Major Tags: none Other Tags: spoiler alert! also, oh my god, im sorry? im very passionate about futakuchi specifically Word Count: 694
wow. this was. ??
***
Tooru is barely one when his cousin Kenji is born.
Kenji’s mom is his mom’s sister - and their moms are close. They live within train distance of each other, meet often for holiday, and even for birthdays.
Tooru is five when they first meet, and he doesn’t like the way his cousin’s face is chubby, or the way he laughs, or the way he manages to take his mom’s attention from him. More importantly, he doesn’t like how Kenji trails around behind him, a smile on his face and fingers grabbing at his shirt.
He is not endeared. Not at all. Not by Kenji’s little giggles when someone pokes him, or his peals of laughter when he’s tickled. Much more, he is not endeared by the fact that Kenji wants to do volleyball because his cool cousin wants to.
( He is definitely endeared. )
Tooru and Kenji grow apart, quite understandably. They drift away as they go to different schools, and as they make their own friends. Tooru finds a boy named Iwaizumi Hajime, who torments him with bugs and other gross stuff, but Hajime still supports him even if he’s a little rough.
Kenji, on the other hand, has always been a chatterbox, and talks off poor Aone Takanobu’s head, but Takanobu is a good listener, and so he doesn’t mind. Takanobu likes volleyball too, and he likes it when Kenji gets excited about things, because he gets a gleam in his eye and his smile reaches farther.
Tooru knows that Kenji is good at volleyball, but they never meet in tournaments in primary school. They see each other from across the gymnasium, but never across the court.
Tooru goes to Aoba Jousei, because their volleyball team is very good, and because that’s where Hajime wants to go too. It’s close to their homes, as well, so it’s pretty convenient too. He’s not in love with the uniform - the pants go against every law of fashion he believes in, but … Seijou is a good school. And he’s the district’s best setter. With Hajime, they’ll be unstoppable.
( They aren’t. Shiratorizawa stops them in their tracks. )
Kenji, on the other hand, goes to Date Kougyou because Takanobu is going. And Datekou has a good volleyball team - but in all the different ways. Their blocking rate is unbelievable, and both he and Takanobu are tall. They’re good blockers - Takanobu especially. They tell themselves they’re going to take the tournament circuit by storm.
( They’re working on it. )
They meet in the Spring High and it’s bittersweet. They both want to win so bad, and yet, only one of them can walk off the court. Tooru is proud, a little, of how much his baby cousin has grown in the years, but he is also determined to win. This is his last chance to make it to Nationals with Hajime, and he is going to win.
It frustrates the both of them - and yet, there is no regret or hatred in their hearts when Seijou wins. But it is still such a bitter, bitter feeling, to win against someone he has known all his life.
( They have never been particularly close, but Kenji asked for help on how to lead, how to play better, how to do better, and the fact that he asked Tooru touched his heart. )
Tooru swears that they will beat Karasuno and Shiratorizawa, because not only is it his goal, but because it is also for his younger cousin, who works so hard to be half as good as Ushijima.
( It does not happen that way. Tooru is left with too many regrets, too many tears, and a dream that can no longer be a reality. )
He is done with volleyball now. He still practices with his team, but his time in secondary school volleyball is over. If he indulges his cousin in practice matches, and gives him advice he didn’t know he needed, well, that’s another thing. Kenji has another year to go, and his cousin is strong and determined. He doesn’t have a behemoth like Ushijima standing in his way, and if Tooru can help his cousin reach Nationals - well, that’s enough.
FILL: TEAM PRINCE OF TENNIS, G
Other Tags: spoiler alert! also, oh my god, im sorry? im very passionate about futakuchi specifically
Word Count: 694
wow. this was. ??
***
Tooru is barely one when his cousin Kenji is born.
Kenji’s mom is his mom’s sister - and their moms are close. They live within train distance of each other, meet often for holiday, and even for birthdays.
Tooru is five when they first meet, and he doesn’t like the way his cousin’s face is chubby, or the way he laughs, or the way he manages to take his mom’s attention from him. More importantly, he doesn’t like how Kenji trails around behind him, a smile on his face and fingers grabbing at his shirt.
He is not endeared. Not at all. Not by Kenji’s little giggles when someone pokes him, or his peals of laughter when he’s tickled. Much more, he is not endeared by the fact that Kenji wants to do volleyball because his cool cousin wants to.
( He is definitely endeared. )
Tooru and Kenji grow apart, quite understandably. They drift away as they go to different schools, and as they make their own friends. Tooru finds a boy named Iwaizumi Hajime, who torments him with bugs and other gross stuff, but Hajime still supports him even if he’s a little rough.
Kenji, on the other hand, has always been a chatterbox, and talks off poor Aone Takanobu’s head, but Takanobu is a good listener, and so he doesn’t mind. Takanobu likes volleyball too, and he likes it when Kenji gets excited about things, because he gets a gleam in his eye and his smile reaches farther.
Tooru knows that Kenji is good at volleyball, but they never meet in tournaments in primary school. They see each other from across the gymnasium, but never across the court.
Tooru goes to Aoba Jousei, because their volleyball team is very good, and because that’s where Hajime wants to go too. It’s close to their homes, as well, so it’s pretty convenient too. He’s not in love with the uniform - the pants go against every law of fashion he believes in, but … Seijou is a good school. And he’s the district’s best setter. With Hajime, they’ll be unstoppable.
( They aren’t. Shiratorizawa stops them in their tracks. )
Kenji, on the other hand, goes to Date Kougyou because Takanobu is going. And Datekou has a good volleyball team - but in all the different ways. Their blocking rate is unbelievable, and both he and Takanobu are tall. They’re good blockers - Takanobu especially. They tell themselves they’re going to take the tournament circuit by storm.
( They’re working on it. )
They meet in the Spring High and it’s bittersweet. They both want to win so bad, and yet, only one of them can walk off the court. Tooru is proud, a little, of how much his baby cousin has grown in the years, but he is also determined to win. This is his last chance to make it to Nationals with Hajime, and he is going to win.
It frustrates the both of them - and yet, there is no regret or hatred in their hearts when Seijou wins. But it is still such a bitter, bitter feeling, to win against someone he has known all his life.
( They have never been particularly close, but Kenji asked for help on how to lead, how to play better, how to do better, and the fact that he asked Tooru touched his heart. )
Tooru swears that they will beat Karasuno and Shiratorizawa, because not only is it his goal, but because it is also for his younger cousin, who works so hard to be half as good as Ushijima.
( It does not happen that way. Tooru is left with too many regrets, too many tears, and a dream that can no longer be a reality. )
He is done with volleyball now. He still practices with his team, but his time in secondary school volleyball is over. If he indulges his cousin in practice matches, and gives him advice he didn’t know he needed, well, that’s another thing. Kenji has another year to go, and his cousin is strong and determined. He doesn’t have a behemoth like Ushijima standing in his way, and if Tooru can help his cousin reach Nationals - well, that’s enough.