The late afternoon sun bleeds a bruised purple across the sky as the Karasuno High bus rumbles back from the Aobajohsai match. Inside, the air is thick with the smell of sweat and the electric hum of a Narrowly-Won victory.

Fuji, a first-year with hair that refuses to stay in its ties and eyes that flit around like trapped sparrows, is practically vibrating in her seat. She had spent the entire match screaming from the sidelines, a self-appointed one-woman cheer squad that even the stoic Kageyama couldn't ignore.

"We actually did it! We beat them! Did you see Hinata’s face when that last ball hit the floor?" Fuji chirps, her voice a pitch too high, her hands fluttering. She’s leaning over the seat toward Daichi Sawamura.

Daichi laughs, though his eyes are tired. "It was just a practice match, Fuji. But you're right. It’s a start."

As they pile out of the bus near the gymnasium, the coolness of the evening air hits them. The mood shifts, turning reflective. Daichi stops, looking up at the silhouette of the gym.

"If we’re going to make it to Nationals," Daichi says, his voice dropping into that heavy, leader-like tone that makes everyone at least two inches taller, "we need everyone. And soon, our 'Guardian' will be back. The one who truly protects Karasuno's floor."

Fuji’s smile falters for a fraction of a second. She knows exactly who he means.

***

The next day, the gym is a cacophony of rhythmic thuds. Hinata is bouncing around like a pinball, catching the tail end of a conversation between Tanaka and Sugawara.

"Wait, wait! The 'Guardian'?" Hinata screeches, sliding to a halt. "Is he like a secret weapon? Is he tall? Does he have lasers?"

"He’s a Libero, Hinata," Sugawara explains with a patient smile. "And no, he’s actually shorter than you."

"Shorter than me?!" Hinata’s eyes bulge.

Tanaka grins, crossing his arms. "But he’s a beast. Nishinoya Yuu. He got suspended for a month from club activities and a week from school because he got into a row with the faculty... and, well, some other stuff."

Fuji is standing nearby, ostensibly polishing a ball, but her movements have become mechanical. Her shoulders are hunched. When she hears the word 'suspended,' a sharp, bitter memory of a crashing glass vase and a shouting boy flashes through her mind.

Hinata, ever-observant of energy shifts, trots over to her. "Fuji-chan? You look like you just ate a lemon. Do you know him?"

Fuji bites her lip. The "charming, hyperactive" mask slips for a moment, revealing a tired girl who hasn't slept much because her foster parents were fighting until 3:00 AM.

"I know him," she says quietly. "I was here, Hinata. Three months ago. Before I even wore this uniform."

"Huh? You were a guest?"

"Daichi let me watch," Fuji says, her voice regaining some strength. "I didn't want to go home. I never want to go home. So I came here. Noya-senpai... he was the only one who didn't look at me like I was a 'charity case' from the orphanage. He just saw someone who wanted to learn how to dive."

She looks at her palms. "A month ago, during the incident... I was there. I tried to grab his arm when he was going after the principal's office. He was so angry about Asahi-san leaving... he didn't even see me. He shoved me so hard I hit the lockers. He didn't mean to, but..." She trails off, her fingers unconsciously brushing a faint, yellowing bruise on her ribs that didn't come from volleyball, but from her father’s belt the previous night. She mixes the two pains in her head.

***

A few days later. The air in the gym is tense. Kageyama is attempting a precision drill, aiming for a plastic bottle set up across the net.

The ball flies—fast, lethal.

Suddenly, a blur of black and orange streaks across the court. A boy, small but built like a coiled spring, dives. With a "thwack" of perfect form, the ball is sent flying upward.

"ROLLING... THUNDER!"

The gym goes silent.

"It's him!" Hinata screams, eyes sparkling. "The Guardian!"

Nishinoya Yuu stands up, his hair spiked with a defiant blonde tuft in the front. He looks around, his presence filling the entire room despite his stature.

"Is it just me, or did the air get louder?" Kageyama mutters.

Sugawara, Daichi, and Tanaka approach him, beams of relief on their faces.

"Noya! Welcome back!" Tanaka shouts, slapping him on the back.

"Hmph," Nishinoya says, his eyes roaming the gym until they land on a familiar figure.

Fuji is standing by the equipment bin. This is her moment. She isn't going to let him see her as the girl he accidentally knocked over. She needs to be the "ace" of her own life.

She struts onto the court, tossing her hair back, putting on her most dazzling, arrogant smirk.

"Well, well," she calls out, her voice dripping with mock-vignette. "The short-stack returns. I thought the school finally realized you were too much trouble for a bunch of crows."

Nishinoya’s eyes light up with a feral sort of joy. "Fuji! You actually got into this school? I thought you’d fail the entrance exams for sure!"

"I’m a Karasuno first-year now, Senpai!" Fuji shouts, suddenly losing her 'cool' act and lunging toward him. "SENPAI! You owe me for that locker incident!"

She throws herself at him in a chaotic hug. Nishinoya, startled by the sudden mass of hyperactive girl, flails his arms.

"Gah! Get off!"

In the scramble, his elbow catches Fuji right in the temple. *Thump.*

Fuji stumbles back, rubbing her head, stars dancing in her vision.

"Ow... you’re still a walking disaster, Noya-senpai."

"Ah! Sorry! You came at me like a stray cat!" Nishinoya shouts, though he’s grinning. He looks at her properly for a second, his gaze lingering on the way she winces—not just from the head-bump, but the way she carries her body. He’s sharp. He notices.

Daichi steps forward, his expression sobering. "Nishinoya. We need you. The team—"

"I told you, Daichi," Nishinoya interrupts, his voice suddenly like tempered steel. The playfulness vanishes. "I’m not coming back to the club. Not unless Asahi returns too. What’s a 'Guardian' if there’s no Ace to protect?"

"Nishinoya, listen—"

"No!" He barks, loud enough to make the rafters ring. Fuji flinches, a deep, primal reaction to the volume of a man’s anger. Nishinoya sees the flinch. He bites his tongue, his brow furrowing.

He turns on his heel, heading for the exit. He stops at the door, his back to the room. The silence is deafening.

"Fuji," he says, his voice much lower, almost a growl. "Come. Now."

Fuji looks at Daichi, who gives a small, mournful nod. She trudges after Nishinoya, her usual bounce replaced by a heavy, mechanical gait. She knows that tone. It’s the tone of someone who has reached their limit.

***

They walk in silence toward the vending machines outside the gym. The fluorescent light of the machine flickers, casting long, jittery shadows. Nishinoya punches a button and a can of Garigari-kun soda drops with a metallic thud.

He doesn't open it. He leans against the machine, looking at the stars.

"You look like hell, Fuji," he says quietly. No shouting. No 'Rolling Thunder.' Just the raw honesty of a boy who sees too much.

"I'm fine, Senpai. It's just the training. Kageyama is a monster," Fuji lies, her voice cracking.

"Don't lie to me. I saw you flinch in there when I yelled. You didn't use to do that three months ago." He turns to her, his eyes piercing. "The 'parents.' They’re still at it, aren't they?"

Fuji looks at her shoes. The "bubbly" girl is gone. In her place is a terrified orphan who has nowhere to go when the sun sets. "They give my sister money for clothes. They give me... they give me reasons to stay at the gym until the lights go out."

Nishinoya steps closer. He’s shorter than most men she fears, but he feels like a mountain.

"I'm not going back to the club yet," he says, his voice steady. "But that doesn't mean I’m leaving you to deal with them alone. You wanted to be a 'universal player,' right? To be able to do everything so no one could ever say you weren't needed?"

Fuji nods, a single tear escaping and tracing a path through the dust on her cheek.

"Then tomorrow, after school, we meet at the park. Not the gym. The park. I’ll teach you how to receive until your arms are as numb as your head," Nishinoya says. He finally cracks the soda can open and hands it to her. "Drink. You’re dehydrated from all that fake smiling."

Fuji takes the can, the cold metal stinging her palm. "Are you really not coming back? Even for me?"

Nishinoya looks back at the gym, the light spilling out of the doors where the others are still practicing. His heart is clearly in there, but his stubbornness is a wall.

"If the Ace doesn't find his courage, the Guardian has nothing to guard," he says, but then he looks at her, a small, fierce smirk returning. "But I'll guard you, brat. That’s a promise. Now go back inside and tell Tanaka he’s an idiot. I can hear him shouting from here."

He walks away into the dark, leaving Fuji standing by the humming machine. She takes a sip of the soda. It’s sweet, cold, and for the first time in weeks, she feels like she can breathe.

Haikyuu!! — 3 глава

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