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"One more toss!"
Bokuto was riddled with energy, despite the sun setting and nightfall coming quickly. Akaashi could never understand how his best friend could be so energetic practically all the time, however, he did not push it away.
A neighboring boarding school was hosting a training camp for schools in the area, using the campus to host the students. There was an allocated time period for students to partake in anything they wanted, whether it be hanging out in the dorms, playing games, or just socializing in general. However, Bokuto, Akaashi, Hinata, Kageyama, Kenma, Kuroo, and Tsukishima had taken over the outdoor volleyball court, upon Bokuto and Kuroo's request (albeit a bit forcefully)
Kenma looked up from his switch to see Hinata zooming around the court like a tiny bee looking for a flower, Bokuto reciprocating his energy as they playfully, yet competitively spiked with all their might, while Tsukishima and Kuroo practiced their intimidating blocks.
didn't shoyo feel a little sick earlier? and he has already bounced back?
jeez
Kenma wasn't exactly sure why he allowed Kuroo to drag his ass outside in the cold at 8 PM, but this wasn't the first time that his taller friend had done such a thing anyways, he was used to it, it was like a routine. Kuroo would meet with Kenma after school, or in any other scenario, and would playfully pull and drag at him until Kenma would say yes. It happened most times without fail, but he appreciated that whenever he would firmly say no, his older friend would not push it any further
Kenma watched as Hinata and Kageyama began to set up for their infamous quick, he always envied how nimble yet strong Kageyama and his smaller counterpart were, it was interesting to watch such polar opposite people come together.
Hinata slammed his hand down on the ball, performing a clean, quick spike that just missed Kuroo's fingertips.
"Hinata! Nice kill!" Bokuto yelled, like the proud mother goose he was, high-fiving Akaashi before moving to the other side of the court to get water and more importantly, pester the shit out of Tsukishima.
"Kennnnnma! Give me a hug!..." Kuroo grinned menacingly, dripping in sweat as he ran towards Kenma, who had promptly placed his switch on the floor and began to speed walk away.
Not today
Kageyama noted that Hinata seemed very tired as he reached for his water bottle, his cheeks flushed and his hair unruly from the wind and his sweat that had dampened his forehead, yet he looked content. "Oi, asshat, you feeling better from earlier?"
Hinata scrunched his eyebrows, muttering something under his breath before speaking normally. "I feel a little better, not sure."
Akaashi chuckled at Hinata's inability to know if he felt ill or not. It was something so childish yet so amusing. "You look a little more flushed than usual."
Hinata paused for a moment, thinking about when Ukai scolded him earlier for playing while running a fever.
Yeesh, coach can sure be scary sometimes.
"I think I'm gonna head back to the dorms, sleep everything off."
Tsukishima almost burst out laughing when he heard Hinata.
the shrimp never knows when to quit. he must really feel like shit then if he wants to go back to the dorms.
"What is this? Hinata Shoyo thinking? what a surprise!" Hinata recognized the voice to be Tsukishima's, but before he could turn around to do anything, Bokuto had already smacked him on the back of the head with the sleeve of his jacket.
"Hey hey hey!, be nice, Tsukki!"
"I told you not to call me that."
"Whatever."
Kuroo had finally given up on chasing Kenma around the court, Kenma trailing behind him at a safe distance. "Who's up for round three, ladies?"
Atypically, Tsukishima actually raised his hand, placing his water bottle back in his bag.
"I never thought you would actually stay for extra volleyball," Hinata remarked as the taller boy walked past.
"I can learn a lot with Kuroo-san and Bokuto-san about blocking, besides, I don't exactly have to make up for anything in the height department."
Kuroo snickered while Hinata shouted some obscene profanity at the blonde, before turning around to grab his bag. "You coming, Kageyama-Kun?"
The latter shook his head. "I'm staying."
Hinata groaned, spinning around on one heel. "Do I seriously have to walk back alone?"
"Yup. Cry about it."
The small ginger swung his gym bag over his shoulder, looking beyond the fence at the streetlights that lit up his short, but boring path to the dorms. "Kenma-san, wanna come?"
Kenma didn't look up from his switch. "I'll catch up with you in a bit, I'm just gonna finish this round,"
Hinata maneuvered over Kenma's shoulder to see what he was playing, Kenma's two-toned head blocking the view. "Well, see you in a bit!" The ginger grinned at his friend before spinning around, exiting out of the green fence that surrounded the court.
Hinata heard Kuroo shouting something along the lines of "Good game, shrimp!" as he hopped on the short wall and began to walk, putting his balance to the test.
Kenma watched as his shorter friend slowly walked out of view, returning to his round of smash brothers.
g'night, shoyo
Hinata jumped back down from the wall a little way into his 5 minute journey, contently humming to the song he had heard in the canteen that had been stuck in his head all day. The cool nightly breeze brushed around his body, yet he still found himself warm, and his arms and legs were aching. He groaned to himself, resenting the feeling of potentially coming down with something. He didn't want to get sick, these training camps only came around every once in a while, he wanted to make it count.
Just before he was due to turn the corner to his dorm building, there was a small back alley between two dorm buildings that weren't being used. Just as the ginger began to walk towards the corner, he caught glimpse of 4 cigarettes lighting up the alley. Hinata gulped.
"Hey look, it's the shrimp from earlier."
Hinata squinted his eyes, observing the group of boys with dark blue jerseys that had just walked into the gymnasium. He didn't recognize their team whatsoever.
Hinata habitually kicked Kageyama's ankle. Kageyama swung around, ready to shake the life out of Hinata. "Oi Boke!"
"Who's that team over there?" He asked innocently, catching Kageyama off guard. The taller boy turned and also saw the team with the dark jerseys. They looked pretty menacing and boisterous for a team that they had never seen before.
"No idea. They weren't here during our October training, were they?"
Hinata shuffled a little closer to Kageyama upon making eye contact with one of the members of the team. "I don't think so. They know we're looking at them now, oops."
"Whoever they are, we're playing them next, look-" Kaygeyama pointed towards the list of matches for the day, they were up first playing against Tora Academy.
"Tora?" Hinata murmured. "Who are they?"
"They're some kind of preppy private school. They're probably just entering the prefecture matches now. Let's show them who's the best." Kageyama replied firmly. "Don't fuck up."
"Shut up! I won't!"
The final whistle of the match blew and Hinata turned to the side, seeing Bokuto and Akaashi watching their game, along with Nekoma and Date tech beside them. "Go Karasunooooo!" Bokuto yelled, Akaashi slinking down to the floor further out of second-hand embarrassment.
25 - 18
"Shoyo! That final spike was so badass! Hinata felt Nishinoya jump up behind him, ruffling his hand over Hinata's hair. Hinata's hair was free real estate to rub, he became accustomed to it. Tanaka also came up to reciprocate the energy by shouting until Daichi grabbed all three of them to go to the net to shake hands with Tora.
Tora were a menacing bunch. Hinata observed that the shortest person on the team had to be at least 5'10, which was much taller than himself. He turned again, focusing on shaking hands with the team. He was the last person in the line and once everyone had walked off the court, he had one final handshake. With the captain.
"Good game!" Hinata beamed, putting his hand out for their captain to shake it. The captain took it and began to shake. Hinata's stomach dropped to the floor as he felt the taller boy's hand start to crush his as he smiled, but even Hinata knew that the smile was not genuine.
The boy leaned in, his smile fading quickly. "Let's meet again, Hinata Shoyo."
The captain instantly let go, walking back to the other side to greet his team. Hinata looked down at his palm, holding it with his other hand to see the red finger marks that covered his small hand.
Ouch.
Hinata stumbled around back to the rest of his team, sitting between Suga and Noya. Suga saw the interaction take place. "Hey, what was that all about?"
The smaller boy shrugged, looking back down at his hand. "I dunno, he was being really creepy, he was all like-" He sat up and began to comically mimic what the boy had done and said to him.
"Weird..." Noya murmured, glancing over at Tora, who were still looking at Hinata every so often, despite the match between Date Tech and Fukurodani already starting. "These guys are weird."
Sugawara wasn't the only person that noticed the captain being passive-aggressive towards the younger boy. The minute it happened, Kuroo elbowed Kenma out of a daydream. "Did you see that?"
"No?" Kenma yawned, seeing Hinata walking back to his team, a bit slower than usual.
"The captain of that private school was being really creepy, he grabbed Hinata's hand and basically, crushed it?"
Kenma's eyebrows scrunched, looking over at Tora. "Maybe they're just annoyed, or surprised, or both. We didn't expect their quick when we first played Karasuno."
"True..." Kuroo replied. "It's true but still weird." He returned his attention to the game, not quite being able to shake off the interaction.
"Remember us?"
Tora had their complete attention on Hinata now, and he didn't like it for a second.
am I supposed to feel, like, powerful now? or proud? do I start bragging?
this is weird.
"Yeah, I do." He replied, not sure what to say.
"Good." Hinata gulped as he saw the captain emerge from behind the group like some kind of comic book villain. "I think we should have a little chat while you're here."
The captain took a pull of his cigarette, dramatically blowing the smoke into Hinata's face, causing the boy to cough. "What do you want, I'm heading back so-"
"What we want to know is what the hell you and the black-haired bastard are taking, cause we want it."
Hinata paused, genuinely confused at his statement.
play nice, shoyo, play nice
"I'm not really sure what you mea-"
The captain grabbed Hinata's shoulder, pulling him deeper into the alley and shoving him against the wall, his head colliding against the brick.
"Are you fucking dumb? I said what are you taking?"
Oh
Oh wow.
"You think I'm doping?" Hinata replied breathlessly. In any other circumstances, he would've laughed, but now wouldn't be a good time.
"It's pretty obvious, you're way too fast. And that other guy...he's something else. We saw you two looking at us before the game, you knew you were going to beat us, didn't you?" The captain leaned in closer, his three other team members watching from the back. He burned his cigarette off of Hinata's upper arm, making him squirm. "What are you taking? Does your coach supply?"
"Nobody on our team takes drugs, you guys just suck!"
Hinata's body filled with instant regret as the captain dropped his cigarette to the ground, quenching it with his foot as he lunged at him.
Kenma shivered as the ground had gotten a little colder in the past 5 minutes. The others were still playing the game, Kuroo and Bokuto pestering Tsukishima like children.
Kenma stood up, feeling glad that he decided to wear jogging pants instead of his shorts. He placed his switch back in its case, along with the Smash Brothers cartridge. Kuroo saw Kenma starting to pack up. "Are you heading back?" The shorter boy nodded in reply.
"We're almost done here, we'll meet you halfway!" Kuroo grinned at his friend before returning his attention to the game.
Kenma smiled to himself as he placed his switch case in his bag and swung it on his back, zipping up his jacket over his chin as he walked out of the court.
The lamposts that littered the path to the dorms were on now, leaving Kenma with a quiet, serene walk back. He didn't bother putting his headphones in, he wanted to appreciate this silence before he would return to the loudness of the dorms, already trying to predict what Yaku and Lev would be bickering about tonight.
Only 3 more days, then home.
He had been walking for around 2 minutes, coming up to the turn where Karasuno's dorm was, but froze in his tracks. The sound of people moving and talking and someone grunting in pain had caught his attention. The voice sounded familiar. He didn't recognize any of the other voices that were talking.
"Get his legs!"
"Hold the shrimp down!"
shoyo?
Kenma was glad that he decided to walk on the right side of the path instead of the left, so whoever was in the alley with Hinata hadn't seen him yet.
If I look, there's a chance they'll see me, maybe come for me?
Do I take the chance?
It might help Shoyo escape, regardless.
As quietly as he could, the teenager walked slowly, using the corner of the wall as a blind spot before peeking over. Kenma almost got sick.
The dark blue jerseys contrasted heavily against the grey walls of the dorm buildings. He briefly saw Hinata on the ground struggling, the captain of Tora on top of him, dragging his head by the hair away from the wall and punching his nose, the sound that came out of Hinata as the captain's fist started colliding with his body was something inhuman. The other three members of the team were watching, occasionally helping the captain or having a little fun of their own by jeering Hinata or kicking him as he tried to get up.
Kenma took a few steps back, both out of shock and out of fear of being seen.
shit shit shit
this is bad
Kenma quietly placed his bag against the wall of the absent dorm, his mind racing for what to do next.
should I go back? I don't want to leave him here
if I run they'll hear me
is that a bad thing?
think, think!
Kenma felt his heart start to race as the sound of Hinata crying started filling his ears, the four Tora students mocking and laughing at him as they continued to torment him. The fact that Kenma couldn't see what was going on and could only hear noises made everything ten times worse.
Kenma grabbed his phone out of his pocket, ready to dial whoever came up first that might be of value to this situation. Before he pressed the call button, he stopped.
they'll definitely hear the dial tone, won't they?
even if they don't hear that, they'll hear my voice
fuuuuuuck
Kenma went out of the phone app and opened up his messages.
this is all I got
He opened up Kuroo's messages.
Me: Hinata getting beat up. I'm gonna help. we're at the corner before Karasuno dorm
Me: hurry
You better see this fucking text, Kuroo-san, or so help me.
Kenma gently placed his phone in his bag, hands shaking from both nerves and fury and quickly gathering the courage to turn the corner and face Tora.
"Hey! get the fuck away from him!"
Kenma threw all of his body weight into the student that pinned down Hinata.
Kuroo fist-bumped Bokuto after mentally draining the shit out of Kageyama and Tsukishima. Playing against the two third years was one thing, but hearing them constantly joking around and pestering was what broke the first years as they grabbed their bags and water bottles.
"That was absolutely godawful..." Tsukishima said under his breath.
"What was that, Tsukki? I can't hear you over the sound of my triumph!" Bokuto laughed, ignoring the first year's plea to stop calling him by the nickname.
"He really needs to stop calling me that,"
"Thanks for the game, Kuroo-san. We learned a lot." Kuroo was genuinely surprised by the awkwardness and politeness that came from Kageyama, considering he had seen how we interacted with his team, specifically Hinata and Tsukishima.
he must be pretty comfortable with them if he feels the need to be nicer to me
"Don't sweat it, kid. It was a good experience for everyone." Kuroo smiled.
Kageyama nodded, returning his attention to packing his bag to leave.
he's painfully awkward
he reminds me of kenma
The third year pulled his phone out from the bottom of his bag.
speaking of...
"What the fuck?"
Bokuto swung around at the sound of Kuroo swearing, Akaashi, Tsukishima, and Kageyama also showing interest.
"What's wrong?"
Kuroo turned around, showing the others Kenma's message
Kenma ^_^: Hinata getting beat up. I'm gonna help. We're at corner before karasuno dorm
Kenma ^_^: hurry
"What has that asshat gotten himself into this time..." Kageyama whispered, not sure if Kenma was being genuinely serious. Kageyama had been to enough games with Hinata to know that the smaller boy would often bump into people he deemed "scary", especially in bathrooms.
"What if it's a joke? there's literally nobody around right now." Akaashi asked, Bokuto noting that his voice sounded a little shaky.
Kuroo looked up, dead serious. "Kenma wouldn't text me something like this if he wasn't fucking joking. He doesn't joke like this." Kuroo dropped his bag at the fence. "This is real."
"Shit..." Bokuto mumbled as he clumsily dropped his bag, Kuroo clutching onto his phone tightly as he began to speedwalk away. "Hang on-"
Bokuto and Akaashi followed Kuroo out the gate. "Wait up, man, we all gotta go together!" The owl turned to the first years, "C'mon! just leave your bags!"
Tsukishima looked at Kageyama.
"I don't think this is a prank."
The two dropped their bags, running along with the others, Kuroo and Bokuto breaking into a full on sprint and the others following suit. Kageyama decided that the races he and Hinata would have were actually paying off.
i swear to god if this is a joke-
The group started closing in on where Kenma said they would be, and once Kageyama heard a grunt of pain coming from the alley, he knew it wasn't a joke anymore, everyone taking a mental note of Kenma's abandoned bag.
It was Kuroo who turned the corner first. He saw Hinata's small body being pinned down by two Tora students against the wall, his nose bleeding and his body shaking from fear and tension. Kuroo's head snapped into the middle of the alley where he saw Kemna, his hair rugged and his eyes wild as he kicked and thrashed around wildly while the two other students tried to pin him down too.
Everyone in the alley turned to Kuroo like a deer in the headlights. Hinata looked like he had just seen an angel, while the Tora students looked frenzied and violent.
The captain turned around, and before he could lunge at Kuroo, Bokuto came racing around the corner, throwing all of his weight into the captain, the others soon following.
"Get the fuck off him."
Something clicked. It only took Kageyama one look into Hinata's eyes before he too threw himself at the two students who were holding him. The sheer surprise of his attack was enough for them to let go of him completely, allowing him to collapse to the floor. They tried to run, but Kageyama and Bokuto were already following up, making sure they wouldn't get out lightly.
Kuroo brought his attention to Kenma, who was battling it out with one of the taller boys. The latter had genuinely never seen Kenma look so fierce in his life, he was giving it his all, pulling and dragging on the student's clothes, attempting to claw at his neck and chest. Just before the boy could grab a fistful of the smaller boy's hair, Kenma landed a solid punch to his stomach before letting him go.
pulling hair? what a cheap move
Wide-eyed, the boy managed to get up on his feet and start running.
"Screw this! let's get outta here!"
Kenma fell back against the wall, breathless. Kuroo leaned down and pulled Kenma up, assessing his body for any damage. "Are you okay?"
The boy nodded quickly. "Forget about me, Shoyo-"
Kuroo wasted no time in grabbing Kenma's arm and turning around to get to Hinata, who was on the floor being poorly assessed by Tsukishima. Kenma ripped off his hoodie with speed and wrapped it over the ginger's trembling shoulders, not caring about the cold that instantly hit his skin.
"Is he okay?" Kuroo gently pulled Hinata up by the shoulders into a sitting position, trying his best to not vomit at the sight of Hinata's hair and body being spotted with dirt and blood. Thankfully, he was still awake. Scared, but awake.
"I-I'm not sure, his wrist is really swollen, and he seems really dazed-"
"Get to your teammates, get your coach, get anyone you can! Go!" Kenma yelled, Tsukishima nodding and getting up from his position on the ground next to Hinata, a little taken aback by Kenma's sudden assertiveness.
"Get lost!" Kageyama thundered as the other student he had approached had gotten free of his grasp. The student stumbled away and soon broke into a dash.
"You're fucking crazy!"
Akaashi, while trying to help Bokuto, was still trying to hold the other boy back from completely killing the captain underneath him, who at this point definitely had a broken jaw.
The captain was furiously thrashing from underneath Bokuto's weight, clawing at the owl as a last ditch effort. He managed to kick Bokuto off of him and twist his way out of Akaashi's grip, giving him a window of opportunity to drag himself up and bolt.
The Fukurodani captain was fully ready to start a chase, but Akaashi stretched his arm out across his chest to block him, out of breath. "Forget it, Bokuto-san,"
Bokuto stood there for a second, contemplating whether or not to chase the bastard down who did this, but he eventually gave in and turned around, much to Akaashi's joy. He turned around and jogged back to where Hinata was sitting, Akaashi following.
All eyes were on Hinata now.
lotta people here
whos here?
kuroo san, kenma san, bakayama...
tired
"Chibi-chan, can you sit up for me?" Kuroo asked gently, not wanting to frighten the first year.
"Should we move him? we gotta get him to the nurse." Bokuto turned to Akaashi as they jogged.
"No. Bad idea. We don't know the extent of his injuries."
"H-Hurts..." Hinata hiccupped just as Akaashi and Bokuto arrived beside him. Bokuto dropped down to Hinata's left, assessing the damage for himself. "Is he okay?"
"I can't tell..." Kuroo whispered. He cleared his throat. "Hinata, I need you to sit up so we can see what happened, okay?"
Hinata nodded, but before he could do anything he felt a familiar presence place their arms around his torso from underneath his armpits, pulling him towards their chest, Hinata's head resting on their collarbone area.
"K-Kageyama-kun?"
"It's me." Kageyama kept his words to a minimum, not really knowing what to say and wanting to keep Hinata calm.
Bokuto shuffled closer. "Hinata-kun! What happened!" The owl attempted to hold up his sleeve to Hinata's nose to stop the blood from entering his mouth.
Kageyama felt his fists tighten around Hinata's shirt. "Oi, don't bombard him! give him time..." Kuroo hissed.
"Let him lean forward." Akaashi told Kageyama. "It'll help with his nose bleed."
Everyone was surrounding Hinata now, he looked up at Akaashi, who was looking at him with grave concern.
"Hinata-Kun, are you dizzy?"
"Huh?"
Akaashi calmly repeated. "Are you dizzy?"
"A little."
"Do you feel sick?"
"Sorta?"
"Do you remember what happened?"
Hinata paused.
"Y-Yeah..."
Kuroo went over the questions in his head, realizing what he was doing.
he's trying to see if he has a concussion
"M'tired..." Hinata murmured like a small child, playing Kageyama's fingers as both Akaashi and Kuroo's faces dropped.
"No!" Akaashi said firmly. "I know you're tired, but you can't fall asleep, okay?"
Hinata didn't even bother to look up. "Whyyyy?"
"You just can't, okay?" Kuroo replied.
Akaashi looked to Bokuto and Kageyama. "Keep talking to him, keep him awake."
Bokuto was watching Hinata from the left, scared at every little noise or movement the smaller boy made. He didn't know a lot about first aid, let alone concussions, but he remembered a teacher saying that if someone has a concussion, never let them fall asleep.
'cause he might not wake up, right? he might not wake up
he might not wake up
"Boke, if you don't stay awake I will kick your ass!" Kageyama poked the smaller boy's hand. Hinata giggled.
"Heheh, bakayama's here..."
did he forget I was behind him?
Kageyama went pale.
"Okay, good, at least he's somewhat aware..." Akaashi breathed. "Gotta keep talking to him."
Kenma frowned as he looked up and down Hinata's body while Bokuto kept blabbering and Akaashi lifted Hinata's shirt a little, prompting Kageyama to move his hands. His stomach and ribs were red, a little area was covered in dirt from what Kenma assumed was one of those assholes' shoes.
"That's gonna bruise..." Akaashi kept looking for any injuries, brushing Hinata's hair off of his sweaty forehead to check for any cuts. The others just sat there, feeling helpless while Bokuto just kept on talking, nobody knowing what else to do that could help.
Akaashi turned his attention to Hinata's right wrist, which was swollen and bent upwards slightly
that doesn't look right
"Hinata-kun, can you feel this?" Akaashi gently tried to maneuver Hinata's wrist, the boy winced.
"Kinda, it aches, can't feel my fingers,"
Kuroo turned towards Kenma and put a hand on his shoulder and he promptly shivered out of surprise. "What happened, are you okay?"
"I'm okay, just a few scratches, nothing bad." Kuroo wasn't quite sure if he believed that fully, but he let his best friend continue. "I was walking back to the dorm and the captain of Tora was just, on top of him, beating the shit out of him. I-I didn't know what to do so I...I just texted you and-"
"Slow down, Kenma..." Kuroo said gently, seeing how agitated he was getting. Seeing his friend distraught was something Kuroo would never get used to, considering how little Kenma lost his cool.
"Okay..." The smaller boy took a breath before continuing. "I jumped at the guy who was on top of him and just started...punching, I guess? I started kicking and punching, it took the heat off of shoyo a little, I think, and then you guys came."
"You did good, you did so well, but you should've come back, we could've all done something together, you shouldn't have just throw yourself in like that! God knows what those guys' intentions were."
"I know..." he grumbled back, not really paying attention to what Kuroo had said, but more so paying attention to Hinata, who had started to cry as Akaashi was assessing his injuries.
Akaashi instantly refrained from what he was doing as soon as Hinata had started to wail, Kageyama only having one thing on his mind.
where the fuck is Tsukishima Kei right now
The weight of what had just happened fell on Hinata like a tonne of bricks, the adrenaline wearing off and the pain really starting to settle in.
"M'sorry e-everyone! I'm re-really so-"
Bokuto himself looked like he was about to cry. "You're okay, Hinata, it's not your fault..." The older boy began stroking Hinata's hair as he cried, not caring if he got blood on his hand.
"B-but-"
"It's not your fault, dumbass. I swear on my life it's not your fault."
Kageyama's words seemed to do a bit more justice than Bokuto's, however, both Bokuto's and Kageyama's physical presence was soothing.
Kageyama's mouth went on autopilot. "Listen to me, dumbass. It's not your fault, yeah? It wasn't your fault."
Hinata's breathing quickened. "I-I screwed up, hel-"
He brought up his hands gently to Hinata's cheek, brushing the tears off of his face.
"Just breathe, Hinata. You're safe, you're safe with me, you're safe with everyone here, okay?"
"I-I want d-dad! mom! I-"
Kageyama froze.
"Your family isn't here right now, chibi-chan, but you're okay, you'll see them soon." Kuroo hushed.
Hinata rested his head back onto the taller boy's collarbone, his sobs shaking his entire body. For once, Kageyama didn't shout, he didn't complain, he didn't pester, he stayed quiet.
"They're all gone now, Hinata, you're safe now. It's just us here."
Everyone fell quiet at the sound of Hinata sniffling, and the sudden softness of Kageyama as he zipped up Kenma's Nekoma hoodie over Hinata. Bokuto was surprised at Kageyama's sudden care towards his counterpart.
huh, I didn't think that kid could actually say something nice
As the first year started to calm down, Akaashi continued to observe his injuries, wincing at the scattered cigarette burns on his arms.
"I've counted three cigarette burns, a cut on the top of his head, a lot of scrapes, bruises, his wrist could be broken..."
Bokuto cursed. "We gotta get him to-"
"They're here!"
Kuroo looked up to see Kenma directing Tsukishima and Yamaguchi and the others they had gathered into the alley. It only took a second for the alley to be crowded with the rest of Karasuno, Ukai, and Takeda, and worry did not even begin to describe what was on their faces.
Tanaka and Nishinoya were first to round the corner, instantly skidding to their knees beside Kageyama, who was still holding Hinata like his life depended on it, followed by Daichi, Suga, Asahi and Ennoshita
"Move back! give them space!" Bokuto stood up and motioned for Kenma and Kuroo to take a step back.
"Shoyo! shit..." Nishinoya eyed Hinata's swollen wrist and knelt beside Tanaka, who was also frantically rummaging around and trying to get Hinata to explain. Kuroo noticed that Nishinoya was wearing his pajamas, which, in any other circumstance, would've been entertaining.
"Tobio, how did, what...what the fuck?" Tanaka exclaimed breathlessly, looking to Kageyama for answers.
Kageyama didn't know what to say, simply because he didn't know why.
why would you get four guys to attack a single first year?
there's no fucking way you could justify that
The other members of Karasuno crowded around Hinata and Kageyama, Hinata feeling safe with so many familiar voices, faces, touches, and smells around him, he even managed to shoot a brief smile in Daichi and Suga's direction, which simultaneously warmed and broke their hearts.
"Everyone move!" As soon as Ukai and Takeda had come around the corner, everyone instantly backed off, feeling better now that the adults were there.
Ukai knew to move gently as soon as he saw Hinata's shaking frame. He knelt down in front of him and Kageyama, assessing the damage.
"Hey, little red. We're gonna get you some help now, yeah? you're gonna be okay..."
Ukai's breath smelled of cigarettes, and Hinata shuddered.
He nodded, which was enough for Ukai to know that he was at least coherent. Takeda was already on the phone, to who nobody could really tell, but a weight had been lifted off the shoulders of the students for now.
Ukai looked up to Kenma. "Who did this?"
"Tora,"
The coach let out a string of curses. "They're dead, those kids better fucking run when I meet them..."
Takeda got off the phone. "No cars can fit down this way, we're going to have to walk to the nurses. I'll call his mother along the way, I don't think she would want him to stay here."
Ukai cursed under his breath. "Hinata, do you think you can walk?"
Kageyama stiffened.
Hinata nodded. "I-I can try-"
"I'll carry him," Asahi chimed in, Daichi and Tanaka also nodding to offer too.
"It's okay, Asahi-san," Hinata said quietly.
"Are you sure you can?" Kageyama was cautious in letting go of Hinata's middle.
"You can catch me if I fall!" Hinata giggled, trying to ignore the aching of his joints as he used Kageyama's shoulder to hoist himself up.
Kageyama scoffed.
Everyone was watching him carefully, ready to catch him at any sign of a wobble. Hinata smiled, Kageyama felt like hitting him.
why the hell are you smiling?
you don't have to act strong for us, dumbass
"You don't look very steady, Hinata..." Ukai mumbled, looking at Asashi who instantly knelt down. "Get on, Hinata-Kun."
"Thank you, Asahi-san," Hinata said meekly as he attempted to throw his arms over Asahi's shoulders, but hitting his wrist as he did so.
Ukai saw him flinch back as soon as his wrist collided with Asahi's shoulders. "Someone help him get on-"
Suga and Tanaka were already on the case, pushing him up onto the taller boy's shoulders and making sure his injured wrist was hanging as comfortably as possible.
Everyone already started to shuffle to follow Asahi until Takeda stopped them. "Hang on, you can't all come to the nurses. We need to get to the bottom of this. Does anyone know what happened?"
"Not really..." Bokuto replied, rubbing the back of his neck.
"Okay..." Takeda grimaced. "If anyone even has an idea, stay back here with me, Ukai-Kun will take care of Hinata. Does anyone feel the need to go with Hinata-Kun?"
"I'll go." Bokuto raised his hand slightly.
"Perfect, off you go."
Bokuto nodded and jogged to catch up with Ukai, Asahi, Hinata, and whoever else from Karasuno that managed to slip underneath Takeda's radar. The remaining boys crowded around the teacher, hushed murmurs and whispers circulating.
"Okay," Takeda began. "Does anyone have any idea who did this?"
"It was Tora, sensei, some members of the Tora team did this," Kuroo replied.
Takeda nodded, "Huh, okay...Do we know which members? their teachers and coaches need to be contacted immediately."
"Nah, but we won't have any trouble pointing out who did it..." Kenma muttered darkly, thinking of how the scrapes and cuts sustained would definitely identify them. "Their captain was definitely one of them, though."
Takeda shivered, what on earth was a third-year captain doing attacking a first year?
"Uh huh...Does anyone have an idea why this happened?"
"Kenma, you basically saved him, did they say anything?" Akaashi turned to the blonde boy.
Kenma's face went red from everyone looking at him, he hated being the center of attention. "Nope, they were just attacking him, I don't know what happened before that."
Takeda's face scrunched up in confusion. "Unless this was just completely random, there really isn't a reason for why they did this?"
"We beat Tora in today's matches, right? they might be jealous?" Yamaguchi chimed in. Jealousy really did seem like the only logical explanation to the boys. "It's not like Hinata had any previous interactions with them."
"They kept looking at us before the match," Kageyama added. "It was weird."
"Did anyone else see how the captain shook Hinata's hand after the game, too? he basically crushed it."
"Okay, okay...Slow down," Takeda tried his best to settle the boys. "So what you're saying is that the team was already being aggressive before and after the game, even before the attack?"
Kageyama and Yamaguchi nodded.
"Okay, at least we have some ideas as to why they did this..." Takeda mumbled. "I know you want to stick around, but you should all head back to your dorms, Hinata is safe now, he's in good hands. I need to head up to the office and make some phone calls, I promise I'll make sure that Tora is punished to the highest extent."
Tsukishima took the teacher's offer instantly, instantly turning the corner to head back to the dorms.
"Can't we see him?" Kenma protested.
"You'll see him tomorrow before he goes home, I promise."
Takeda continued. "I hate to break it to you, but since you guys assaulted the students from Tora to protect Hinata, I can't guarantee that anyone is going to get off scot-free either,"
"I don't care." Kenma deadpanned.
"Right..." Kuroo mumbled.
Kenma muttered something before turning around, Akaashi and Kuroo both lingering a little before following Kenma across the path, grateful that their dorms were close by.
"You two should head back, too," Takeda motioned for Kageyama and Yamaguchi to follow Tsukishima. "Hinata's mother won't be able to pick him up until tomorrow morning, you'll be able to see him later tonight, okay?"
"Okay, sensei," Yamaguchi answered for himself and Kageyama. The three exchanged goodbyes before Takeda walked in the direction that Hinata and the others were headed, while the two remaining first years crossed the path to head back.
The walk back was awkward until Yamaguchi spoke. "Hey, Kageyama, you seem out of it. Are you okay?"
Kageyama shrugged, not having enough energy to come up with some kind of sly remark. "This is awful."
"Uh-huh, you said it,"
Yamaguchi continued. "Are you sure you're okay? you can talk about what happened if you want, you were really brave for sticking with Hinata the whole time."
Kageyama paused. "He started calling out for his dad..."
Yamaguchi hesitated. "What do you mean?"
"His dad is dead, Yamaguchi."
Yamaguchi fell silent. "Oh..."
The walk back to the dorm was silent, awkward. Yamaguchi couldn't stop thinking about what Kageyama said. How did Kageyama even know that?
he was calling out for his dead dad?
yeesh
Yamaguchi shuddered as he and Kageyama entered the dorm room, being greeted by Kinoshita, Narita, and Ennoshita, who were completely out of the loop.
The walk to the nurse's office felt like forever for Hinata, but they finally arrived and Asahi settled him down on the ground, Ukai and Daichi at the ready in case he fell.
Just as the group turned the corner to the seating area, the four blue jerseys that haunted Hinata's memory appeared. He felt his stomach drop to the floor as he made eye contact with the captain, whose jaw had been set back into place by the nurse.
The minute the group encountered Tora, Suga had pulled Hinata to the back, pushing him behind himself and Bokuto's large frame and ultimately blocking his view from Tora, who had started eyeing him up like he was prey.
Hinata began to tremble, holding Suga's forearm and Bokuto's sweatshirt like they were a lifeline. Bokuto stood up straight to full height
"B-Bokuto-san, they-"
"We know, we know, I got you..."
Ukai instantly started yelling at them, asking them what gave them the nerve to do this. They hadn't expected the coach to start screaming at them. They looked up at him, fear and the guilt of being caught plastered on their faces, and this combined with the threat of calling the cops made them get up and leave. Daichi stood there, perplexed. He had never seen their coach yell like that before.
The nurse came out of her clinic to a surprise of a bustling waiting room. Bokuto stood behind Hinata and gently nudged him into the room while Ukai roared, the nurse scolding the other boys.
"This poor boy is petrified with all of you here, you're crowding him! scram!"
The nurse shut the door to her office, leaving Bokuto, Daichi, Suga, Tanaka, and Nishinoya outside like abandoned puppies. while Tora was being escorted out by a fuming Ukai, presumably to their coach's room.
Daichi turned to Bokuto and bowed his head slightly, catching Bokuto off guard. "Thank you for keeping our Hinata company, Bokuto-san."
Bokuto pushed Daichi's shoulders up, not wanting him to bow. "Anything for my tiny disciple! it was the least I could do. Kenma-Kun and Akaashi did most of the work, to be honest,"
"Doesn't matter, thank you for helping him."
Bokuto turned to leave, anticipating getting kicked out by the nurse. "Let me know when he's feeling better, I'll come to visit,"
Suga grinned, "We will."
"See ya, crows!" Bokuto cheered before pushing his way out of the double doors.
The wait for Hinata was tense. Nobody knew what to do with themselves as they waited for their coach to drop Hinata back to the dorm for the night, it was unusual, not hearing the bickering or yelling in their room.
As if on cue, three consecutive knocks were heard on the door before Ukai opened it. Hinata trailing behind him.
Everyone instantly stopped what they were doing and Daichi stood up. "Is he okay?"
Ukai nodded. "Fractured wrist, no concussion, other than that he'll be okay." He leaned to the right to let Hinata step inside the dorm, Tanaka and Ennoshita ushering him inside. Hinata had a padded splint around his forearm.
"Okay..."
"What about Tora?" Tsukishima asked bitterly, folding his arms and subconsciously looking in Hinata's direction.
"I got in contact with their principal, the boys are being suspended from school for a week and Tora is being suspended from volleyball activities until next year."
"Is that it?" Nishinoya cried. "That's basically nothing!"
Ukai assured him. "I did all I could do, Takeda-sensei is taking it from here, you all know how these private schools tend to be..."
"Covering shit up because they don't want their reputation ruined?" Tanaka murmured.
"Basically."
Their attention turned to Hinata now, who was being coddled by Suga and Nishinoya.
"I don't want anyone bothering him for the night, okay? let him rest and don't make him talk if he doesn't want to, got it?!" Ukai exclaimed firmly. He looked to Hinata. "Don't be afraid to knock on my door if you need anything."
"Yes, coach!"
And with that, Ukai shut the door more gently than usual.
Hinata sat awkwardly on his mat, back against the wall. Suga approached him gently, sitting beside him on the mat."Are you feeling better now?"
Hinata nodded, "Uh-huh, much better, the nurse gave me some pain medication for the night!"
"That's great, Hinata-Kun..." Suga replied. "I know coach told us not to bother you, but..."
"Why did those assholes feel the need to jump you, Shoyo?" Nishinoya butted in.
Suga smacked the back of Noya's head, but Hinata laughed.
"I-I think I can tell the story."
Everyone huddled around Hinata, Tsukishima was leaning against the wall, Daichi and Asahi dragging their mats over near Hinata's.
"Take your time, we're listening," Asashi smiled warmly, giving Hinata the confidence to go forward.
"Okay, so Tora was being really weird with me after we won the game, and when I was walking back from practice with Bokuto-san and Kuroo-san they were smoking in that alley. Then..."
Hinata's eyes trailed off towards Kageyama. "The captain thought me and Kageyama were doping?"
The whole room erupted into a roar, Tanaka scoffed. "Are you serious?"
Tsukishima let out a chuckle. "Were they seriously that bummed about losing to us? wow."
Hinata nodded. "Y-yeah, and then..."
The red-haired boy's eyes trailed away, he looks down at his shorts and started rubbing the fabric in between his fingers. "The captain, um...He grabbed my head and he...he slammed me against the wall, and...other stuff," he subconsciously looked down at his wrist, feeling tears starting to well up.
Daichi could see Hinata getting visibly uncomfortable, he leaned in and rubbed Hinata's arm. "You don't have to go on."
Hinata smiled softly.
Kageyama was glad Hinata stopped explaining, he wasn't sure how much longer he would be able to tolerate it if Hinata went into more graphic detail. Everyone now knew enough to know that this wasn't their decoy's fault.
"Man, we should really get some pork buns for Kenma-kun, or something from the vending machine. If it wasn't for him things could've ended up a lot worse," Daichi exclaimed.
Whether Hinata knew or not, everyone could tell that he wasn't completely out of the woods yet. He remained very quiet for the rest of the night until lights out, which was around 10 PM. It was concerning considering he was usually a ball of energy, but Daichi chalked it down to him being exhausted.
Nishinoya gave Hinata a gentle hug before returning to his mat on the other side of the room, contrasting against his usual rowdy and rough self.
"We're never leaving you alone again, Shoyo,"
Hinata closed his eyes, sinking into the hug, "Thank you, Noya-san."
Everyone started to heading to bed, Suga postponing that for himself in order to bombard Hinata with questions.
"Are you feeling okay?"
"Yeah"
"Are you hungry?"
"Nope"
"Are you thirsty?"
"Nope"
"Make sure to wake one of us up if something is wrong, okay?"
"I will."
Asahi laughed, taking his hair out of its usual bun. "He's okay, Suga, you'll make him pass out with all your questions."
"Just had to be sure," Suga mumbled before heading back to his mat.
If Tanaka was in charge, he would've kept the lights on and carried on the conversation into the depths of the night, but he respected that everyone was tired, especially Hinata, they could carry it on in the morning.
Me: Kenma? are u awake?
Kenma Kozume: yeah, how are you feeling?
Me: tbh like crap, but I'll be okay
Me: i just wanted to thank u, if you hadn't beaten the shit out of those gyus i would've been toast D:
Me: Thank u
Kenma Kozume: beating the shit out of them is a bit dramatic, shoyo, but there's no need to thank me
Kenma Kozume: i know you would've done the same thing for me if it was the other way around
Me: are u okay? you did have a bad fall after tackling the captain
Kenma Kozume: nothing sleep can't fix, kuro's been pestering me all evening, but i went down to the snack machine so things are chill
Me: understandable
Me: I'll give u back your hoodie tomorrow! :)
Kenma Kozume: don't sweat it, give it back whenever you have free time
Kenma Kozume: night shoyo
Me: Goodnight!!!!!
12:05 AM
"Kageyama?"
Hearing Hinata's tiny whisper in the dark almost made Kageyama have a heart attack. "What?"
"Are you awake?"
"Obviously, dumbass. What's wrong?"
He could hear Hinata shuffling. "W-What if they come back?"
Kageyama flipped around so that he was facing Hinata, who had shuffled back so his back was against the wall. "What do you mean?"
"Tora, what...what if they know where our dorm is?"
Kageyama shuffled closer to Hinata, wary to not make any noise to wake anyone. "Listen to me, idiot. Do you really think that if they knew where our dorm was, they'd stand a chance of getting in?"
"Huh?"
"Look around, they'd have to get through me and eight other angry teammates of yours if they wanted to get to you, dumbass. You're safe."
"Okay, okay, yeah, I'm safe with bakageyama."
"Shut up, go to sleep."
Kageyama flipped back over again so he was facing the rest of the team. Just before he felt himself dozing off, he felt Hinata's small fist latch onto the back of his sweatshirt, He shuffled closer to Kageyama's back until his forehead was pressed up against it.
"Thank you, Kageyama-kun."
Kageyama hummed in reply.