Chapter Text
Chapter 1 - A challenge
Behind every strong man
stands a strong woman.
Kageyama Tobio let out another long yawn before he glanced at his watch. 21:36. He was very late for dinner. Quietly he hoped that his sister had left him a good amount of food for him to eat. His sister. A student of Shiratorizawa Academy. The same school Ushijima Wakatoshi went to. He grinded his teeth from frustration. Today, while doing sprint training, him and Hinata had gotten lost and crossed paths with the Ace of Shiratorizawa Academy, and even followed him to the school. They had challenged him and the tingling feeling of excitement was still present in his body. That guy represented Japan in the U19 Youth World Championship. If they could beat him, they would be climbing up the ladder even higher. Soon he reached the gate of his home. Upstairs the lights were shining through the curtains of his sister's bedroom. She was probably still studying. An elite school like Shiratorizawa demanded high grades. He unlocked the door and stepped into the warm corridor.
“I'm home.” he called and heard footprints approach from upstairs.
While he was untying the shoelaces of his trainers, the footsteps came down the stairs and approached him. When he looked up he met the friendly face of his sister.
“Tobio-kun, welcome back.” she greeted him simply, but with a fond smile.
He stood and look down at her, smiling back. Since the last year of junior high, he had grown beyond her height. She was short with her 165 cm height but he knew Hinata, who was about the same height, if not shorter. Kageyama and his sister shared the same dark blue eyes, but otherwise, they were very different. She had brown, wavy hair while his was straight and black, her lips were a little bigger, her nose smaller, covered sparsely with freckles and she was smarter. It was no wonder she was accepted into the academy, a prideful moment for their mother. If you excelled in sports you had a ticket but otherwise they wanted excellent grades. It had angered him that he hadn't been accepted but she had told him about a great trainer from Karasuno and then he applied there. Throughout his life, his sister had supported him in any way she could. Even today, despite her studies, she gave him her time.
“How was your training?” she asked.
She always asked. She always wanted to know how he was doing.
“As usual. We went for a run in the afternoon and we met a guy from your school.” he told her, with a mischievous grin.
She raised an eyebrow.
“From Shiratorizawa Academy?” she wondered. “Did you get lost?”
He jolted and pouted. She knew him too well.
“We just ran a little further than the others.” he mumbled.
“I see.” she nodded. “So who was it?”
“Ushijima Wakatoshi. He is the ace of the volleyball club.” he said as he walked into the kitchen.
Tamiko followed him in silence as he spoke.
“He said Oikawa-san was a better setter then me. I'm going to prove him wrong.” he continued.
“Well, good luck with that.” she smiled and patted his shoulder. “I know that training is important but you need to eat as well.” she told him and went to the cupboard to get him a plate.
“Yeah.” he agreed and went to the stove to see what she made.
Curry. His favourite. He filled his plate with the food and sat by the dinner table, while Tamiko drank a glass of water.
“Oh yeah, our team has been invited to the summer training camp of the Fukurodani Academy Group. We will train with Nekoma, Fukurodani, Ubugawa, and Shinzen.” he explained with excitement.
“That’s the Kanto region, isn't it?” she noted.
“Yeah, we will stay there for a week.” he nodded.
“I see. Then I hope your studies are going well.” she said as she took another gulp of water.
He flinched but didn’t say a word.
“So what will the next Tournament be?” she asked.
“Spring Tournament.”
She nodded to herself and looked over at the calendar. It was July and the summer holidays would start soon. The Spring Tournament would be the last game of the school year, the last for many third years.
“I think I might go and watch your matches.” she said and his eyes shot up.
“You will?” he beamed.
“I’ll try but I can't promise anything.” she told him. “Shiratorizawa will most likely end up in the finals so I’ll watch that match.”
He grinned to himself. This gave him even more motivation to get into the finals. Tamiko had never seen any official matches since he had entered high school.
“Spring Tournament.” he said. “You will be there.”
“Yeah.” she smiled.
He tried to hide his excitement but failed miserably, making a strange expression which she knew all too well. Satisfied and full of motivation he took a spoonful of curry.
“Argh, that’s hot.” he hissed.
“Tobio-kun, you’re are too hasty when you are excited.” she laughed.
“Sorry.”
She smiled. When she finished her drink she stood.
“I’ll be upstairs. Remember to wash the dishes.”
“Okay.”
After finishing his meal he washed the dishes and went upstairs. He paused in the corridor and gazed at his sister's bedroom door. After a soft knock a opened the door. Her room was bright with lots of charts and posters on her wall, all for the purpose of learning. Tamiko was sitting by her desk, in a painfully looking lotus position, writing down notes while wearing her headset for music.
“Hey sis, can I come in?” he asked.
She looked up and took off her headset, after setting down her pen.
“Sure. What's wrong?” she wondered.
He walked in, closed the door and sat down on her bed.
“What do you know about the volleyball club from your school?” he asked.
“A lot.” she shrugged. “Two of the boys are in the same class as me.” she said as she pointed at three photos on her desk.
Tobio stood and looked closely at the images. They were of the first, second and third year. He found his sister straight away, short brown curls and glasses. In the second year her hair was longer and the glasses gone. In the third year she didn't look much different from today. His eyes scanned the faces on the photo when he found one that he immediately recognised.
“You are in the same class as Ushijima?” he asked.
“As much as it pains me.” she sighed.
“You don't like him?” Tobio wondered.
From what he could tell, Ushijima was a strong volleyball player who was probably very popular with the girls. But he had no idea what his sisters type was. She never had been in a relationship. A dislike towards the popular boys had always been present in her.
“Remember when I came home with that big bruise in my face?” she asked.
He thought back.
“Yeah.” he nodded.
Back then she had never mentioned how she had received that bruise, having been hot tempered every time he asked.
“That was from Ushijima’s spike. Bounced off the ground and hit me in the face.” she explained.
Tobio’s eyes widened. A lot of power had to be in that spike to leave such a bruise after the ball had bounced off the ground.
“He is a lefty. Your libero will have fun with him.” she grinned.
“Nishinoya can handle anything.” he noted proudly.
“I hope so. If your team beats those boys in the Spring Tournament I will buy you a new pair of trainers.” she offered.
“Really? You mean it?” he asked to make sure he heard right.
“Yeah.” she smiled. “You deserve something for hard work.”
Tobio’s face beamed with excitement and happiness. He loved his sister. She was always there for him, supporting him, comforting him, struggling with him and succeeding with him. He had her as his foundation and if anything would happen to her, he would shatter.