Chapter Text
Shouyou rested his chin in his palm, arm struggling to stay stable on the tiny armrest. Rain was pouring outside with little raindrops splattering on the window, Shouyou wanted nothing more than to break it open and just run.
But of course, the door was locked from the driver’s seat, and the window was extremely hard to break—especially for a first year high schooler.
Ayumu Murase’s song, “Grade Skipping” played on the radio. His mom turned the volume knob down a little, “Hey Shouyou, how’re you feeling?”
Although he was tired—his vocal chords had given up right after his screaming-arguing with his mom—and feeling really petty, Shouyou answered anyways, “M’fine.”
Staring out the window at the rapidly changing scenery, Shouyou couldn’t see his moms expression but knew it wasn’t one of relief. “Look,”
Shouyou sighed as quietly as he could—if his mom heard, he knew she’d blow a fuse. Natsu was sleeping, she was tired from crying earlier, too. He didn’t want to disturb his little sister so he tried his best to be as calm as possible.
“I know this isn’t ideal,”
Now you notice?
“but we’ll get through it, alright? I’m not doing this to punish you or anything, but you need a new environment. The one back in Inarizaki wasn’t very healthy for you.”
Nothing’s healthy for me these days.
“You’re therapist said this would be the best route. Natsu and I will miss you, but until you get better, we’ll just have to deal with it. I’ll always be a call away, okay Shouyou? I’m here for you.”
His mom’s gentle voice had almost distracted him from her abrasiveness. Her words were almost comforting—if he didn’t know better, Shouyou might have believed her.
“I know, mom. I’ll miss you and Natsu.” Thinking back, he knows she won’t be awake by the time they arrive, so n he added, “Can you tell Natsu that I said goodbye and I love her?”
He turned to his mom. She nodded, the car finally entering the road and exiting the highway. “Of course. But remember, that’s the only thing, okay? After that, no more.”
“I know.”
Shouyou was gonna miss his sister, but he knew the sooner he got it over with, the sooner he could go back to living his normal life.
It had only been a few hours but he already misses Hyogo: the neighborhood, the school (eh kinda, it was really only the volleyball club that he treasured), his house, and his friends.
After a moment of silence, his mom broke it once again. They were entering the prefecture, their destination was close and Shouyou was getting weary by the second, “You’ll be staying with Ukai Keishin. He works in the fields so you won’t see him until 7:00 AM. You’ll both get ready for school, he’s the coach of the volleyball team—maybe you can join them—“
No. No, I can’t mom.
“—and who knows? Maybe you’ll fit in, you can’t always have Atsumu-kun as your setter, Shouyou.”
Fuck this. No one can replace him.
Shouyou wants to cry—scream and scratch at his skin until it tears. But he can’t, his progress will only be hindered and he’ll never go home.
“Ukai-san will drive you to school, if you’d like. I know you prefer walking or biking. He’ll explain the instructions when you get there so don’t worry about that yet. We’ve also talked to your teachers, you’ll be exempted from major tests and assignments as your therapist noted. But, you still need to keep your grades up. And one last thing—don’t do anything stupid, Shouyou. I know you’ve learned from last time, right?”
He bit his tongue, tears threatening to pour as his heart started beating erratically. Couldn’t she see she was going too fast? Everything was overwhelming him, he tried to keep it under wraps.
“Y-yeah.”
Shouyou wiggled his toes in his foot and hit his hand in his sleeves, forcefully pressing his nails into his palm just enough for it to hurt, but nowhere near the point of breaking skin.
“Okay Shouyou. I love you.”
“I know.”
I’m so sorry. Fuck—I’m so so fucking sorry.
———
The car stopped, Shouyou’s mother parking the car in front of a tiny store. Shouyou could see from the side that although the front was tiny, it stretched in the back a bit.
He grabbed his belongings and with one apologetic look at Natsu, he opened the door and exited the car.
Miyagi from different from Hyogo. In Miyagi, they had more open space between walkways. Where he lived in Hyogo, it was more closed off, the structure was a more modern Japanese type while Miyagi’s structures look more fitted for a ‘country’ style.
He took in a breath of air—he wasn’t going to lie, the sunset there was beautiful. With light radiating into the open rice fields, it actually seemed a bit peaceful. Shouyou would’ve been elated to spend some time here, if not for the reason why he was here.
“Ukai-san!” His mom waved at someone exiting the building. Now that they were closer, he could see it was a convenience store. I wonder if they have meat buns, he thinks.
“Hinata-san!” The person he presumed was Ukai walked over. The adults exchanged greetings casually as if they were good friends. Now that he was thinking about it, his mom mentioned Ukai offered his place, they had to have a close bond. “How are you doing? It’s been such a long time since I’ve seen you!”
“Oh, I’m fine. What about you, you finally grew out your hair and I’ve only recently heard about your coaching job! What happened to ‘we’ll keep in contact’, huh?” They joked playfully. Shouyou was looking back in forth, one hand in his pocket and the other holding his bag. His backpack was barely hanging on his left shoulder, it didn’t have anything that important so it would be fine.
Ukai Keishin at first glance seemed frightening. But as he saw his interaction with his mom, Shouyou immediately changed his mind. Ukai turned to Shouyou who tensed his shoulders, “Ah, You’re Shouyou, right?”
He nodded.
“You’ll be staying with me temporarily. Make yourself at home, kid.” Shouyou felt a bit more relaxed after realizing Ukai wasn’t as threatening as he thought.
“Go inside, Shouyou. Ukai-san will be there soon, we just need to go over some things.” Ukai nodded in agreement and Shouyou was sent inside the tiny convenience store.
Unfortunately, his mom was smarter than to start talking the moment he walked away so he was left in the dark about their conversation.
When he got inside, he flinched as the bell rang, surprising him. Shouyou took a few steps and immediately took notice of the meat buns display. They had different types of meat—pork, chicken, and other combinations of sauces. He thought for a moment, his mom did say he’d be getting an allowance every month. She never said what to spend it on—food seems like a reasonable item.
There were other things in the store but Hinata didn’t care for them. He walked a bit further and noticed that behind the counter was a door.
Ah. That’s probably where I’m staying.
Before he could get nosy and potentially risk a muscular tall man (that’s also a coach, mind you) getting mad at him, the bell rang, and he turned to see Ukai entering.
In the glass, he could see his mom driving off. Shouyou somehow feels disappointed.
“Hey there.” He turned his attention to Ukai, finally fixing his backpack that was being supported by both shoulders now.
“Hello.” What was he supposed to say?
“Let’s cut to the point.” Shouyou gulped and took a deep breath, “There’s no need to be anxious or anything. I’m not going to hurt you and no one else will.”
It seemed a bit far fetched: to be somewhere with no hurt. But Shouyou wanted to make a good impression so he nodded.
“Seriously. I can see how tense you are.” When Shouyou didn’t change his state, Ukai softened his voice, “I know about what happened, and although I might not understand how you feel, I do know that this is difficult for you.”
Seeing how understanding his tone was, Shouyou dropped his shoulders a bit. His heart rate was still fast but the beat wasn’t overwhelming anymore.
“Take as much time as you need.” Ukai sighed, “I don’t agree with how they’re going about this—keeping you from seeing your family and making you leave your home. That’s just cruel. But I can’t change that. What I can change is how you so spend your time away from home. Ya need some fresh air, kid. Staying in one place that reminds you of misery will only cause you more misery. At least, until one day it doesn’t.”
Shouyou finally relaxed and exhaled, knowing he can trust his host. “I miss Hyogo.”
Ukai nodded, “I’m sure you do. Suddenly being taken away from your home isn’t something you get used to right away. But just remember—this isn’t forever.”
“Thank you, Ukai-san.”
“No need.” He walked towards the back door and opened it, “C’mon, lemme show you your room.”
———
His room wasn’t bad. It wasn’t big and it wasn’t small, just perfect. The room kind of resembled the one back in Hyogo, which had two windows. This one had one with no curtains and couldn’t be opened, something about replacement being too expensive. Shouyou giggles at Ukai’s cheapness as the man ruffled his hair fondly.
It was weird how they’d only met a few minutes ago, yet Shouyou felt so comfortable being around him. He feels like he could trust Ukai, even if it’s just a little.
“Call for me if you need anything!”
“Thank you!”
Now back to the room.
His bag had consisted of some posters from his walls. They were the new releases of Attack on Titan, My Hero Academia, and some hand drawn Toilet-bound Hanako-kun posters (he had already spent most of his money on new knee pads).
There were a few clothes, some blank notebooks, filled notebooks, and other essentials.
The first thing Shouyou pulled out was his charger. He plugged it into the wall socket and into his phone, it had died halfway on the drive due to him playing games on it for the first three hours.
His room already had a bed and a small sliding door for the closet—there wasn’t really anything to do except for put his posters up. It would probably only be for a few months (at least, that’s what they told him) so he doesn’t have to do anything major yet.
Shouyou took off his jacket and socks. After a long day of traveling, he was practically spent. Especially after arguing with his mom right before they left.
He wanted to feel bad, but he just couldn’t. What kind of mother forbids their son from seeing their family to stop his ‘sickness’ from spreading?
“I don’t want you around Natsu during this.”
“What? Why?”
“You’ve been hanging around that little group of friends at school and all of a sudden you’ve changed! I don’t want that spreading to Natsu either. You understand, right?”
Shouyou flopped on his bed and groaned, tired both mentally and physically. What his mom said 50% of the time doesn’t make sense—he’s been dealing with this for fifteen years, he can endure just a few more.
Once his phone had turned on, Shouyou reached over and unlocked it, seeing the wallpaper. His gaze lingered and he smiled. It’s been so long since he’d smiled without a heaviness dragging down on it. It seemed, every time he talked these days, it would take most of his energy.
Although he feels no remorse for his mom, he does for Natsu. Every time they talk, she immediately knows somethings wrong. He doesn’t want her to worry—but she can probably see the tiredness in his smile as much as he can feel it.
A bunch of notifications had flooded in a few seconds after his phone was unlocked. Most were text messages and others from apps he barely uses anymore.
Clicking on the messages, Shouyou decides to respond.
tsumoogi: hiya shouyou kun
tsumoogi: we miss you :D
tsumoogi: osamu misses you too,,
tsumoogi: he just won’t say it
osafuckyou: shit up ^^
sunarin: shit up
tsumoogi: shit up
breakurshins: shit up
osafuckyou: read my user all of you
sunarin: ok seriously tho
sunarin: it’s been hours since shou has left
tsumoogi: shouuuyouuuuuu kuuuuunnn
hinabi: hihi hello!!
osafuckyou: hi shouyou
tsumoogi: i miss you
tsumoogi: please com back
tsumoogi: i can’t live like this anymore
sunarin: jfc atsumu
sunsrin: what a drama queen
breakyourshins: how was your trip?
breakyourshins: did you get to Miyagi safely?
breakyourshins: you should be resting right now, you’ve have a long trip
hinabi: don’t worry kita-san!!
hinabi: i am: fine :D
hinabi: ^^ i miss you too tsumu
hinabi: but i can’t come back yet :(
sunarin: not to be rude or anything
sunarin: i’ll just say what everyone’s thinking
sunarin: your mom’s kinda a bitch :/
breakyourshins: suna
hinabi: no no it’s fine
hinabi: the way she treated you guys that day was really rude
hinabi: i’m sorry :(
osafuckyou: we don’t care how she treats us lol
osafuckyou: it’s how she treats you
tsumoogi: yeah,,
tsumoogi: she’s practically kicking you out for something that wasn’t even your fault
sunarin: i wouldn’t hurt my elders
sunarin: but maybe just this once
hinabi: guys (c" ತ ,_ ತ )
breakyourshins: we’re here for you shouyou
breakyourshins: no matter where you are, hyogo will always be your home
breakyourshins: and we’ll be there to welcome you back
hinabi: whoa,, my eyes are sweating,,
sunarin: look what you’ve done
sunarin: you’ve made shouyou cry
breakyourshins: go to sleep now shou
breakyourshins: it’s been a long ride
hinabi: thank you!!
hinabi: tell the team i miss them too!!
hinabi: love you guys <3 gn!
tsumoogi: love ya too shou kun
osafuckyou: i love you more than tsumu
tsumoogi: honestly fuck you
sunarin: we love you too shou
sunarin: be careful there
breakyourshins: we’ll be waiting for you <3
Shouyou grinned at his phone like a middle schooler texting their crush. Even miles away, his little group of friends managed to make him feel like he’s still in Hyogo, just joking around.
But reality was—he’s not in Hyogo. He’s back in Miyagi, not with his friends, and definitely not at home.
It was going to be a long journey until he gets home, but until then, he has his friends to support him on the way.