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Tooru grinned excitedly as he leap ed out past the back door, paying no attention to the words his mother was saying about staying in the yard and not talking to strangers. He wasn’t a child anymore and knew just how to take care of himself. But more importantly, there was a particular stranger that he was dying to talk to.
Skipping to the fence, Tooru peeked between the slats and grinned even more widely as he saw the dark-haired little boy already sitting out on the grass, piles of blocks around him as he studiously worked on building a little town. The sounds of people moving boxes into the house and shouting instructions to each other floated out in the warm summer air, and Tooru took a deep breath before racing over to grab his outdoor volleyball. It was a bit more plastic ky than his nice indoor ball, one that could take the abuse of hours of sun and even rain so that he could be free to practice and play anytime he wanted to.
His parents had gotten a little worried that their son was maybe getting a bit obsessed with a game that neither of them had even heard of before Tooru’s school advertised an elementary volleyball training camp, but they hadn’t been able to convince him to turn his attention to anything else. He’d always been an odd boy with unusual fixations, so they ended up deciding that at least finding interest in a sport would keep him fit and healthy. It was also proving to be less destructive than his obsession with aliens and creating a spaceship in the backyard.
“Aliens are real,” Tooru muttered to himself, something of a self-comforting mechanism. Being odd meant that he didn’t really have friends, so he’d taken to talking to himself. “And I’ll work on making a rocket again once I get a little better at this.”
He’d fallen in love with volleyball from the moment he stepped into the gym for the training camp and saw some of the older children fooling around. Tooru desperately wanted to be good at it, but practicing by himself in the backyard had its limitations and he wasn’t improving as quickly as he wanted.
Another glance to the fence reminded him of his mission, and Tooru snatched the volleyball up before running back to the fence. He made sure that the boy was still focused on his toys before tossing up the ball a few times and trying to pass it to himself. He was still sloppy, but good enough to keep it in a close enough range that he wasn’t running all over the yard like he used to. Smiling to himself, Tooru glanced through the fence and saw that the boy didn’t seem the least bit interested in the sounds from Tooru’s yard, so a decision was quickly made.
Tossing the ball up high, Tooru let it bounce badly on his outstretched arms, sailing over the fence and in the direction of the neighbor. Unfortunately, the ball landed directly on the boy, and he squawked in surprise and indignation while knocking his towers over.
“Hey!” he shouted in annoyance.
Tooru immediately leaped up on the fence, pulling himself up enough to look up over it. “Sorry!” he yelled, even though he couldn’t keep the smile off of his face. “I didn’t mean to hit you!”
The boy looked up at Tooru with the deepest frown Tooru had ever seen on a child’s face before and it made him smile even more widely. The other boy was cute, in a kind of feral way, and Tooru suffered the burning muscles in his arms a little longer just so that he could study the face and features more.
“Well, you should be careful,” the boy bit back with authority.
He stood to his feet effortlessly and Tooru could see the numerous scrapes and bandages along his knees and shins. The boy grabbed the ball and easily tossed it back over the fence.
“What’s your name?” Tooru asked, his voice slightly strained as he struggled to keep himself up.
The boy frowned deeply again, his eyebrows pinching quite deeply. It was rather impressive.
“Why do you wanna know?”
Tooru’s arms gave out and he slid down to his side of the fence with a huff. “We’re neighbors!” he explained through the slats as he panted and rubbed at his arms. “And we look like we’re close to the same age! I wanna be friends!”
“How old are you?” the boy demanded.
“I’m ten!” Tooru announced proudly. “And you?”
The boy mumbled a little before finally deciding that it would be okay to share the information. “I’m ten too,” he admitted and Tooru cheered loudly. “Hey, calm down, you dummy! It’s not that big of a deal.”
“You’re going to be at my school!” Tooru explained, already wondering if they would be placed in the same class once the summer break was over. “So what’s your name?!” Tooru jumped up on the fence again and hooked his chin over the edge as he glanced at the boy.
Those dark eyes seemed to be studying him just as intently. “Iwaizumi Hajime,” he stated slowly, as if still harboring some misgivings.
“My name is Oikawa Tooru! Wanna play some volleyball?”
“No,” Iwaizumi responded flatly, and Tooru immediately began whining.
“Why not?! Come on, I can teach you! It’s really fun!!!”
“I’m building a city!” Iwaizumi huffed as he crossed his arms over his chest. “Godzilla needs something to destroy. He’s been cooped up in a box for too long ‘cause of this move.”
After fruitlessly arguing for a few minutes, Tooru had to admit defeat and went in search of his ball again while Iwaizumi returned to building his cityscape. It was disappointing to not have inspired instant love in a sport that was important to him, but Tooru supposed that he just had to try a little harder. Having a neighbor kid be his age was great, but it would be even better if they could play and improve together.
And maybe they could even become friends.
It was with this very thought that Tooru decided to knock the ball over the fence again. Iwaizumi yelled in annoyance again and Tooru bounced over to pull himself up in the fence to see the skinny boy chasing after the ball. H owever, h e didn’t expect the boy to turn around with ball in hand before launching it directly into his face, knocking him back over the fence with a cry.
There were shouts from the adults in the house, and soon enough both boys were meeting in front of the Oikawa house with their parents apologizing and urging their boys to sort things out in a friendly manner. Iwaizumi was red with embarrassment and Tooru held a handkerchief to his still bleeding nose.
In that moment, neither of the boys could fathom that it wouldn’t take long for them to become good friends or that they would both actually join a prestigious volleyball program. They couldn’t see the many years together ahead – the fun, determination, frustration, silliness, devastation, and love.
“It’s hard to control the ball when it’s just me practicing, Iwa-chan,” Tooru insisted, not deterred by the presence of their parents in the conversation.
“We’re so sorry,” his parents, started, already knowing how insistent their son could be.
“Fine,” the young Iwaizumi huffed, his thin arms crossing over his chest. “If it’s that hard, then I can help you practice. Just stop knocking my towers over, okay?”
“I will, Iwa-chan!!!”
The boy grimaced, almost in pain. “And don’t call me that.”
“Okay, Iwa-chan!”