Since the second season is getting me really hyped, I got some inspiration to finally write something for Haikyuu! It's really one of my favorite series and this little idea couldn't quite escape my head, so I wrote it down.

It can be read as pre-Kagehina, but also completely platonic. I hope you like it :D

Disclaimer: I do not own Haikyuu!

Endings and Beginnings

It was the first match of the Inter-High of Kageyama Tobio's last year in Middle School and it seemed that he'd make it to the next day just fine. Their opponents only had a six man team, which was the bare minimum to enter a tournament. The team seemed to be composed of mostly first years, if one had to judge based on their height, or rather, the lack of it and they acted like they had never been to a Volleyball tournament before this very day.

Kageyama sighed, not because he felt bad for the other team, but because of what it meant for him. The players on his team had a tendency to not go all out, if they thought that their opponents were weak enough, especially that Kunimi, he really knew how to slack off in both practise and matches. Kageyama hated this side of his team for two reasons. The first one being that you never knew the potential of a team until you played them, they could look weak, but play like professionals and then who would be regretting letting their guard down? The second reason didn't have much to do with Volleyball and at the same time it had everything to do with it. Kageyama found this sort of behaviour extremely rude and disrespectful. Sure, Kageyama probably wasn't the nicest guy and he could admit to having yelled at his team quite a few times, but being rude to your own team, because they couldn't spike a god damn ball right, and being disrespectful to your opponents were two very different things. Kagayama could at this very moment feel that his temper did not want to be contained and he prayed that his team mates could, for once, just play properly, but he knew his prayers would not reach anyone and braced himself for the worst.

It wasn't long until Kageyama had his first encounter with the Captain of the other team. He'd been walking down the hall, trying to calm his head. He wasn't nervous or anything, he was pretty confident that he'd come out of this match as the victor, but his team was really getting under his skin today, even moreso than usual. This was when he heard some familiar voices belonging to some of his Kohai and it seemed that they were mocking someone. The scene that met him was rather odd. There were three of his Kohai, who were talking to a small player (a first-year perhaps?), who was looking like he had very intense stomach issues, but, nonetheless, was declaring that his team would win against Kitagawa Daiichi and all of the other teams... apparently. The three second-years simply laughed this off and said that there was no chance that they'd ever win. This is when Kageyama stepped in.

"Oi, Second-years. We're starting the official warm-up. Hurry up and get to it." The warm-up was still about ten minutes off, but a little white lie never hurt. The Second-years swarmed together and hurried out of the way, but not before getting in another insult, which just continued to piss Kageyama off.

"You lot. Even though you're on the bench, do you plan to get stronger by looking down on your opponents? Don't ride the laurels of your school's name." That little speech seemed to do the trick as his Kohai quickly ran off, but this one wasn't a lie at all. He'd meant every word.

"I was going to say that too, y'know," A small voice blurted and Kageyama turned to the small Captain, yes he was the Captain, who was still clutching his stomach tightly.

"Guys who can't even manage their own bodies shouldn't say self-important things. That's why you get ridiculed. It's only natural to be completely prepared for a match. Just what did you come here to do? 'Make memories' or something?" He hadn't meant to sound so mocking, but he was really having a bad day and now that he'd said it, he was not going to apologize. However, the small player's response surprised him.

"I came here to win of course!"

Kageyama then felt two things. First was a momentary feeling of admiration, then came the anger. This person was making it sound like winning was easy, if you just wanted it badly enough. Everybody wanted to win, wasn't that human nature?

"You're saying that as if it is extremely easy to do. You're saying that despite knowing that height is something essential to Volleyball?"

"It's true that I'm not very tall. However!" What 'However' could there be? "I can jump!"

Kageyama, who had begun walking away, stopped in his tracks and looked back at the player.

"It isn't as if the outcome of the match has already been decided. I don't have to give up-"

"'Not giving up' is easier said that done. It's not just about compensating for differences in physique, skill and willpower. You'll understand in the match." This guy was seriously beginning to piss him off and Kageyama hoped that he could close the conversation with this, but the boy continued.

"Finally... I can finally... Play Volleyball... On a proper court... With six people!" What did he mean and why did he sound like he was about to cry? "The first match and the second. We'll win. We'll win. And our team will play lots of matches!" Who did this guy think he was?

"In the first match, the second, the last and in all matches nation-wide." Kageyama was finally facing the boy looking him directly in the eye, "The one standing on the winning side of the court will be me!" And with that Kageyama was determined to end all conversation and left before the small player could give any sort of response.

It was finally time for the match to begin and Kageyama could finally see their opponents in their fullest and, to be honest, they didn't look all that impressive, but that wasn't going to stop Kageyama from going all out. From what he had gathered from his coach and some conversations he had overheard, apparently, the team consisted of three first-years, two back-up players who didn't know much about Volleyball and were just there because they needed six people and the Captain, who was, surprisingly, a third-year, even though he looked like he could be in Elementary School. Kageyama looked at his team and he could practically read their minds and knew that they could not be counted on in this match. Kageyama sighed and the whistle, signalling the beginning of the match, blew.

The beginning of the first set went quickly and without their opponents scoring a single point, although, Kageyama couldn't exactly say that it was because his team was good, it was mostly because the other team were really bad. They didn't know how to receive and when they did receive the ball ended up going right back to Kageyama and his team would then score on a spike. Kageyama was really wondering why these people had signed up for this tournament to begin with as they were clearly out of their league, but then something happened. In the end, their opponents didn't score a point, but Kageyama really couldn't care less about the score at that moment, because, somehow, they had seemed to successfully toss the ball to their Captain and despite his height, he jumped to spike the ball. And damn he could jump. The small Captain had claimed to be able to do so, but Kageyama had been sure that he was bluffing, boy, was he proven wrong.

Despite the impressive jump, Kageyama easily blocked him, trumping his jump with his own height, but had his body not moved on instinct, when the toss had gone up, Kageyama probably wouldn't have moved. Many things went through Kageyama's head in those few seconds, but one stood out more than the others. What else can this player do?

Kageyama found himself wondering this, until his team's lack of conviction and respect started showing in their game play. This, of course, allowed their opponents to take a point right as the first set was coming to an end, but this time rather than being impressed with his opponents, he turned on his team. The conviction and passion in their opponents were clear as a summer day, but this had somehow escaped the people, whom he was supposed to work with.

"Even though the match's decided, don't slack off!" Kageyama shouted, trying to put some sense into their heads.

"I know that..." Kunimi started, "but see... not even a miracle could reverse that point difference."

"That single point just now wasn't a miracle, it was taken from us!" Kageyama really couldn't understand these people and it was making him angrier than usual, "That guy took a point from us!" It seemed that no matter what he said, his team remained as indifferent as ever and Kageyama stopped trying to change it. For now.

Kageyama could feel himself boiling over, when the whistle blew and the first set ended. There was a short break, where their coach would give them some advise coming into the second set, but Kageyama was paying a lot more attention to the other team and, especially, their Captain. He was short, probably not even 160 cm, but he could easily jump as high as any player on Kageyama's team and they had some height to them. He was unnaturally optimistic, as he somehow still tried to convince his team that they had a chance at victory, and he practically oozed passion, very unlike some of the players Kageyama was forced to play with and, for a moment, he wished that he could swap teams.

The second set began and it went a lot like the first set, though it seemed as if their opponents had gotten slightly more used to receiving and thus had more offensive play, but were still blocked most of the time. It wasn't until Kitagawa Daiichi's match point that something happened again. The opponents received, sent the ball to the setter, who then tossed to a place where no one was. For a second. Because, somehow, in some way that Kageyama couldn't even comprehend at the time it happened, that small Captain had jumped to spike the ball, even though Kageyama could have sworn on his life that he was standing on the other side of the court. The jump then resulted in him falling into the barrier, which divided two courts, but he'd spiked it. And when the it was signalled that the ball was out of bounds, Kageyama felt like he didn't deserve to win. At least not until they scored another point, because that point should not have gone to them and it should not have ended the match. He saw the look on the short Captain's face and he knew that he felt the same. And then that feeling was replaced by anger, because Kageyama simply couldn't fathom how someone with such skill, passion and talent could possibly be so lousy at Volleyball. It simply didn't make any sense and he got so caught up in these thoughts that he didn't notice that he was moving closer to the net, but when he came face to face with the short Captain his emotions seemed to overflow.

"What were you doing for the last three years?!" He shouted, but there was no respond and the small Captain seemed so devastated that would never get an answer no matter how long he waited, so Kageyama walked away.

It was the end of the day, every team was packing up their stuff, some would come back the next day to play more matches and some would go home knowing that their time in the Inter-High had ended early. Kageyama was heading home planning to eat, bathe and sleep, so he'd prepared for matches in the morning, when someone called out to him.

"You!" Kageyama turned around to find the small Captain a lot closer that he'd expected him to be, "If you're the reigning 'King of the Court' then!" He paused and tears started streaming down his cheeks, "I'll overthrow you from your title, and I'll be the who stands on the court the longest!"

Had this been any other person, any other player, any other opponent that he had defeated, Kageyama would have turned around and left without saying anything in response, but, just this once, he'd make an exception and a gamble.

"The only ones who remain on the court are the winners and the strong. If you want to win and advance, try growing stronger!" He had nothing else to say, but talent like that should not be wasted and Kageyama hoped that he would see the day where this player would become strong. Though he said none of this out loud and left the player behind.

During the last meeting of the day, Kageyama only asked his couch one question and the answer he got was: Hinata Shoyou.

Kageyama was lying on his bed, tossing a ball up and catching it again, repeatedly. Kitagawa Daiichi had lost. Kageyama had lost and he could quite come to terms with his feelings, because despite the anguish and frustration that came with loss, there was also a sense of relief. He would never have to play with his former team again. He knew that they were all going to Aoba Josai, which meant that as long as Kageyama avoided that school, he'd be fine. No more of all that 'King of the Court' crap. Kageyama's first choice of High School was of course Shiratorizawa, the best school in the prefecture, but not having gotten a letter of recommendation from them, he would have to enlist through normal means, which meant an entrance exam and Kageyama wasn't the best, when it came to academic studies. This meant that he needed a back-up plan. There was always Date Kogyo, but they were a very blocking-focused team, not exactly what Kageyama was looking for, being an offensive player himself. There were other powerhouses as well, but Kageyama either found that the he knew nothing about the team or he would need better grades to get in. It seemed that Kageyama would either have to make a random decision or somehow gather information on some of the schools. He just wanted to play with people who shared his passion and had the skill to match his tosses. Someone who was fast. Someone who could jump. Someone like Hinata Shoyou.

Kageyama bolted up from his bed. What school was he going to? If he could just go to the same school, then all his problems would be solved, probably... However, Kageyama soon realized that there was no way that he could ever figure out what school Hinata would attend and he let himself collapse back unto the bed. He only knew his name and nothing else, he couldn't even remember the name of his Middle School, even though he had fought them. Kageyama fell asleep as his head got tired from thinking.

There was week until they had to choose their High School and Kageyama had yet to decide. His parents was urging him to make up his mind soon, but Kageyama simply couldn't. It was for that exact reason that he was now skipping class to snoop around at another Middle School, namely Yukigaoka Middle School. Kageyama had remembered that he he'd kept track on which schools advanced in the tournament and, of course, it'd had Hinata's school on it. So here he was.

Being a student from another school, he wasn't allowed to enter, but he wouldn't have known what to do if he had entered. He didn't want to confront Hinata, and explain to him, why he wanted to know what High School he was going to attend. That was just stupid. Kageyama stood outside the school for a good thirty minutes and it slowly became clear to him that maybe, just maybe, he was getting a little too obsessed with Hinata. When it came down to it, he didn't actually know anything about him and, maybe, the reason why he'd seemed so good, was because his team was really shitty. Kageyama was about to leave and just apply for the closest school with just a decent reputation in Volleyball, when people started coming out from the school building and he heard a somewhat familiar voice.

"Eeehh?! Why won't you apply to Karasuno?"

"I told you, I'm going to a school with good Basketball Club, this year is the chance to win the Winter Cup. The Generation of Miracles will be in Middle School for another year, so I need to attend a school with a strong team!" (A/N: See what I did there)

"Karasuno could have a good team!"

"Karasuno doesn't have a basketball team, Shoyou!"

The two boys then proceeded to talk about classes and the finals, which Hinata was not looking forward to, but Kageyama didn't care at this point. He had found his High School.

That night Kageyama researched Karasuno, just in case that the school had a horrible reputation. But it didn't, not quite. From what Kageyama could gather, the school had once been a powerhouse, but in recent years they had fallen down the ranks, although they still remainedin the best eight in the prefecture. Newer articles called them 'The Flightless Ravens' and 'The Fallen Champions', not exactly praise, but Kageyama could turn that around, of that he was confident. Older articles wrote of their prime and two names came up ever so often; 'Couch Ukai' and 'The Small Giant', who'd been the core, when Karasuno had gone to nationals and it seemed that this 'Ukai' would be coming out of retirement soon, according to these rumours. Yes, Karasuno seemed like a good choice.

It was April, first day of school, first day at Karasuno and Kageyama was standing alone in the gymnasium. He was practising his jump serve and ready to prove himself to his Senpai to hopefully gain the spot as a regular sooner rather than later. He had already handed in his application form and, now, he was just waiting for somebody to walk through the door. Just as Kageyama tossed the ball up in the air and prepared to hit it, somebody jumped, yes jumped, through the door and loudly exclaimed:

"What are you doing here?!" It was Hinata Shoyou. The ball landed on Kageyama's head.

If you liked it, then feel free to favorite it and perhaps leave a review, they always cheer me up. For now, this story is just a one-shot, but I have some ideas for a second chapter, so if you want it, just let me know. Have a good day!