Hey all! So I get into these moods where I want to do nothing but write, and for the past few weeks I've been in one so enjoy this little fanfiction. :)

'The rain pounded against the windows and the door as if it were demanding to be let in the house. Over and over again, thunder shook the tiny nine-year old's frame as he cowered in the corner of his room, clutching a pillow to his face. Tears streaked Kageyama's face as they made their way down his puffy cheeks. The power had gone out long ago, and the storm had only picked up ever since. He trembled at how helpless he felt against the raging storm. "Okaasan!" He called out for his mother, but no reply came. He was alone, in the darkness. Like always.'

There was something about seeing Kageyama so tense that put Hinata on guard. The raven-haired teen looked like a rubber band waiting to snap as the he flitted from room to room, gathering blankets and towels. It was also amusing to see him so homey. He chuckled to himself before feeling the dark glare of the king drilling through his shoulders.

"What are you laughing at, dumbass?" Kageyama furrowed his brows. The storm was only getting worse. Soon they might not have power, and what would happen then? He imagined trees crashing through the roof, windows blowing out. He was well his fear was irrational, but he couldn't help it.

"Kageyama, you're shaking," Hinata commented, failing to mask the hint of concern creeping into his voice.

"Am not, teme," Tobio growled, cursing at himself for looking so weak. If his mom ever saw him like this, she would probably slap him, tell him to toughen up. She was his mother though, and he always believed she was right.

A crash shook the frame of his house, sending a shiver down Kageyama's spine and chilling him to the core. 'Why does he look so calm?' Tobio glanced at the smaller boy who was following him around the house, gaping at every decoration and room. He had never had guests over before, so he wasn't exactly sure if what he was doing was correct.

"Your house is so big!" Hinata gushed, bouncing behind him. Kageyama merely grunted in response. Sure, he had a big house, but to him it was no home. The walls were completely devoid of family photos, and not a thing was out of place. At times it felt like a military camp, but that couldn't be helped.

Soon enough the two ended up in Kageyama's room, who was lugging a basket of towels and extra blankets and pillows. He set it down with an 'oof' and turned to look at Hinata. He threw a towel and an extra change of clothes at him, who accepted them without a word.

"I'm showering first," Kageyama announced, grabbing a towel from the hand-woven basket.

"No fair! I'm the guest so I should get to shower first," Hinata whined, the pitch of his voice rising higher than before.

"Oh, really?" Kageyama challenged, hesitating for a moment before dashing off to the bathroom. He ran as fast as his legs could carry him before he realized his teammate was not behind him. They were usually neck-to-neck in competitions. He stopped in his tracks and whipped around.

Hinata was lying on the ground a few paces behind the setter, panting. His face was contorted with pain, and a whimper of pain escaped his lips. His usual fervor was gone like a candle blown out by the wind. Clearly the long days of training and the stress of his fall had begun to take a toll on him.

"Crap! Work you stupid legs!" Shouyou began beating his legs with his fist before he realized Kageyama was next to him, putting the smaller boy's arms around his shoulders and helping him to his feet.

"Calm down, moron. You can shower first then if you want," Kageyama sighed, smacking his forehead with his palm. Seeing the spiker so upset was something Kageyama wasn't used to in the least. What was he going to do if Hinata couldn't play? How would their team survive the tournaments?

"No, that's fine. I'm gonna go sit down for a while!" Hinata grinned from ear to ear, although Tobio knew the smile was false. Fabricated. He was likely still in pain.

Kageyama started up the shower and cranked the water heat as high as it could possibly go, mindlessly going through the motions of bathing. Letting the water run over him was something that always soothed him and let him clear his mind. When he was finished, he quickly changed and headed back to his room.

"Oi, moron, I'm done," he announced as he entered his room. Hinata, however, was already fast asleep on his bed, curled around a pillow. Almost peaceful. He looked like a doll sleeping there, so lifelike and still. Kageyama watched the gentle rise and fall of his teammate's chest, considering waking him up and telling him to move off of his bed. In the end he decided it would be best to allow him to sleep after such a terrifying event. To be truthful, Kageyama was surprised that he could sleep at all with the combination of the stress of the fall and the excitement of the tournament.

As gently as he could, Tobio shifted Hinata under the covers and pulled them over his balled-up body and sighed. The last time he could remember anyone doing that for him was far too long ago. The memories of his childhood had begun to fade, but it wasn't that it mattered too much anyhow. Many of those memories were not exactly the most pleasant and told stories of constant loneliness and exclusion. Denial and rejection.

The coldness of his middle school team had been the last straw. He had tried his hardest to be the best, yet it seemed like it was never enough. From that day on, he told himself he would be different. He never wanted to feel that again, the heartbreak of his team pushing him out. He would do anything to prevent that from happening again, even if it meant hiding himself from his team in fear of them not accepting him.

A strong gust of wind blew on his window, causing the panels to shake. He shivered and threw a blanket over the futon, shutting off the lights and resigning himself to a night of unrestful sleep in the wake of the storm.

A pair of dark eyes shot open in the middle of the night, suddenly alert. Kageyama around, confused. Where was he? Why was he awake? The storm had passed, so it wasn't that. Somewhere in his room he heard a steady rhythm, someone breathing gently. Oh, right. He was home, and Hinata was in his bed.

The darkness felt like it was closing in on him, constricting his breathing. He tried to ignore it as much as possible but he couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong.

Then, a whimper. It was quiet, but it was there. Tobio wondered if he was imagining it, if it was nothing but a hallucination.

A quiet cry, a sob.

Kageyama wasn't imagining it, he was sure. He turned to face his bed, where the noise was coming from. Hinata was curled up in a ball tighter than before, as if he was trying to make himself so small that he could disappear. His face was tense and screwed upwards as if he were in pain and afraid at the same time. Kageyama was no genius, but it certainly didn't take a genius to recognize that someone was in a nightmare.

Hinata started to cry, still fast asleep. The light sobs shook his body as he continued trembling. The sight of his teammate in such agony tugged at Kageyama, unraveling the years of built-up emotional walls.

Should he wake him up? Tobio had no clue what to do. Whenever he had any nightmares, his parents would simply tell him to "stop being so weak" and deal with it himself, which led to countless sleepless nights staring at the very ceiling under which he lay.

Before he could make any sort of choice, however, Hinata woke up, gasping and panting as if a bucket of cold water had been dumped on him. Kageyama went still, watching Hinata's moonlit silhouette.

Hinata sat up and ran his hands through his hair, which was matted with beads of sweat. He hugged his knees to his chest, failing to calm his rapid heartbeat and ragged breathing.

"This is the eighth night in a row," he whispered out loud to what he thought was no one and pulled the sheets over his head. They smelled like, well… like Kageyama. Like volleyballs and the detergent he used to wash his uniform. Shouyou pulled himself out of the bed and started walking to the door with the intention of getting himself a glass of water. Then, he toppled over and crashed right into the futon.

Kageyama let out an undignified, startled yelp when Hinata came crashing on top of him, his heart racing at the sudden impact.

"Oi, Bakayama, you're awake? What're you doing on the floor?" Hinata questioned the other boy as he struggled to his feet, speaking in a hushed tone although no one was there.

"Well now I'm awake, dumbass. You fell asleep in my bed, don't you remember?" He glared in the darkness at where he thought Hinata's head was. "What time is it?"

"I'm not sure, I just wanted a glass of water."

Kageyama sighed and rose to his feet, feeling around the side of the wall for the light switch and flipping it on. He spun on his heel and walked out his door, calling behind him for Hinata to follow. Should he ask him about the nightmare? It didn't seem right.

Tobio flipped on the lights in his kitchen and reached for a glass, effortlessly grabbing one out of the top shelf of his cabinet and filling it with water. He handed it to Hinata, who accepted it with shaking hands and promptly dropped it.

The glass shattered into a million little pieces, a puzzle of broken shards. Kageyama watched as his teammate bowed and began shouting apologies one after the other.

He placed a hand on Hinata's head with the intention to pull on his hair, but was taken aback when he noticed the boy stiffen and flinch away. He snatched his hand back as if it were on a hot iron and huffed, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"Don't mind," he waved Hinata's apologies away and reached for a broom, sweeping up the glass. The tiny shards sparkled brighter than stars in the bright light of his kitchen as he deposited them in the trash.

Kageyama grabbed a plastic cup out of a different cabinet, one of the ones he had used as a child. It was green with a character, likely out of some TV show but it was too faded to tell. He watched Hinata slowly sip the water, his hands still shaking. He leaned against his fridge, feeling the cold of the stainless steel soak into his back and faced Hinata who happened to be sitting on a bar stool.

"Are you going to tell me what that dream was about?"

Hinata froze, his face going white. He set the cup down on the counter and ran his hands through his hair. 'He knows. Crap, he knows.' He thought, panicked. The dream came back in flashes. There was no way he could tell Kageyama what he saw. He would probably think he was weak or something. But when he finally met Kageyama's eyes, he was surprised to find himself staring into pools of masked concern, unable to detect a single hint of menace in them.

Slowly, he began.

"I was alone in the dark. My heart… it was beating so fast I thought it would burst." He grabbed the fabric which covered his chest and clutched it in his fist, reliving the terror that had haunted him for nights on end.

"Then, a fire lit the room. I was in the gym, but it was all like 'shhh'. Something wasn't right, I knew."

"I heard a whisper. Suga. He was… He was hurt. I looked at my hands" Bloody and dying, he wanted to say but couldn't bring himself to it.

"There was…" He swallowed, looking at Kageyama who nodded for him to continue.

"...so much blood."

"There was something at my feet. I looked down, and saw a number nine. Your number. Then everyone else. They were all dead and I was alive." His voice trailed off to a terrified whisper.

"You were dead." He looked away, not able to bring himself to continue or look at Kageyama.

He shivered as he heard Tobio's feet softly pad against the hardwood floors, closing the gap between the two. Cold fingers gently gripped the side of his face and pulled his chin up. He looked at the face of the taller boy, his mouth agape in surprise. He found himself looking into the regular scowl of Kageyama, which was reassuring in its own right. It made him feel like everything was normal.

"So you think I'm going to get scared and run away from you? It was a nightmare, big deal. I'm still going to toss to you, and as long as we're on the same team, I won't ever stop tossing to you."

Hinata stopped breathing. Shocked. Amazed. Was this the Kageyama Tobio he knew? Was this the same king who left him terrified he would some day not be good enough for him, who kept him worried of being put on the bench, ignored once more?

"Come on, dumbass. Go back to sleep It's almost eleven at night and we have to be on the bus at two in the morning." Kageyama released Hinata and began walking away, pondering what he had just been told. This was on his mind for over a week, this had been plaguing him for days on end and yet he had been able to continue on smiling like he usually had. Shouyou was stronger than he gave him credit for, he realized.

"Kageyama," Hinata paused in his tracks.

"Yeah?" Kageyama asked, wary.

"Thank you."

Thanks for reading! If you'd like, please leave a review as it really does help me improve my writing. See you guys soon with another update!

~Karume