Chapter 38: The Guardian Deity of Karasuno

The school had always been boring. Tsuna was always bored of it because he already knew most of what they taught in class.

However...

'Why does it feel so goddamn long today?'

Tsuna was feeling something different this time. He had been bouncing his feet up and down while playing with his pencil in his left hand.

He kept glancing up at the clock, annoyed, until the bell finally rang. His annoyed expression eased slightly as he quickly grabbed his bag and walked out the door without bothering to fix his chair.

"Finally..."

It was time to get back to the gym.

"Huft..."

At the gym, heavy breathing echoed as Kageyama was already practicing. His lecturer was absent today, so he decided to head to the gym early and had been training his jump serve the whole time.

There was a lone bottle of water on the other side of the court that he was aiming his serve at.

'Not enough control...'

Kageyama closed his eyes to visualize Oikawa's serve from the last game. His former senior's serve had been strong yet accurate.

He had tried to put all his power into his serve, but it was hard to aim that way. 

Kageyama took a deep breath, suddenly reminded of Tsuna's spike, and mumbled, "Maybe..."

"..."

He threw the ball into the air, moving while keeping his eyes on it. Then he leaped up and swung his arm. A soft plop was heard as he made contact, sending the ball whistling across the net with noticeably weaker force.

"It's gonna hit!"

But the accuracy was perfect this time. Kageyama's eyes lit up as he saw the ball heading straight for the bottle of water.

However—

"Yoshaa!"

That obnoxiously familiar shout pierced the air.

Kageyama's excited expression quickly darkened as he saw Hinata, still carrying his school bag, jump right in front of the bottle.

"Oi, you idiot! Get out of the—!"

Too late.

Hinata cupped his hands with excitement as the ball met his palms with a satisfying thwack.

Or, it would have been satisfying if he hadn't completely misjudged the angle.

"Whoaaah—Ahhh!"

The ball ricocheted off Hinata's hands and smacked him square in the face with a loud thud. He collapsed to the ground while groaning as he clutched his nose.

"Arghhh, that was so close!"

"You got in the way, you fucker!"

Kageyama yelled, veins practically popping from his forehead.

Hinata just completely ignored that yell as he sheepishly laughed it off. He was grinning through the pain and scrambled to his feet.

"One mo—!"

The words caught in his throat.

Kageyama was suddenly right in front of him, glaring daggers at him that made Hinata freeze. His voice faltered as he squeaked, "—re, Kageyama...?"

A while later...

"Mhmmmmm! Mhmmmmm!"

Hinata squirmed helplessly, his limbs bound tightly with tape, his muffled protests falling on deaf ears.

Kageyama went back to focus and threw the ball into the air. He aimed for the serve, once again targeting the bottle of water.

'As expected...'

Looking at the trajectory of the ball made Kageyama's eyes light up in response.

His accuracy improved when he reduced the force in his swing as the ball headed straight for the bottle!

Yet, once again...

Whoosh.

"..."

A shadow blurred across the court, appearing right in front of the bottle. Kageyama's jaw tightened in disbelief as the stranger leaped into view.

The guy was short, with wild black hair that stood ruffled upwards. His posture was relaxed, almost nonchalant, as he cupped his hands and caught the ball cleanly while saying, "Ohh, it's not bad..."

"Oi, what the hell—!"

Kageyama's face twisted in anger.

But before he could finish, the ball bounced perfectly, landing right where a setter would usually stand on the empty court.

This made his twisted expression freeze as his eyes widened at the sight, 'He stopped the rotation... and absorbed the impact flawlessly.' 

As much as Kageyama didn't want to admit it, it was a clean receive. Thinking about it just made his earlier excitement about hitting the target completely fade away.

'Fuck, not enough still...'

Kageyama felt frustrated once again as he clenched his fist in annoyance.

Before he could say anything, the sound of footsteps echoed from the gym entrance. Suga's surprised voice rang out as he entered, "Oh! Nishinoya, you're back!"

"Suga-san! Oh, Daichi-san too."

It was Yu Nishinoya, Karasuno's Guardian Deity!

'So, it's him?'

Kageyama thought as he quietly observed Nishinoya he recalled having the seniors mentioning this particular player a while back, and he added, 'He's our libero, I think...'

Daichi set his bag down by the court and asked, "So, is your suspension finally over?"

"I think so. I just met with the vice principal and apologized again..."

Nishinoya nodded, scratching the back of his head.

Before anyone could respond, Tanaka burst onto the scene from the side, "Hey, hey! I'm here too, Nishinoya-san!"

"Oh!"

Nishinoya's face lit up as he greeted him, "Ryu!"

"Haha, glad to have you back!"

Tanaka laughed, giving Nishinoya a hearty slap on the back. The libero just grinned, "Mhm!" 

Kageyama blinked his eyes as he ignored the random muffled sound nearby and greeted, "That was a nice receive, senpai."

"Oh, right," Suga said, gesturing toward Nishinoya. "Nishinoya, he's a first-year setter, Tobio Kageyama."

"And..."

He glanced at Hinata, who was tied up and frantically struggling to break free, then turned back to Nishinoya and added, "Well, make sure to get along with each other, alright..."

"Mhmmm!"

Hinata's muffled protests were ignored entirely.

"If you don't mind me asking, which middle school did you go to?"

From the way Nishinoya had received the ball earlier, it was clear to Kageyama that this senior was leagues ahead of most players he had encountered.

His skill seemed too refined for someone at Karasuno.

"Hmm? Chidoriyama," Nishinoya replied casually. "Why do you ask?"

"Chidoriyama? Isn't that a powerhouse middle school?" Kageyama looked at Nishinoya in surprise and continued, "Are you... also here because of Coach Ukai?"

"Huh, not really."

"No?"

Kageyama's brow furrowed, "Then why did you pick Karasuno?"

"Why... you ask?"

Nishinoya raised his eyebrows at the chatterbox before letting out a serious expression as he answered, "Because I like the girls' uniform!"

"..."

Kageyama's expression froze in shock, leaving him speechless.

Even Hinata, tied up on the side, went silent, while the others scratched their heads awkwardly at the interaction.

'We have a stalker... and now a pervert...'

Kageyama rubbed his temple, resisting the urge to grab his phone and call the authorities.

Yet, Nishinoya showed no signs of stopping as he continued with fervor, "So far, I've never been disappointed by any girl in Karasuno High! They're all top-tier! Especially—"

The gym door slid open with a loud clack.

"Oh!"

Nishinoya froze mid-sentence, his head snapping toward the entrance.

His face lit up like fireworks when he saw Shimizu walk in. Without hesitation, he shouted, "Shimizu-san! I came back just to greet you!"

In an instant, he dashed forward, arms wide, preparing for a leap toward her.

But something unexpected happened.

As Nishinoya shut his eyes and launched himself into the air, bracing for impact—or a slap—he suddenly felt... weightless.

His eyes flew open in confusion before realizing he was dangling mid-air, held up by the back of his uniform like a kitten.

"Tsuna?"

Nishinoya blinked, staring up at the tall figure holding him effortlessly. His voice rose with excitement, "Tsuna! You're back too!"

"..."

Tsuna didn't say a word.

He simply looked at Nishinoya and carried him back to the middle of the court before letting go of his grip.

Nishinoya landed softly on the floor and asked, "Why are you taking me here?"

"Teach me how to receive, Nishinoya."

"Huh?"

Nishinoya's jaw dropped. 

He blinked his eyes while looking at Tsuna's serious expression before confirming, "Did you just ask me to teach you how to receive?"

Tsuna—Karasuno's ace and the same guy who used to dump the ball on him relentlessly during practices—was asking him for guidance?

Even the others, who had watched Tsuna's sudden intervention to stop Nishinoya from being slapped, looked their way in curiosity.

"He's really serious about it, huh?"

"...I mean, did you not see the last practice game we had?"

The murmurs from the team grew louder as Nishinoya stared into Tsuna's eyes. There was no trace of a joke in them.

"Uhh, I don't really wa—"

Nishinoya scratched his head, glancing away as if trying to dodge the request.

But Tsuna didn't let him finish, "Nishinoya, I don't know anyone better at receiving than you."

"..."

"You're called The Guardian Deity of Karasuno because you're the best at it."

"...!"

Nishinoya froze.

His face turned bright red with the compliments as he then puffed out his chest with a laugh, "Muahahaha! Of course, I'll teach you!"

"Flattery always works on him."

Suga rolled his eyes from the sidelines.

But...

"Alright, listen closely!"

Nishinoya then grabbed a ball and threw it into the air. Everyone leaned in slightly including Tsuna as Nishinoya continued, "Just go thwap..."

"...and then pow!"

Nishinoya received the ball cleanly between his hands.

"...?"

Tsuna blinked in response as his expression darkened.

He twitched his lips and turned to the others, who wore the same confused expressions, and flatly asked, "Are you hearing this?"

"Ha! Hold up..."

Seeing Tsuna's annoyed face, both Tanaka and Suga immediately rushed over. They grabbed his shoulders as if he had completely lost his mind.

Tanaka exclaimed, "You don't understand?"

Tsuna shook off their hands with a frown, "How am I supposed to understand that? He doesn't even speak human language!"

Tanaka muttered, "This is weird..."

Weren't geniuses supposed to understand each other?

Suga narrowed his eyes at Tsuna, "Then, can you explain how you spike?"

"Huh? Why are you even asking that?"

Tsuna rolled his eyes at them for being so dramatic.

Still, Suga wasn't convinced. He then crossed his arms and insisted, "Just explain!"

"Sigh..."

Tsuna sighed as he then tossed the ball into the air.

"You just go beep..." Then, with a swift, powerful swing of his arm, he added, "...and kaboom!"

"..."

The gym went completely silent.

Everyone's expressions twisted into annoyance as they all rolled their eyes and roared, "Aren't you speaking the same freaking language, you idiot?!"

Meanwhile...

"I see..." Kageyama, who had been quiet the whole time, suddenly nodded. "...I understand."

"Eh?"

All eyes turned sharply toward him.

Suga cautiously approached, "Elaborate, Kageyama."

"Huh? That I can understand them both?"

Kageyama looked confused as Suga seemed to freeze at his response.

Slowly, Suga turned toward the others.

Without a word, they all huddled together in a tight circle, whispering furiously as if deciding who was running for the president.

"What... what are they even doing?"

Tsuna was looking at them weirdly.

Nishinoya just shook his head, "No clue."

"Maybe it's another human language I don't speak..."

Kageyama simply shrugged. 

All three of them watched from the sidelines, utterly bewildered.

"Yosh, it's decided," Tanaka declared.

"Right."

Daichi crossed his arms and nodded firmly.

"Kageyama," Suga said, stepping forward while grabbing the setter by the shoulder and pushing him forward, "You'll translate Nishinoya's language to Tsuna's."

"Yes?"

"Oh!"

Both Tsuna and Nishinoya exclaimed in unison.

They patted Kageyama on the back, making him stumble forward slightly, "Do us a favor and translate, Kageyama!"

Before long...

"...What the fuck am I watching?"

"Is this even Japanese anymore?"

"I don't know dude, I think they are just bilingual at this point..."

...a strange scene unfolded in Karasuno High's gym.

Tsuna and Nishinoya, speaking in strange sounds and gestures, seemed to have a serious conversation.

Kageyama stood between them, nodding and translating their gibberish into equally gibberish phrases.

"Thwap," Kageyama said, pointing at Nishinoya.

"Ah, kaboom!"

Tsuna replied, nodding as if it all made perfect sense.

"..."

The others could only watch in horror at the scene.

However, suddenly, the door slid open again, and Yamaguchi and Tsukishima walked in, both carrying their bags.

"Excuse me!"

"Sorry for being lat—uh...?"

The two froze mid-step, their eyes widening as they took in the scene.

"Mhmm!!!"

Both turned toward the muffled sound. Their gazes landed on Hinata, tied up and thrashing on the floor

They looked back at the strange trio in the center of the gym, who were now gesturing wildly and using terms like thwap, boom, and beep with what could only be described as insane.

Without another word, they turned around, silently sliding the door shut behind them.

"Sorry, wrong gym..."

Hinata screamed louder, "Mhmm!!!"