Hinata was late. He was so very late and Kageyama was going to kill him when he finally showed up, but damn it being short made it hard to get through crowds properly so train stations were hell for him when he needed to go somewhere and didn't have a tall, scary escort with him… Also known as Kageyama Tobio.

"Where the hell is that stupid airhead!" Kageyama raged, throwing his hands in he air and storming out of the gym.

"Kageyama, where are you going?" Tanaka called holding a ball Kageyama had unintentionally thrown at him in an earlier fit.

"I'm going to find that dumbass and drag him here." Kageyama yelled back. The gym was silent until they heard the gym doors slam close under his abuse.

"… So, anyone for a game?" Oikawa asked, breaking the ice and lifting a volley ball to head height. Karasuno team members looked away from the door, the more excitable members happily bouncing around each other and cheering, the more sensible ones nodding and replying with actual words instead of unintelligible screams of joy.

They played through an entire set, almost forty minutes of back and forth volleys, points gained only through sheer force of each spike blasting through the blockers. Plays got easier to read on both sides as the first set drew on and by the end of it, they were all mentally and physically exhausted.

Tanaka and Nishinoya flopped down onto the floor where they'd been standing, Asahi seated at Nishinoya's head asking them both if they were ok. Tsukishima was leaning on the net support pole to keep himself up right as his breathing made him light headed. Daichi had his head bent and a hand on his hip, standing in middle of the court. They didn't even have the energy to celebrate their win. Suga was the only one of either team that had made it to his bag and was happily chugging water like the world was crashing down around him.

Iwaizumi had plopped down next to Oikawa who was bent over, hands supporting him from just above his knees. Matsukawa was sprawled on the ground arms placed behind him to hold him up from collapsing. Watari had dropped to his hands and knees close to vomiting from all the jumping and slamming into the floor he'd done to keep the ball in the air. Kyoutani was dead to the world on his stomach having fallen asleep almost instantly after he dropped to the ground and rolled over, Kindaichi was using him as a makeshift couch and Kunimi had squat next to the net and held on with one hand to support himself.

That had been one hell of 'practice' match; they each felt as if they were fighting for the top spot in nationals.

That was how Kageyama found them, each and every last one of each team, exhausted. He'd quietly entered the gym and blindly shuffled onto the court completely expressionless.

Tanaka lazily flopped a hand in his general direction in greeting. "Heey, Kage…yama."

Kageyama grunted in return and Tanaka pooled his strength into one last muscle spasm to sit upright and turn to Kageyama. "Where's.. Hinata? Weren't you going…. To look.. for him?" He squeezed out with a frown.

Kageyama stopped, that wouldn't have been weird, if only he hadn't stopped in such an odd place, half on the court and half off it, as if undecided on what to do as everyone laid eyes on him.

"Oh, Kageyama. Where's Hinata? You were pretty adamant about getting him here. Did he call in sick?" Daichi asked, Kageyama mumbled a response and Daichi asked him again.

"Hinata's not coming." Kageyama spoke louder, his voice, barely

"Hinata's not coming. Did he say why?" Daichi asked. Kageyama shook his head and bit into the left side of his bottom lip.

"Kageyama did something happen?" Daichi asked shooting Kageyama a concerned stare. Kageyama stared at him in shock, his eyes filled with tears as a hard look morphed his face into stone.

"There was an accident." Kageyama's voice wavered and shook weakly, "He was almost here. He was just across the road from me not even twenty meters away." He bowed his head and swallowed the rock in his throat that kept him from speaking. "It was just an accident."

He couldn't hold back anymore. His body shook, tears fell and sobs jumped from his throat.

"D-Daichi I… Hinata is… Driver came out of nowhere and he… It's my fault I-." Daichi was on him in a second, hovering around him and pulling him into a strong embrace. "I told him to… I told him to hurry up and he.. Daichi… Hinata's gone."

He clutched Daichi's shirt like it was the only lifeline he had left and cried his heart out into his chest. Suga had choked on his water, Tsukishima had seemed to have stopped breathing, Asahi was shell shocked to the point he could only stare ahead blankly, Nishinoya was in tears and Tanaka was looking at Kageyama like he was hoping it was all a huge, distasteful joke and Hinata would come bounding onto the court any second and call them all stupid. When that didn't come he slammed his fist into the ground and stormed out of the gym without a word.

All Seijoh members could do was watch as wait until their brains started to process things again after the short-circuiting news. That was how the coaches found them, the news slowly sinking in and taking its toll.

"What's going on?" Ukai asked looking to Daichi for an answer. Daichi looked him in the eyes for a second before he lost his nerve and he started to cry as well, his arms still wrapped around Kageyama's shaking form.

"Hinata-"

"Hinata's dead."

Daichi held Kageyama closer ignoring his cut off.

"What?"

"Hinata's dead! He died. He's gone. Not coming back, not coming to practice anymore, not jumping around with that huge stupid fucking smile and begging for tosses anymore. He's dead!" Kageyama yelled pushing Daichi away and glaring at the coaches, his tearful gaze burning its self into their memories with his words.

"Dead?" Takeda asked, his voice dead of its usual lilt and eyes wide in shock. Kageyama nodded.

"What happened?" He asked, Kageyama flinched and seized up as memories flashed before him and stole his voice.

-Kageyama stomped down the street, his angry glare warding off any one who thought themselves brave and would have approached him. When he found Hinata he was going to hit him so hard he'd feel it for weeks.

"Hey~, Kageyama!"

He lifted his gaze from the ground, his eyes drawn to the orange blob waving over enthusiastically in his direction. He clicked his tongue in annoyance.

"Hurry up dumbass you're already over half an hour late." He yelled over the road. Hinata smiled and held up a peace sign at him. He glared back but Hinata's smile didn't falter as he looked back, as he jumped the barrier and looked both ways for cars as he skipped across the road, as he turned his head when he heard tires screeching and froze when he spotted the car burning rubber towards him.

" HINATA "

His smile faltered, his face clenched in fear and pain. The car slammed into him head on. His body twisting and turning as he rolled along the road, bones breaking, skin tearing, blood dripping from lactations across his body head to foot.

He was rooted to where he stood, starring at the place Hinata had been. His world had almost stopped, people were moving in slow motion, his view of the road changed. He was there in seconds. Kneeling at Hinata's side and rolling him over to stare into those blank brown eyes. It was wrong. They were wrong. Those eyes weren't his. His were filled with zeal and warmth. Unadulterated joy and excitement. Filled with life. These were the eyes of a porcelain doll, empty and cold.

"Hinata." A hand rested on his shoulder. "He's gone son."

He slapped the hand away, got to his feet and ran. He had to go back, back to the team, back to Karasuno, back to home. This time though… Hinata wouldn't be with him.

The gyms door stopped him from barging in. How long had he been gone? How far had he travelled? How would he tell the team? How would he tell anyone?

With his momentum stopped he could just find it in himself to shuffle slowly down the hall, past the locker rooms and vending machines and onto the court.

He was gone.