If Hinata Shouyou is the sun, Hinata Natsu is a sky full of stars, glimmering with wonder. They are both bright beacons that rise beyond reach: while Shouyou is warm and blinding and close, Natsu is a shining spectacle in the vast heavens, a phenomenon equally untouchable. Shouyou is a bundle of energy, fire condensed into a small, beaming package, and his sister, his other half, his twin, is a swell of possibilities, fearlessly yearning towards the dark unknown.

Now, that sounds well and good enough, but at first glance, it's certainly not what anyone notices. What they notice is Shouyou's bright orange mop of hair compared to Natsu's scarlet locks, speckled with bobby pins. They see Shouyou's sunshine smile versus Natsu's sparkling eyes.

And, tragically, they see the three centimeter height difference; Shouyou's child-like energy, and assume Natsu must be a few years ahead of him. In reality, their age difference is counted in minutes, not years.

What matters most to Shouyou and Natsu about telling them apart, however, is the fact that Shouyou plays volleyball and Natsu plays soccer. Completely different sports. Zero overlap. And being asked about the wrong sport drives them both crazy.

"Did you get any points today, Nacchan?" Mom will ask, and Natsu will let her face fall directly into her curry in dismay.

"No, mom, I didn't score any goals," Natsu sighs each time.

"So did you find any friends to be a striker with you, Shouyou?" Dad will inquire, trying and failing to be more excited about his son's interests.

"It's called a spiker, and a setter," Shouyou replies patiently, feeling his heart break a little more each time. Yes, there's a net in both sports, but that's the only similarity he or Natsu can see.

"That high school you picked, I think your team was in nationals last year, right?" A dear uncle makes conversation when he visits, oblivious sipping on a cup of tea while his nephew chokes on air.

"Eh?" Shouyou's heart jumps right into his mouth before he catches Natsu's sympathetic head shake. "Ah, you're thinking of Natsu's school. Their volleyball team actually went to nationals more recently than Karasuno." He can see the question forming in his uncle's eyes and leaps on an explanation before it can be voiced. "I-I chose Karasuno because of their playing style! When they went to nationals, there was this shorter player they nicknamed the Little Giant, and so…"

He sees the glazed-over look that most people get when he tries to explain, but forges on anyway. Natsu receives the same uninterested head-nodding acknowledgement, after all, whenever she tries to tell her junior high friends she's going so far for high school because she got in on a sports scholarship, so no, she won't be skipping any weekend practices to go to the movies this year.

"Do you think you'll make the starting roster this year?" Shouyou wonders, the night before their first semester of high school begins. They have separate rooms but they're huddled in Natsu's room tonight, trying to talk away the jitters before it consumes them both.

Natsu shrugs, looking pensively at the hem of her sleeve. "They have a huge team, but I heard a rumor that the coach hardly uses any of their subs. She'd rather not disrupt the chemistry of the players, even if it means running them into the ground." Shouyou's eyes widen at the idea, a little unnerved by how ruthless his sister's future coach might be—and yet Natsu's eyes flash with fervor. "I'm definitely going to be a starter. I'll do anything."

"Me too," Shouyou grins toothily. "I'm going to be the ace!"

"I'll be the captain," Natsu promises.

"Uuwoooahh, Natsu, you talk big!"

"Oh, and you don't, Mr. Shrimpy Ace?"

Shouyou gasps in horror. "Betrayed by my own blood! Get out of my sight, I can't look at you right now."

"You get out," Natsu cackles, placing her foot against his chest firmly shoving him right off the futon. "This is my room!"

Shouyou bounces to his feet in a flutter of blankets and stuffed animals. "You're right! I better get to bed, I have to leave early—goodnight, Natsu."

"Good luck," she responds warmly, flopping back onto her pillow. Shouyou lobs a cat-shaped pillow at her head. "Karasuno's volleyball team won't know what hit 'em!"

"Neither will Shiratorizawa's soccer team," her brother calls back, sliding her door shut. A moment later she hears a loud thud. "ACK!" Shouyou hollers, probably knocking over his bookbag. Natsu giggles, and falls asleep with a smile on her face

While Shouyou has an hour-long bike ride to his school, Natsu has a thirty-minute bus ride to the Academy's ridiculously large campus in the capital of Miyagi. She wanders around on her first day, not only because oh my gosh those fields are pristine, but because she soon realizes that she can't figure out where the main building is.

"Oh no," Natsu mumbles, backtracking to the last posted sign she'd read. It says the academic buildings are to the left, but isn't that a gym? Or maybe an auditorium. Natsu cranes her head to the side. Is it behind the auditorium? She has a morning practice that starts in another fifteen minutes, but it'd be nice to know where her class will be… Suddenly, she was struck by a deep sense of melancholy. This is the first time she and Shouyou will be in different schools. They're often separated into different classes, but Shouyou's always been within reach. Now, she's alone at a high-pressure academy and no friends to lean on. She can't even find her classroom without Shouyou's steady support at her back.

"They shoulda sent a map with the uniform!" Natsu huffs, throwing her hands in the air.

Suddenly there's firm pressure on Natsu's shoulders and she's whirled around. "A map? Do you have a map?!" Someone demands desperately, clutching her arms and looming over her with dark, guileless eyes. "Please tell me you have a map, I'm late for practice!"

Natsu, frightened out of her wits, takes in his frantic expression, the gym bag over his shoulder, the knee pads sliding down his legs, and shrieks in shared terror. "Late for volleyball practice?! It's the first day!"

"I knooow!" He wails, practically shaking as he releases her. He leans back, and Natsu gets a better look at his lean, tall form. Definitely a volleyball player. His black hair, cut into a severe bowl-cut, is a mess of fluff as he runs another nervous hand over his scalp. Dark brown eyes beseech her. "Please help me, I have to make a good impression!"

Natsu whips her head back and forth, thinking fast. "Which gym?" She asks sternly.

"Huh?" The student looks at her with wide, hopeful eyes. "Oh! Um, Gym Four! Have you seen it?!"

She lets out a huge sigh of relief, and nods furiously. "I did! It's back that way—the building with a big circle window pointing east!" Natsu stabs her hand in the proper direction.

"REALLY?!" The boy seems near tears, he's so relieved. "Thank you! I gotta go!"

"Go!" Natsu ushers him away with a wave. "Good luck!" She calls after his sprinting figure.

He doesn't say anything back, but Natsu doesn't mind. She grins anyway, swiveling back around towards the track and adjusting the strap of her bag. The soccer team is collecting on the corner of the field, still chatting amongst themselves. Natsu jobs over with a bright, hopeful smile. "Yo! Good morning everyone!"