"28...27...26...25-"

Once again they were at it, one was counting while others went around to find a place to hide. The stupid game that was to decide who would be the one holding the gym key for next week and once again it was Kageyama who was doing the searching.

"13...12-"

Kageyama was really good at hiding which was the reason that he would often be the person who would search for others. Or rather than being 'good at it' he just didn't want to lose even if it was just a childish game of hide and seek.

"3...2...1! I'm coming!"

Once Kageyama was done counting he went inside the school building already drawing a map in his head and targetting the places he would first check. Asahi was without a doubt always the first one to be found, his heigh making him stand out which resulted to him often hide in the school's library. Kageyama always followed the routine to check some places first and it didn't take long to find Tsukishima together with Yamaguchi, they were an odd couple since they were usually hiding in the same place. Kageyama was sure it was just Yamaguchi sticking by the taller blonde's side but the latter didn't seem to mind it at all so he never asked about it. Noya was a little harder task since he was able to fit in small spaces but he would often give himself away by laughing if the one searching would pass him resulting to be found pretty fast. Daichi and Suga were tactical hiders and they were good at it but Kageyama still found them sooner than expected, first was Daichi who was hiding in the cleaning supply closet and then came Suga who was hanging around in the teacher's office talking with Takeda-sensei. Suga smiled and waved his hand at the raven who just sighed in defeat and motioned the other to follow him to the gathering point.

"So everyone else is already here. Guess I will be the one to keep the ke-"

"What are you taking about?"

Kageyama interrupted Sugawara.

"Hinata is still hiding."

Everyone suddenly tensed, they knew what would come after this and as always it was Daichi who stepped forward to face Kageyama.

"Kageyama. Hinata is not around anymore."

Kageyama felt cold, he felt like he had heard that sentence over and over again in the past few months but he could not recall why. He turned around facing the gym and was about to head out mumbling something for himself.

"What are you talking about, he's probably gone back to the gym-"

"Kageyama!"

Yelling the raven's name Sugawara grabbed the sleeve of his sweater making him stop. Kageyama felt cold sweat creeping up his skin and his chest started to feel tight, he needed to go. He absolutely didn't want to hear anymore.

"I need to go and find him so please. Release my hand Sugawara-senpai. Hinata is still-"

"Kageyama. Let's stop this. Please..."

Suga's voice broke at the 'please' part and Kageyama turned his head back to look at Suga who was shaking his head from side to side with his eyes looking down at his own feet. Suga's grip on Kageyama's sweater tightened.

"Hinata is still... he's still-"

Kageyama tried to continue but his voice soon failed him as tears started to flow from his eyes, he felt his knees give out making him fall down, he was recalling it now. Hinata had been absent from countless practices for a long time now, there were no 'one more' 's anymore. The sobs turned into desperate cries and Suga finally released his hold falling on his knees behind the raven wrapping his hands around the younger teen. Daichi just stood behind them with his fists clenched tight and eyes closed, the others also felt despair in this situtation. They had witnessed this more than once, the moment Kageyama breaks down is not pretty but they can't do anything else besides being there for him. Yamaguchi and Noya are having hard time holding back their tears, Yamaguchi is often pressing his face against Tsukishima's chest while the blonde is playing around with his fingers trying to get his thoughts elsewhere. They each try to cope with the situtation on their own way because they can't really do anything else.

"Hinata! Hinata.. Hinata."

Kageyama continues his screaming and continues to wipe his eyes constantly while Suga is trying to calm him by slowly rocking him back and forth. Daichi in the meantime asked Kiyoko if she could go search for Takeda-sensei and ask him to take Kageyama home, the practice would be impossible in this situtation so this would probably be the best for now. When Takeda finally arrived at the scene Asahi was there to hand out Kageyama's things for him and Suga hopped in to see the raven home safely. The rest of the team was left behind to look at Takeda-sensei driving off. It was never easy for them but for Kageyama it must feel like hell, they can all still remember the day as clear as yesterday.

Because that day, when Hinata died...

it was Kageyama who never found him.

It was just another game of hide and seek.

Just another normal day. Except for one person,

that day never ended. The time stopped for him.

He is forever searching for the one he never found.

The one who was broken the most was...

...Kageyama.

-78 years later-

Kageyama was sitting in the garden swing watching his grandchildren play hide and seek with their friends. It was a sunny day, birds were singing and a gentle breeze was rustling the leaves of nearby trees. Kageyama was tired and the nice warm summer air was making him feel sleepy, just as he was about to fall asleep he saw a familiar orange mess of hair in front of him. He looked up to see the most brightest smile he had ever seen, the boy offered his hand for him and he finally felt at peace.

"I. I finally found you. Hinata."

xxxx

A/N: Hello, it's been so long since I have written a fanfic so I'm making a slow comeback. I came up with this idea last night and polished it in my mind, it was a bit better in my sleep hazy state but I still decided to write it so I hope you enjoyed it. Characters might have been bit ooc in the fic and my writing is not best out there but if you feel like you would like to start being my beta you can send me a message since having one would really help me to make these work better. Also first time trying html text thingy so it might mess up with things? Idk anyways. Thank you for reading.

I have lots of fanfic ideas written up and they have been piling for years now so I'm probably gonna work on some of them soon. More Haikyuu! fanfics will also come out soon.