okay. Suga-san's okay. There's no lasting damage. It's a thing of the past now, Ren. Please don't worry about it too much."

"Oh, Yu. I wish it were that easy."

+++++

Daichi appeared in the gym after Ren had finished warming up. He had the rest of the Karasuno boy's volleyball team in tow, along with the coach.

"Ren! You're here pretty early."

"Ah-yes, captain! I wanted to get started as soon as possible, so I got here right after school to start stretching!" Ren spoke enthusiastically, and Daichi smiled in response.

"I see. Well, I'll let Coach take it from here." The blonde man stepped forward, tugging a cigarette out of his lips.

"Daichi told me more about you. I hear that you're an all-rounder, correct?"

Small gasps emerged from a few of the strangers behind the coach-first years, presumably, and Ren nodded. "Yes. I play all positions equally well, but my favorites would be wing-spiker and setter."

"I see. Well, I've watched tapes of your past games, and it's not your skill that I'm testing today. No, you're a damn good player, and could possibly be ranked nationally some day. Today, I'm testing your cooperation skills. You'll be playing a scrimmage, and I'll put you on a team with some of these guys, and you'll play against some of the others. And I'll see how it goes from there. Understand?"

Ren surveyed the crowd behind the coach, each one of the players staring at him with keen interest. "Yes. I understand. Who will I be on a team with?"

"Sugawara. Tsukishima. Tanaka. Yamaguchi. Ennoshita. You'll be playing as a wing-spiker, and you're playing against Kageyama, Hinata, Daichi, Asahi, Kinoshita, and Narita. Nishinoya will act as a libero on that team." Coach Ukai pointed at each person as he named them, and Ren followed his gestures. Tsukishima and Yamaguchi must be first-years. He hadn't seen them before. Tanaka and Ennoshita were in the same year as him, and Sugawara...

"Alright. Get in your team!"

The five members of Ren's team shuffled over to him, most of them smiling.

"Ren! It's good to play with you again!" Tanaka spoke brightly, slinging an arm around his shoulder.

"Yes! We've missed being on the same team as you!" Ennoshita smiled, and though he wasn't as openly excited as Tanaka, Ren thought that he could feel the same energy radiating from the two, and he couldn't help smiling as well.

But his smile dropped a little as Sugawara approached, and Tanaka and Ennoshita backed off to give them both some space. Ren swallowed, turning his gaze down to the floor, feeling his skin prickle as the third-year stood before him, simply watching him. Then, he felt a hand reach up and sift through his hair, giving him a pat on the head, and he looked up at Sugawara in surprise. The silver-haired boy was smiling, and his touch was gentle.

"I forgive you, Hasegawa. Please, do not feel like you should act any differently around me. I heard that you improved, and that's all that matters. Not what your past was."

Ren stared Sugawara down. He wasn't quite ready to forgive himself yet, but maybe. Just maybe, he could relax. Just for a little while.

"Thank you, Sugawara-senpai. I won't let you down!"

+++++

Ren followed his teammates as they huddled, and Sugawara began directing them.

"Here's what we'll do. I'm the setter, Tsukishima, and Yamaguchi are middle blockers, and Hasegawa, Ennoshita, and Tanaka are wing-spikers. Me, Tsukishima, and Tanaka will start off in the front, while Hasegawa, Ennoshita, and Yamaguchi will be in the back. Got it?"

Everyone nodded and they dispersed, taking their places on the court. Ren situated himself in the left back, looking down at the shiny wooden floors, his black and white volleyball shoes planted firmly on the ground.

Finally, he was standing where he belonged again.