Okaayyy. I'm sorry for the unplanned hiatus.

It's just that there was this typhoon which hit my country, the power lines went out for roughly a day, I went through hell due to cramming for my exams and submitting projects, and am now starting my Christmas break.

On the bright side, I'm getting addicted to Haikyuu! I honestly love Nishinoya, cute shrimpy and amazing libero he is... And Tobio's position was in my exam in Physical Education too, which reminded me of said anime.

Okay. Soo.. Here it is. I kinda noticed that the most popular Haikyuu! FFs are either OC x Kageyama Tobio or OC x Azumane Asahi. Also OC x Oikawa Tohru.

But no OC x Nishinoya.

Why?!?!

So I therefore decided to write one for the guy - since he deserves some love, people!

Anddd.. This was the result. It's unedited, since I wrote it in a hurry while I was watching Haikyuu!'s episode eighteen.

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Monochrome Deceptions | A Haikyuu! Fanfiction
Before | Winter Wind Etude

"What does it mean to be swift?"

The heft of the ball felt snug against his palm as he swung; his arm slicing an arc through the air as it journeyed on its downward descent. His lips curled into a radiant grin; the sting upon his reddened skin barely noticeable as he savored the moment.

Cheers erupted in the stadium as he landed, the dull thud of his shoes imperceptible amidst the excited din. Nakamura Keiji heaved a deep sigh, rocking back onto his heels as the shrill whistle cut through the atmosphere - much like his appendage had done a few seconds before.

"Say, Hitori," He whispered beneath his breath as his underclassmen clapped him on the back, their loud calls falling onto currently deaf ears. "I think I now know the answer."

"Hey, Nakamura, hurry up! You don't wanna miss our ride, do you?

"She's waiting for you!"

A laugh escaped the auburn-haired boy's lips, as he followed the retreating figures of his team.

"She isn't waiting for me back at Karasuno, idiots," Keiji muttered, landing a playful whack upon the back of the caller's head - Tanaka, he supposed. The latter simply looked at him in confusion, as the sound of footsteps met their ears.

"She's right here."

As if on cue, a paper airplane landed gently by his feet, delicate in its creation. Keiji smiled, bending down to pick up the simple origami as his teammates' laughter grew louder.

"So? How did it go?" Her mouth was set in a barely noticeable grin, try as she might to hide the fact. She slowed to a stop beside the smiling redhead as he cradled the now-unfolded piece, an eyebrow raised at his cheerfulness. "Kei?"

He laughed, slinging an arm around the petite brunette as he waved the sheet of paper around - a sketch of him done in charcoal, his crimson locks in wild disarray, his arm raised as he prepared to spike the ball in mid-jump. She merely crossed her arms over her chest, a battered sketchpad tucked into the school bag at her side.

"Weren't you just watching a few minutes ago, Tori?" Her frown grew even deeper, a glint of disapproval in her slate-gray eyes at the nickname. "How do you think it went?"

"I arrived in the middle of the second set, Keiji. Sensei wouldn't let us out earlier." She paused, glancing up at the amused teenager as she shrugged off his arm. "Nevertheless, I expected the results. My brother is in the team, after all."

"So uptight as always, Tori." Keiji commented, ruffling her dark-brown curls. "Loosen up."

'Tori' raised an eyebrow, running a hand through her disheveled tresses. "State an acceptable reason as to why I should."

"Well, shouldn't you do the same as to why you aren't with Asahi-senpai right now?"

"...Fair point, Keiji."

He grinned, enthusiastically draping an arm around the passive girl. "You admit I'm greater than you at debate then? Right, Hitori?"

Hitori didn't miss a beat. "A greater idiot, maybe."

A look of mock-horror crossed his face. "That hurts, Hitori! You've always known I'm sensitive..." He pretended to sniffle, even wiping at the corners of his dark eyes.

"Shut up, Nakamura."

Hitori stopped abruptly, the soles of her school shoes skidding slightly upon the edge of the curb. The volleyball club had already crossed the street; she spotted her brother's identical dark-brown hair amidst the sea of black.

Why he wanted to grow his hair that long, she didn't know.

"Come on." Keiji took her hand, leading her across the road. She stumbled, unable to keep up with his long strides.

"Wait, Keiji, I--" A harsh curse slipped past her lips, as her sketchpad tumbled out of her full-to-bursting school bag. Hitori bent over, her fingertips barely brushing against its worn cover as a frantic shout came from behind.

"Hitori!"

A harsh screech met her ears, as the world seemingly slowed to a stop. She stood there, frozen, as a familiar auburn blur pushed her to the side; a gust of frigid, winter wind breaking past the thin fabric of her blazer of her uniform.

The smell of burnt rubber filled her nostrils, as an audible cracking noise filled the atmosphere.

"K-K-Keiji...?"

-To be continued.

Andddddd that's it!

To clear things up, Hitori's full name is Azumane Hitori, and she is Azumane Asahi's younger sister. I know this is cliche, don't judge. But anyway.. She's also the girl in the picture.

Also, this is something I've been thinking over for the past week, but never went and wrote this until yesterday as I was finished watching ep. 18.

It was supposed to be like this: Keiji was in a separate FF than Hitori. But I decided to just add them both into one: Monochrome Deceptions. I got the idea from mixing the supposed-to-be titles of the two FFs I was planning: Monochrome (HitorixNishinoya) and Flightless (Keiji).

Anyway. The plot is this: Keiji (I keep reading his name as my brother's for some reason..) is a former player at Karasuno Volleyball Club, the same year as Nishinoya. He and Hitori are childhood friends, since he was the "boy next door", and Asahi used to play volleyball with the two when they were kids.

When they reached high school, Hitori and Keiji both enrolled in Karasuno, where the latter joined the volleyball club. The match before DateKo, as they were walking home (the scene shown above in the prologue), Hitori was almost ran over by a car, but was pushed away by Keiji.

He survived, but with a permanent injury - his legs weren't really the same as before, so to speak. He's no longer able to play volleyball. Aside from that, his left eye is also permanently blind.

Hitori blames herself as a result, despite his constant reassurances that he's fine, that it's okay even if he isn't able to play. But she knows he's lying.

Why Deceptions though? I honestly wanted to have Little White Lies as the title at first, but then I chose this.

Keiji is a lot like Kurama Jun. He's... how to put this... a two-faced person, so to speak. In order to reassure Hitori that he's okay, that he's still the same as before, he puts up that cheerful front he usually does. He doesn't want her to be hurt more than she is when Asahi entered a bout of depression after the match with DateKo. In the inside, however, he's immensely depressed, thinking about what if he died instead of surviving the accident?

Yeah. I'm.. really making this even more depressing than Eyes of Azure will soon be as it moves along.

...Crap. I spoiled you guys, didn't I?

-Zoe