Chapter Text
The screaming was magnificent.
Even in the tunnels, its resonation was so loud that any normal person would have clamped their ears shut. Especially with people like Bokuto and Hinata around, chances of escaping any racket were simply non-existent.
They had been waiting for a while now, all crammed up like sardines in this hallway that looked like it hadn’t even been made to hold this amount of people, and Yaku couldn’t see shit. Apart from the fact that he barely reached the shoulders of most athletes around him, it was poorly lit, making Atsumu’s nose about as far as his gaze could reach (and he actually used Yaku’s shoulder as support to stay on his feet). After countless of tries to bite him in his arm, Yaku had eventually stopped making any effort to scare him away. Something told him that Atsumu actually thought bitemarks were kind of sexy and it probably wouldn’t take much for him to start making very accusing and very wrong comments about it.
In any case, being surrounded by normal people had never stopped him before and therefore it probably wouldn’t be a bad idea to be a bit wary around him. Unpredictable people were…well unpredictable and thus possibly dangerous. Even though they were connecting just fine on the court, Yaku still hadn’t figured out yet which of Atsumu’s strings were safe enough to pull.
Usually, that was the task of Sakusa Kiyoomi, the tall, black curled figure that was standing on Yaku’s other side. Without a doubt, his wrists were the nastiest ones on their team and it had taken Yaku quite some time to get used to his spin.
However, right now, the guy seemed like he’d run away if not for the tons of people blocking the way they had come in. They were all wearing masks, but Sakusa was by far the most experienced with them and thus, over the years, Yaku had become an expert in reading his expression even whenever 90% of his face was covered. The narrowing of his eyes, quite like he did at the moment, was only reserved for the moments he wanted to pierce his way through the concrete, hopefully to a place that would be way less crowded. Otherwise, the cold dark earth just had to make do.
Yaku felt a sting of pity for him. For someone who absolutely despised crowds, this hallway was the definition of a nightmare and with the rate they had been going, it wasn’t hard to guess that their wait was far from over.
Though, what else would you expect when you were the last of the 206 countries present? 206 countries, even if there were only 30 seconds between each, it would still take more than 1.5 hours to give them all a go.
Fortunately, they didn’t have to report themselves at the very beginning of the opening ceremony, because then Yaku would have been sure his feet would have fallen off by the time they were allowed to climb the stairs. Unlike Sakusa, he didn’t really mind the waiting- it just would have been better if there had been something other than the second- (third/fourth/fifth/tenth/hundredth) hand air that they had been passing around ever since they had entered the tunnel that would eventually lead them to the inside of the arena.
This wasn’t Yaku’s first time at the Olympics. Four years ago, he had just been accepted by the National Men’s Volleyball Team of Japan and in the nick of time, he had been allowed to travel to Rio with the rest of his teammates.
Although, it had also been because of this close call that the only time he had been allowed to touch the orange court was during the warm-ups. There had been two other libero’s on the team with much more experience and thus he had only been able to make himself useful by handing out towels and drinks, and by cheering on the ones who were actually in the lineup.
This time, on the other hand, things were different.
This time, he was the more experienced one and together with his closest teammate Komori, he would be the guardian deity of Japan. It was an honour that he was barely able to describe. He was excited, thrilled, and to be honest, also a bit nervous. At the Olympics, everything was just so much bigger. They weren’t just talking about National competition anymore. With these guys, he would be taking on the best of the whole world. Each team had earned their place here, one way or another, and Yaku could barely wait to take them on. Their first game against Venezuela still felt so far away.
‘I THINK WE’RE MOVING AGAIN,’ Atsumu yelled as they were finally able to shuffle forward a bit.
‘Oh, yes, a whole ten centimeters, how exciting.’ Sakusa’s voice could barely be heard in the clamour of the crowd, but Yaku could understand the aversion in his tone. How long had it been? 30 minutes? 45? When they had finally been able to enter the tunnel, probably all of them had thought that it would be their turn soon.
Looking back at that now, Yaku knew that it had been a stupid thought. The whole National Japanese team consisted of 557 athletes in total, so of course it would take a while to get them all in place. Losing their patience over the waiting was just a sign of not acknowledging reality. There was a reason that the opening ceremony took hours to be completed. No way that they could have gone in and out in with a snap of their fingers. Besides, a lot of people had been working their asses off to make this opening ceremony run as smoothly as possible, and thus it would be rude to complain. They just had to make do and enjoy themselves in this endless hallway that was too hot and reeked of sweat.
At the buzzing in his pocket, Yaku took out his phone and he smiled when he read the messages that had just come in.
[Mum]: First French athletes are coming up!!!
[Mum]: You better be waving to me or I’ll disown you
[Mum]: ENJOY IT SWEETHEART ❤
[Mum]: YOU WORKED SO HARD, YOU DESERVE IT!!!!!
Of course she had been sitting at the tv for the last three hours. On the way to the stadium, he had told her that Japan would be last in the parade and that it would thus be very long before she had a chance of seeing him in the crowd, but she had shut him down within an instant.
‘It’s not every time my son is on worldwide tv. I’m not going to watch some replay on my computer because I was sleeping. Your father already prepared the beamer and the whole family is invited.’
He had barely been able to stop himself from laughing when she recalled her adventure of making these preparations. His mother was probably even more excited than Bokuto and Hinata together and those two had been bouncing up and down ever since they had stepped foot on the bus. Even though he couldn’t see the two from here, he could still hear their pumped-up cries, almost making him feel sorry for the teammates that had to deal with them.
It wasn’t the first time he was glad that liberos couldn’t be team captains.
However, before Yaku could type his answer, Atsumu snatched his phone away and basically pressed his nose to the screen. Idiot had forgotten to put in his contacts this morning.
‘AW SWEET! YOUR MOTHER IS SUCH A SAINT.’
‘GIVE THAT BACK.’ Yaku reached to retrieve his phone, yet Atsumu just held it up and pushed him back down. Fortunately, Yaku had always been one for password protection, so it wasn’t like he could send all kinds of dirty replies, but apparently, that had never been his plan.
With an enjoying-the-chaos-and-I-don’t-care-about-your-discomfort grin, Atsumu used his thumb to open the camera app.
‘SMILE GUYS, OTHERWISE YOUR GRANDCHILDREN WILL THINK YOU’RE A SOURPUSS AND I WILL DEFINITELY NOT TELL THEM WRONG.’
Rolling his eyes, Yaku let himself be pushed into Wakatoshi, who stood behind them and raised his eyebrows at the screen Atsumu was holding up in front of him. Right before there was a blinding flash, he grinned in the most uncomfortable way Yaku had ever witnessed. Some people behind them -Yaku believed they were from the swimming team- raised their hands and let out excited yelling as the picture was taken. They had never officially met, but then standing cramped up in a hallway for half an hour together, actually did wonders for relationships.
It was the only reason why Yaku didn’t comment on the kiss that was planted in his curls before he finally got his phone back. Unlike some of the people here, he was smart enough to know that starting a ruckus when there was barely any room to move your ass around, was not the best idea.
‘Now if you don’t send this in the group I’ll show you some real biting,’ Atsumu half said/half whispered in his ear, which was answered by quite the slap against the back of his head. Nevertheless, it wasn’t Yaku who had delivered this very welcome gesture.
‘Omi-omi, why that.’ Rubbing over the sore spot, Atsumu pouted up at Sakusa, who just crossed his arms.
‘Taking pictures of people against their will, is against the law.’
‘You could have just said that, ya know!’ Atsumu followed his motion. It wouldn’t be the first time he did that just to mock him.
‘Would you have listened?’ Behind the curls that covered most of his forehead, Yaku could see Sakusa frowning.
‘Of course! I always listen to you.’
‘Then I just felt like slapping you.’
‘OMI-OMI.’ This was one of the reasons why Yaku found it hard to get a grip on the chaos called Atsumu. He was deceiving, to say the least. To outsiders, moments like these could easily create the impression that the guy was nothing more than a big baby. Honestly, most of the time he actually was.
However, there were also these moments that he was strangely…calm? Hungry, devious, tricky. Hadn’t the fox been Inarizaki’s spirit animal? Suna and Aran breathed the same kind of air whenever they played. It probably wasn’t a coincidence.
And then, there were just Kageyama, Komori, Hoshiumi, Hakuba, Kiryu and Hyakuzawa left. Those were also the ones Yaku was least familiar with. Kageyama Tobio, the other half of the KageHina duo, promising athlete ever since his junior high, and together with Atsumu he was the regular setter on the National team. From all the people here, he and Ushijima were the first ones that had been recruited. Ushijima was already playing in the World League by the time he was 19 years old. One year later, Kageyama joined and then Yaku not long after.
Kiryu and Hyakuzawa were huge, one their pinch server and the other still working on his overall skills (especially receiving). Hoshiumi and Hakuba were both incredible players, really easy to work with, but very quiet on the court. Outside the court, they were often seen together, working on whatever they still wanted or had to improve. They definitely were not as easily approachable as Yaku had initially thought.
But he was proud of them, of their whole team. These last weeks, they had put most of their effort in teaming up, since they were all so different and the results had been incredible. At the start of the training camp that had been the beginning of their Olympic journey together, it had been quite the challenge to let the motor run as smoothly as it did now. Most of them had known each other since high school of course, but in eight years, lots of things had changed. They had all made their own journey, broken through their own limits, and exceeded all the expectations. It was only natural that they had been forced to connect beyond their personal goals.
They were a team now and if there was a team that could win Japan’s first gold medal since the Olympics of 1972, it was this one. Not to be too confident, but Yaku trusted they were skilled enough. The only thing left to do was prove it.
It was this pride that accompanied him up the stairs when at long last, they got the clear to go. Everyone started moving all at once. After half an hour of standing trapped in the small corridor, Yaku hadn’t expected it was possible for his ears to get overwhelmed with even more noise, yet he was proven wrong the moment they started taking their first steps. He could hear Bokuto and Hinata scream from someplace in front of them. Atsumu promptly forgot his discussion with Sakusa and joined his fellow teammates in their hopping towards the exit. The swimming team announced themselves again by stumping the ground and pounding on the walls with their fists.
Yaku realised he would be lucky if he still would have functional ears after this.
However, this was exactly the place where he wanted to be. His stomach was basically coming out of his throat, but he was ecstatic. It was really happening right now. They were in the Olympic Stadium, about to walk in front of thousands of people present -not even counting the millions that were watching from their couch at home- and from all the athletes in Japan, they were chosen to represent the whole country. It was the biggest sports event in the world and they were actually allowed to be here.
Adrenaline was coursing through his veins like electricity. With every step he took, his feet became more visible and as the spotlights came into view, he felt the sudden need to grab someone’s hand. He didn’t care whose it was, someone had to pinch him to make sure he wasn’t dreaming. They weren’t standing in line for just some rollercoaster. These were the fucking Olympics!
Yaku felt himself getting more excited the closer they got. It was just unbelievable to actually be able to be here and if at that moment, someone would have asked him to describe what was going on inside of him, he wouldn’t have been able to find words accurate enough. His thoughts were slipping from his mind because he could only focus on the entrance above. They were so close now. They only needed to take a few more steps, which was absolutely nothing compared to the corridor they had just come from.
Next to him, Atsumu had started squealing like a pig and Sakusa wasn’t even in the mood to shut him up.
‘OMG LOOK AT HOW MANY PEOPLE THERE ARE! I BET EVERYTHING IS SOLD OUT!’
‘PLEASE TELL ME THERE’S NOTHING STUCK BETWEEN MY TEETH!’
‘WHAT?!’
‘I HAVE TO PEE SO BAD.’
‘I THINK I’M GONNA THROW UP, I HATE PEOPLE LOOKING AT ME.’
‘THE WHOLE REASON OF GYMNASTICS IS THAT YOU’RE BEING WATCHED, YOU IDIOT.’
‘SHUT UP, GYMNAS-‘
As they walked on, Yaku had no idea where the screams were coming from, because they were literally all around him. They were everywhere, though the moment he took the last step of the staircase and he was able to see past the giants in front of him, everything went completely quiet.
For just a second, his eyes were hit with the truth and he wasn’t able to do anything other than to take in the colossal stadium. His ears weren’t able to hear. His body wasn’t able to move.
The whole thing was insane.
Even Hyakuzawa, who was walking in front of him, was an ant in a building this big. In the tunnel, Yaku had barely been able to fit between Atsumu and Sakusa, but now, probably the whole volleyball team would be able to stand next to each other and they still wouldn’t be fully blocking the aisle that would lead them past the spectators.
Needless to say, he felt really really small.
‘ISN’T IT AMAZING.’
As his eyes finally started to adjust to the enormous size of his surroundings, Yaku noticed that his hearing had come back as well. He was bombarded with the screams of the ones around him, backed up by all the noise from the stands. People were screaming, yelling, waving with flags or just with their hands and the ones on the front row kept making noise by slamming against the add-boards. Somewhere in that crowd, his brothers must be watching him.
Yaku could imagine how his mother was bouncing through the room when she finally saw her son enter the stage. It would probably be a while before their neighbours felt safe enough to enjoy some tea together.
‘WE FUCKING MADE IT, YAKU!’
Since they finally had enough space to jump around without signing themselves or others up for any injuries, Yaku wasn’t surprised to see Komori making his way towards him. He put his arm around his shoulders and pulled him toward their teammates, who had somehow been able to keep walking upon their arrival.
‘We made it,’ Yaku repeated in return, slowly becoming aware of the definition of those words.
The more they sunk in, the wider his grin became.
‘WE FUCKING MADE IT KOMORI!’
He grabbed Komori by the shoulders as well and both of them started waving to all the people occupying the rings around them. 68,000 people, that was the capacity of this stadium (Bokuto had looked it up beforehand on their way here). 68,000 human beings that were watching as they followed the Japanese flag past the stands.
And everyone was so excited, athletes and spectators alike, that it was almost impossible to not be dragged along by it. It was highly contagious.
At some point, Yaku wasn’t able to feel the ground beneath his feet anymore. All these people, they lifted him up, higher than the clouds. He waved at as many cameras as possible -even though he had forgotten all about his mother’s threat- and he laughed when he noticed Bokuto doing some crazy improvised cartwheel.
As representatives of a country, they had to maintain at least some kind of composed image, and yet, that guy was probably the only one allowed to show his excitement like that. Bokuto was just Bokuto and despite the fact that he had learned a lot this past decade, he had never lost his fire. It was what drove him in volleyball and what melted all the hearts around him. Yaku knew he should have said something, but with the yelling that he had set in motion and the love that the crowd sent his way, for once he couldn’t bring himself to care. If even Kageyama allowed himself to blush in front of all these people, he could take a day off as well. He was having the time of his life and not a moment went by that he didn’t enjoy.
Eventually, they came across the stairs that led up to the Olympic fire, burning in a metal rose above them. The flames were bright yellow and gave a warm orange colour to the white petals around them. The fire was life, spirit, and made Yaku realise that this was exactly what had always guided him through his life. It was his own polestar, and now that he was able to see it in the flesh, one thing was certain.
He was home.
OLYMPIC GAMES - TOKYO – 2020
Since the opening ceremony had already been held at night and Venezuela would be waiting for them the next day, they had been ordered straight to bed the moment they arrived back at the hotel. No game was won beforehand, and therefore, they all needed to be well-rested and in the best condition possible. No one would put a question mark to that statement, though, if one would take a look in the bus that brought them back to the Japanese home base, it didn’t much look like a vehicle filled with focussed, Olympic athletes.
Ushijima Wakatoshi was literally the only one sitting in silence and looking out the window of the front row. The rest of them were all in the back, recalling every little detail their brain had been able to process during the ceremony.
For most part of the trip, Yaku found himself listening to Chibi-chan ramble on about the fireworks and how ‘‘superduperfreakingawesome’’ it had been (mind you, that was the fifth time he had used that specific combination of words). He hadn’t been talking much himself, but his whole body seemed electrified. The images of that night were constantly presenting themselves like electric shocks and if it hadn’t been for the dark sky above them, he would have never believed that it was already way past midnight.
He was high on euphoria and at least for now, he had no intention on ever coming down. He was sure he had never felt this good. They were energetic and invincible. This would be the best Olympics Japan had ever seen and they would be a part of it. It was a feeling in his gut that told him things were definitely looking up for them.
He didn’t want to brag or be too confident, but he was super excited and that felt like the best motivation a team could have. To join each other in the way up was probably the best feeling in the world and Yaku would give his everything to connect with his incredible friends.
They stayed at a hotel that was so big, that it could easily be called a skyscraper. Yaku figured it had at least 15 stores and it wasn’t even the tallest one in this area. Compared to the buildings further down the lane, this one could be considered small- maybe even the smallest of them all, though the dark made it hard to say for sure.
Nevertheless, the Japanese delegation apparently had the entire building to itself. From balconies to doors and windows, everything was covered with the Hinomaru, the circle of the sun, and signs of welcome. It was very impressive because if the ceremony had pushed reality down their throats, this decoration had a more silent way of telling them that this was their place to be. The celebration had hyped them up. The flags and arrows that guided them through the building, slowly helped them to come back down.
They were treated so warmly and kind, even at two in the morning, and Yaku absolutely loved it. Each of the sports teams was assigned a host, who would be accompanying them to all the different events this week and give them a tour through the Olympic Village, and Nika, the host of the men’s volleyball team, had such a warming smile, that even coach Hibarida loosened up a bit.
She led them to the elevator -which was so big that the whole team was able to fit in!!!- and pushed the button to the eighth floor. While explaining all about the underground tunnel to which all of the hotels were connected, she handed each of them a key card, which would allow them to enter their apartment on their own accord, and a flyer that apparently held all the important information. When Yaku took a quick look at the booklet, he noticed contact numbers, maps, schedules, and other stuff he just needed to take a little bit more time to study.
Because the elevator had ascended so smoothly, he had barely noticed the little pinging that notified them of their arrival. It wasn’t until Suna patted his shoulder, that he looked up and quickly followed his teammates to a wooden door just outside. With a swipe of Hakuba’s card, they were allowed to enter and since there were no other questions except for Bokuto’s ‘‘CAN WE TOUCH THE STARS FROM HERE?’’, they quickly thanked Nika for taking such good care of them. They bid her good night, nodded sheepishly when coach Hibarida commanded them to immediately crawl under their covers, and then retreated into the apartment.
Despite the fact that the whole building was simply gigantic, the inside was actually much bigger than Yaku had expected. They started of in a hallway, where the fourteen of them could all take their shoes off without having to enjoy the sight of someone else’s butt in their face. Beyond lay a corridor to which all of their bedrooms adjoined and which eventually debouched into a spacious common room. There were signs attached to each door and after carefully putting his shoes away, it was these that Ushijima pointed out.
‘We have all been assigned a room, so no use in debating who sleeps with who. Let’s go to bed and in twenty minutes I want it to be quiet here.’
Atsumu shook his head but grinned nonetheless. A bold spark twinkled in his eyes.
‘You’re no fun, Ushi-san.’
At this, Ushijima’s stone-cold face didn’t crack in the slightest and he pointed to the doors closest to them.
‘We are not here to have fun, Miya. We have to take good care of ourselves. Fortunately, you are blessed with the best roommate, who has no problem helping you out a bit.’
Thirteen pairs of eyes followed the line of his finger and there was a lot of snickering when the rest of the team found out that these two, in particular, had been teamed up together. For some reason, Yaku didn’t think it had entirely been a coincidence. Atsumu was known for his incredible ability to push exactly the wrong buttons and therefore the most reasonable choice would indeed be to pair him with someone who was completely his opposite. That way, they would at least reduce the chance of receiving any fees for collateral damage.
Though, with a team like this, nothing was guaranteed.
Not even trying to hide his reluctance, Atsumu forced a smile.
‘Great,’ he said, though he sounded way too sour for it to be even a bit convincing. ‘Couldn’t have wished for someone better to sleep next to.’
‘Funny,’ Ushijima said as if he had deeply considered Atsumu’s words. ‘Tendou once said the same thing.’
And then he turned around and disappeared into his room.
The rest of the team stood perplexed, barely able to process the fact that Ushijima had just cracked a joke (or was it?). Ushijima was a nice guy, but in the past four years, Yaku had never ever heard him say something he didn’t mean. Much unlike Atsumu, the guy was polite and serious, he only said something when it was necessary and when he did, his remarks never left any room for different interpretations.
Maybe he hadn’t even realised what he had indicated with those words. To be honest, that was not even that unlikely.
‘I’m gonna die, guys,’ Atsumu said, standing like he had just been shot with an arrow and watched as he bled on. All the joy had left his face. ‘Please, someone get me out of this.’
‘That’s your teammate, you idiot,’ Sakusa spat, delivering another blow to Atsumu’s ego. ‘Don’t be such a cry-baby and get to bed.’
‘OMI-OMI YOU’RE NOT GOOD FOR MY HEART.’
Instead of wasting any time on arguing, Sakusa just rolled his eyes and stepped away from the crowd. The rest of them took that as a sign to start moving as well, leaving Atsumu to deal with his own problems. In desperate need for someone to relieve him of his sentence, Atsumu’s lip curled into a pout and he turned from Hyakuzawa to Kiryu. He begged them to change roommates, promised them all the tosses they wanted, yet denied Kageyama’s proposal to let him play all of their upcoming games in exchange.
When eventually he found Bokuto and wrapped himself around his neck, Yaku decided it was enough, and very gracefully, he planted his foot against Atsumu’s side, forcing him to let go.
‘STOP THAT, YOU FUCK. NOW YOU’RE JUST BEING MEAN.’
Scowling, Atsumu rubbed his hip.
‘You’re the one kicking me. I was just trying to cut a deal, okay.’
‘You’re a violent creature, Yakkun,’ Bokuto frowned, obviously impressed by the way Yaku had been able to singlehandedly beat someone who was 8 inches taller than him. After years of knowing each other, Yaku was glad he started learning how to express his awe. ‘Maybe you’re better off with Ushi-san, Tsumtsum.’
‘What do you mean?’ Atsumu’s gaze shot from Yaku to Bokuto and while Bokuto nodded happily, his eyes widened.
‘Seriously? You were my only hope, Bokkun.’
‘Wait, we are roommates? How’d you know?’ Ignoring Atsumu’s despair, Yaku looked up at Bokuto, who had a pleased expression on his face. He slapped his ass before taking out a crumpled paper and he held it up with two fingers.
‘Coach may have accidentally dropped this when we had to hand in our luggage this morning. I was curious when I saw that it was the room assignments, so I thought a quick look wouldn’t hurt.’
‘Never guessed you were the sneaky type,’ Atsumu grinned, making Bokuto look even more excited about his succeeded mission.
However, Yaku just crossed his arms in disappointment.
‘Then why did that ‘quick look’ take more than twelve hours?’ he said calmly. ‘What would you say if I took your phone because I was curious? There’s obviously a reason coach didn’t tell us about this before, so what would make you entitled to be the exception?’
It wasn’t like he was really mad about it, but encouraging any type of bad behaviour -even if it was just a minor detail- was never a good idea with these two. Especially since they were still at the start of their stay in this hotel, it was crucial to start off refusing every act of mischief, or else they would probably end up in a madhouse. It wouldn’t be the first time the two of them pulled off a prank or two. Last time, at training camp, it had taken a good half hour to sort out all their socks and return them to the rightful owner.
Yaku wasn’t really in the mood for a repeat of smelling Aran’s socks, and thus it’d be better to immediately quash all hope of pulling any stunts like that again.
Probably recognising the tone in Yaku’s voice, Bokuto’s smile dropped and he put the paper back in his pocket. However, Atsumu put an arm around his shoulder and patted his chest in amusement.
‘Don’t worry, bro. He’s just jealous you never showed it to him. It’s not like coach doesn’t have any copies on his tablet. I’m actually really surprised you’ve been able to keep it a secret from us the whole day. Just let Yakkun ramble on; to me, you’re a hero.’
He shot Yaku a daring look and flashed his eyebrows as a way to tell him that he wasn’t scared.
In return, Yaku smiled as to tell him that he thought it was cute how Atsumu still thought he had any chance.
‘Don’t you have a captain waiting for you? Twenty minutes, he said, and the clock’s still ticking. I suggest you get your ass moving, so you won’t make him angry. How much time do you have left?’
‘FIFTEEN MINUTES,’ Ushijima’s voice sounded from behind the door, which was actually more than Yaku could have hoped for. It could have easily been just a reminder for all of them, but he didn’t care. It was the perfect timing, and with Atsumu narrowing his eyes, they both agreed that he had lost the argument.
Mumbling some insults under his breath, Atsumu finally gave up and took off as well.
With the both of them being the last in the hallway, Bokuto looked at Yaku, who only raised an eyebrow.
‘What are you waiting for?’ he said, secretly enjoying Bokuto’s nerves around him. ‘I trust you’re able to find the door with our names on it?’
‘Please don’t kick me as well.’
‘I will if you don’t hurry up. Now come on.’
Yaku pushed Bokuto forward and together, they made their way to the door furthest down the hall.
The inside of the room was about as big as Yaku’s bedroom at home, though, with two beds instead of one, it felt a bit smaller than what he was used to. Like the rest of the apartment, the walls were snow white and the floors were made out of a light-coloured wood. They had a private bathroom as well with a bath and a shower, and for both of them, there was a closet with enough hangers to start hanging up their underwear. Their suitcases were neatly placed inside.
One of the walls was completely made out of glass and when Yaku removed one of the curtains, they were greeted by a sea of little coloured lights. Since they were so high up and Olympic Village Lane was on the other side of the building, they were able to see the river, accompanied by a horizon of skyscrapers. The Rainbow Bridge stood tall a bit on their left and its illumination honoured the name by being lit up in all the colours of the rainbow. It was so impressive, that it was actually able to let Bokuto shut up for a second.
Yaku remembered seeing it once like this when he was on a trip with his parents and little brothers. Back then, he had been eight, maybe nine years old, and he couldn’t help but smile thinking back to that moment. Never would he have thought that next time he came to this part of Tokyo, was as a member of the National Japanese Volleyball team. He had just started playing, had not even been in the lineup of his junior high team, and eighteen years later, some considered him to be one of the best liberos in the whole of Japan.
Honestly, it made him a little emotional. He had come so far and this was actually one of the first times he was aware of how much. Of course, he wouldn’t have gotten this far without the help he had been given along the way, but he was so proud of how true his words at the ceremony had been. They had made it to the Olympic Games.
He had made it. His dream was coming true and how many people were actually able to say that? He was one of the lucky ones. He had pushed through the hard times, had worked his ass off over and over again and now he was here.
Sharing a room with one of the top 5 aces in Japan.
It was insane.
After closing the curtain and making sure no light was able to slip through anymore, Yaku turned his attention back inside. Bokuto was absolutely thrilled by the big blankets with ‘TOKYO 2020’ written on the bottom and he basically jumped through the roof when they found out the beds were made out of cardboard.
As they both changed into some sweatpants, he recalled how his old teammate Konoha had told him that they were supposed to keep the athletes from sleeping together, but this only made Yaku frown. He told Bokuto that cardboard was just much more eco-friendly since they had to provide like 12.000 athletes with a place to sleep, coaches and other staff not even included, but by the end of their discussion, he didn’t think Bokuto was that convinced. He probably thought Konoha’s explanation was funnier and thus Yaku didn’t feel like there had been a chance to convince him in the first place.
Therefore, they ended up turning in without having solved anything.
Yaku yawned deeply, while pulling the blanket a bit further over his shoulder. He buried his head deeper into his pillow and inhaled the scent of brand-new bedsheets.
It was so late already. The thought that Bokuto’s alarm would go off in about seven hours was excruciating.
He wasn’t that tired, but that was exactly the point. The excitement of the opening ceremony was still running through his veins, yet Ushijima’s words about how they should take good care of themselves were still ringing in his ear. In high school, he would have just stayed up until his body was finally able to rest as well, but he was a professional athlete now. His body was what had brought him here, so he couldn’t allow himself to slack off. Especially not when they would have their first game tomorrow.
Or well, technically today.
They had already decided to skip their morning run (which coach Hibarida had only allowed because their athletic trainer had emphasised that being well-rested was just as important) and he felt guilty enough for it. Running was one of the few things that could give him control over a game. It cleared his mind so that he could stay calmer and more focussed in even the heaviest battles and on the whole it just made him feel more energetic. Without it, he could only hope for the concentration he needed to play well.
Not using this precious time to do something useful, like sleeping, did not sit right with him at all.
Nevertheless, he couldn’t deny the frustration of his limbs that just wanted to move.
For a while, he considered crawling under the covers and sneaking his phone from the nightstand to help distract him, but in the end, he decided against it.
Yet Yaku didn’t have to wonder if he was the only one having trouble calming down.
‘If you move your ass one more time, I’ll kick you to the floor,’ he grunted, the moment Bokuto had turned to his other side for at least the eleventh time that evening. He didn’t move, but he could hear Bokuto let out a deep sigh.
‘I’m sorry,’ Bokuto said, as if it wasn’t almost three AM. Despite the damage to his ears from the night before, his voice was still too loud for Yaku’s liking. ‘I’m just so excited. I mean, it’s really happening now and tonight was amazing.’
Yaku considered not answering. To continue talking would mean starting a conversation, which would mean procrastinating sleep, which would mean being wrecked tomorrow morning. Having one exhausted regular was one, but having two was even worse. Bokuto needed to rest as well.
However, despite all that, Yaku found himself turning on his back and opening his eyes.
‘I just want to be a part of it now,’ Bokuto mumbled. ‘I don’t want to go to sleep. Today was all about travelling, getting ready, and too much waiting. But I loved the parade so much. I’ve never seen so many people at the same time and never have so many people seen me. It was so awesome.’
‘I know,’ Yaku whispered. He stared up as if his memories were being displayed on the ceiling and he nodded to nothing in particular. ‘It was pretty special.’
‘I’ve never felt so good in my entire life,’ Bokuto exclaimed enthusiastically.
‘Well, maybe when Keiji said he liked me, but this definitely comes a close second. I mean, everyone was so happy and they were cheering us on and I was able to move mountains. Seriously, if someone dropped a mountain between us and the Olympic-fire-throne, I would have been able to push it away for us.’
‘Was Akaashi in the crowd?’
‘He was,’ Bokuto sighed happily, putting his hands behind his head. ‘And I saw him too. I got him a ticket on the front row and you should have seen him blushing when I pointed at him. He’s literally the cutest.’
‘That’s nice.’
Yaku couldn’t help but smile when he had noticed the softness in Bokuto’s voice. It was a way of speaking that Bokuto only reserved for the times that Akaashi was the topic and Yaku was sure the guy himself was quite flustered now as well. Unlike many of their other teammates, Bokuto was the only one who never hid his affection in public -not that the guy was able to hide anything in the first place- and it was pretty sweet.
‘Were you’re parents there?’ Bokuto asked curiously, to which Yaku just let out a disagreeing sound at first.
‘They watched from home, because of the distance. My father doesn’t do well in public trains. I think my brothers were there, though, but I haven’t seen them.’
‘And no secret lover?’ Bokuto’s tone was reminding Yaku of Atsumu’s smirk and it annoyed him.
‘As if I would ever tell you.’
‘Aw, Yakkun, we’ve known each other for ages; surely, you would tell me if something exciting happened?’
‘You wish,’ Yaku said. ‘If I want the updates of my love-life to be blasted through the gym and I can’t find a megaphone, I know who to call though.’
‘I would love to help out with that,’ Bokuto laughed. ‘But in exchange, you have to name one of your children after me. Boutarou or Boruto would be okay too, or Kou, but that would also be weird because Keiji calls me that sometimes.’
‘How about Baka? Or does Akaashi call you that sometimes as well?’
Bokuto clicked his tongue in annoyance.
‘Fuck you. Keiji is nothing like Kageyama. Besides, if you actually call your child Baka, I’ll personally kidnap the baby and you’ll never see them again.’
‘You’re weird.’
‘Hey, I just like to be remembered. There’s nothing wrong with that.’
Yaku frowned, even though he knew Bokuto couldn’t see it in the dark of their room.
‘It is when you terrorise my children, who, for your information, haven’t even been born.’
‘Well, then…’
For a couple of seconds, it became completely quiet, except for the racking of Bokuto’s brain. Yaku swore he could hear it grinding and creaking and he wondered if Bokuto was still able to think with all that noise in his head. To say the least, he didn’t have much faith in the words that were about to come.
And apparently for a good reason.
Instantly, Bokuto shot up and he leaned over to Yaku so much, that he had to support himself with one hand on the ground or otherwise his nose would kiss the floor. Even with the dark blocking everything but the outline of his face, Yaku could imagine his eyes being all wide and round. Maybe they were even big enough that they could be mistaken as a target by one of their archery guys.
Unintentionally, Yaku snickered at the idea of Bokuto running away for an arrow.
‘We have to take pictures at the Olympic Rings together!’ Bokuto eagerly said and he scooted even closer, thereby forcing himself to now use both of his hands. He was like a young puppy, Yaku thought. A young, adorable puppy with the worst ideas one could come up with.
By the way he had said his idea out loud, Yaku knew he couldn’t have meant the team photos that had always been a tradition of the Olympics. Those were scheduled, organised, and definitely not the kind of photos Bokuto intended to take. Last time at the World League, it had been hardest to get him on the team photo, because Bokuto had either been smiling too widely or standing out of line, and it was really really difficult for him to keep standing still for just a couple of seconds. Even Hinata, who was one of the few who (out) matched Bokuto in his excessive energy, had been more professional and a lot easier to capture.
‘Absolutely not,’ Yaku therefore said, getting up as well and giving Bokuto’s head a push back to his bed. ‘We have to go back to sleep anyway.’
‘But I don’t want to sleep. I have too much energy and if I stay in bed any longer, I’ll go mad.’
Ignoring Yaku’s attempt to get some space between them, Bokuto crawled out of bed and he rested his arms beside Yaku’s pillow. Their faces were so close now, that Yaku could make out a small pout on his lips and he could feel Bokuto’s breath brush against his cheeks. He smelled of mint and that free shower gel that the hotel had stacked their bathroom with.
After standing in a crowded tunnel full of sweaty people for too long, the scent was actually pretty welcome.
‘As if that’s something new.’ Yaku turned on his side so Bokuto could talk to his back. Or better, he could take the hint and go back to his own side of the room. ‘Just go to sleep or else you’ll be too tired to even play tomorrow. Think about how awesome it will be if Aran or Kiryu has to sub you out because you’re all out of energy.’
Bokuto huffed.
‘Now you’re just being mean. It’s not my fault that I can’t sleep.’
‘Bokuto, I don’t care. That’s your problem, not mine.’
‘Actually, it is your problem,’ Bokuto said hesitantly. ‘If I think about being subbed out, I’ll get even more frustrated that I can’t sleep, and then I’ll stay awake for the whole night. But then you get mad because I keep turning around and then you can’t sleep either.’
Letting out a frustrated groan, Yaku pulled the covers over his head. Why did he have to be the one getting paired up with Bokuto? Of course the guy would be challenging. Didn’t his own rest matter as well?
If Yaku would stop and think logically about the whole room situation, he would understand that there weren’t that many teammates able to deal with Bokuto’s enthusiasm as he did. However, right now it just felt really unfair. His patience was already tested enough during the day -especially with all of those they had to spend together- so why would they think it was a good idea to extend that towards the night? At this rate, he would be the one going mad by the end of the week. He needed his occasional breaks as well.
‘Please, Yakkun?’ Bokuto whispered right by his ear. ‘I just need to get out for a bit, but I promise it will be short. We’ll be in and out before anyone would even notice and then we can get enough sleep.’
‘We’re already getting too little sleep as it is, even with us skipping the morning run. Getting out in the middle of the night is not a part of that agreement.’
‘But don’t you rather have five good hours instead of six bad ones?’
Yaku wasn’t going to answer. If he just stayed quiet long enough, Bokuto would eventually know that it was no use and give up. Or at least he hoped so. He just really didn’t feel much like having a discussion and unfortunately, he had left his duct tape at home. Honestly, he started to regret making that decision.
‘Aw, please.’
Yaku felt a poke in the back of his neck.
‘Please, Yakkun?’
Another in his armpit.
‘I will be a really good roommate for the rest of the week.’
‘You better be even though we’re not even going,’ Yaku grunted, as Bokuto poked another finger in his side. He squirmed at the touch. It was the only place he always tried to avoid any form of touch, because he absolutely couldn’t stand it and it would cause him to fall over within even a second. Therefore, the worst moment had been when Kuroo had found out about this weakness years ago and since then, he always held it against him. Because of that, Yaku doubted that this particular movement had entirely been a coincidence.
‘Please?’
‘FINE.’
Frustrated, Yaku threw away his blanket and slammed his hand across the bed in the hope he would hit something, preferably Bokuto.
He missed because Bokuto had already jumped up and was now hopping across the room in excitement. As he turned on the lamp, the light stung in Yaku’s eyes and he had to press them shut to not be completely blinded. He wanted to say that a warning would have been nice, yet he was surprised by the fabric that was thrown at his head.
Irritated by the explosion called ‘‘Bokuto’’, he tossed his feet out of the bed, got up, and ran a hand through his hair to at least make an attempt of fixing the mess.
‘If we’ll get caught, I will blame it all on you,’ he said when he had pulled the hoodie over his head and pushed his arms through the sleeves.
He knew it had been stupid to consent to Bokuto’s ideas, but honestly, he couldn’t deny that the guy had a point. Yaku wasn’t tired either and five good hours of sleep were indeed better than six bad ones. He would have gotten frustrated as well if he had to think about Komori playing their very first game instead of him, just because Bokuto had kept him up all night. Therefore, he knew he had to steam off some energy and hope for the best that it wouldn’t affect him too badly the following morning. He couldn’t really blame Bokuto for that.
Although, there had to be snow in July before he would ever admit it, of course.
‘We won’t get caught, don’t worry,’ Bokuto replied with his head between his knees since he was tying his shoelaces. When he looked up, he was grinning from ear to ear. ‘I’m here.’
‘I know, that’s exactly what I’m worried about.’
Yaku rolled his eyes and took his phone, while he waited for Bokuto to get ready. He hadn’t looked at his messages ever since waiting in the tunnel for the opening ceremony and thus he wasn’t surprised to see that he had received lots of new ones. Most were from his family, congratulating him and wishing him good luck in the days that were to come, others were from friends, saying he looked really awesome on camera (his sixty-year-old neighbour even called him handsome, bless her).
Inuoka had spammed their old Nekoma-chat with lots of pictures from their old friends, which Kuroo, Shibayama and Yamamoto joined by sending all kinds of close-ups from his face. The chat was never quiet for too long, but the number of messages that had come in during the whole parade, were beyond many. Any normal person would have probably felt like a star, but Yaku just wanted to kick them for being so embarrassing.
Fortunately, their old coaches had long left their group chat.
When he was about halfway of working through the unopened messages (basically, he just opened them without looking, knowing he would respond later on), Bokuto was ready to go, so they turned off the light and sneaked outside.
In the end, Yaku should have known why Bokuto had taken so long on getting dressed, while normally he was already out the door when someone even said the word ‘‘volleyball’’. Still, he was surprised to see Hinata waiting for them by the door. Since there was an emergency exit sign right about the door, it was just light enough to make out his silhouette.
Like them, the guy was dressed in some sweatpants and a hoodie, and he had the same excited smile on his face as Bokuto.
‘We’re really doing this,’ he whispered enthusiastically as if he could barely believe it, and Bokuto nodded wildly.
Then, Atsumu joined as well –‘‘nothing more exciting than sneaking past the big bad wolf right?’’- making Yaku regret everything. There were too many people now and not unimportantly, they were all regulars. This was going to be a big disaster tomorrow and they better spend the rest of their time coming up with excuses on why they were all playing like shit.
Knowing their coach, he would not be taking this lightly.
Before he could make any form of complaint, though, Bokuto grabbed his arm and pulled him out the door.
From that moment on, Yaku decided to stop giving a fuck. It wasn’t like he suddenly agreed with the plan, but even if they would get caught and he would tell their coaches that it was all Bokuto’s idea, he would be held responsible. He was obviously the most sensible of the four of them, so they would probably be most disappointed in him since he wasn’t able to stop them.
He realised he wasn’t really doing a good job of being a roommate, but then he was still just a volleyball player, not a police officer. And he kind of longed for a bit of fun himself. The good teenager that he had been, he had never actually sneaked out at night before and it was exciting to not act like a mother duck for once.
Since the coaches slept in the other apartment on this floor, taking the elevator would mean having to slip past them and thus they decided to take the safer option for now on their way off the stairs, Yaku sent a text to Komori just in case and then he followed the three simpletons outside.
Yaku was actually the only one sensible enough to bring a phone, so they used that to locate the Olympic Rings. All four of them stood huddled up around the device and by good fortune, they saw that the statue wasn’t even that far away. They just had to cross the road, follow the bay for a couple of minutes and then there it would be.
The night was warm, so their long sleeves were actually a bit excessive. Especially since Hinata suggested racing each other to the rings, and in the end, Yaku ended up feeling all sweaty and gross. Though, he came in second and he loved being out here. Everything was just so much more peaceful at night. There were no people to block their way on the sidewalk, they could run around like crazy and no one would be disturbed by them.
He felt free and happy, a combination that had not often shown itself in the last couple of years. The Olympics had always been his goal, his motivation to stay disciplined and to keep giving that little extra every day. As a result, he’d had to sacrifice so much. He’d had to miss out on so many birthdays, had to turn down even more invitations to hang out with his friends, he basically had no bachelor degree, and despite the fact that he had sometimes asked himself if it had all been worth it, he had never given up.
It had all been pretty rough, but now that he was finally here, he felt some room to breathe and he knew that it definitely had all been worth it. The crowds, the connection, the burning feeling that lingered after receiving a spike from the top aces of the world, it was everything that he had dreamed of and it was within his reach. Whatever would happen, this would become a memory that no one would be able to take away from him.
And he was prepared to make the absolute most of it.
In ecstasy by their whole adventure, Yaku jumped on Bokuto’s back and he wrapped his legs around his waist. While Hinata yelled and followed him by jumping on Atsumu, Yaku took out his phone and kept it in front of them.
The five Olympic Rings were lit up behind them.
The crescent moon stood tall in the sky above.
Yet their smiles were the brightest of all.