Warm fingers cleaned off smudges of dirt from soft cheeks, run-down fingernails scrubbing lines along the expanse of skin to clean the remaining mess off. There was a splash of water and the skin was dried on a nearby towel, the student in the mirror flashing a smile to himself with a satisfied glint in his eyes.
Hinata Shouyou.
He was a twenty-three year old college student with bouncy bright colored hair and a personality to match. His below-average height and child-like face had earned him some recognition among his fellow classmates as an energetic and optimistic student.
There was a pause in his momentum as a familiar buzz came from the phone in his pocket, the young man drying his hands off on a nearby towel before reaching to retrieve the hand-held device. He swiped his thumb to unlock it, the screen lighting up to a picture of a baby bird nestled into a bundle of twigs and leaves. A red notification bubble appeared over the mail icon, the student selecting it with curiosity. Was it something from one of his professors? Surely not, since he already had several assignments to work on before the end of the month.
The email opened and revealed a message sent from one of his teachers, alerting him of a change in classroom scenery. His class was to be taken place at a nearby building just a few miles from the subway station. Apparently, his psychology class had relocated for the week in order to provide him and his classmates a change of environment for an upcoming experiment. It was short notice, but Hinata didn't have that class for another three hours, so it was perfectly fine for him.
The ride had only taken ten minutes and Hinata was already restless when he exited the train. The lack of people in the subway made it seem larger than it really was, his footsteps echoing along the stained gray corridors as he made his way outside. His phone lit up with directions to his class, the student following the blue trail for another five minutes until he came across a warehouse.
A large truck was parked beside the entrance, which looked similar to a garage door. The building was orange in color, the sun shining over it made it almost too blinding to stare at. Hinata's eyes were directed to three figures in front of the door, their dark clothing a contrast to the bright setting.
They were probably waiting for the class just like him, and they were most likely locked out or just loitering around the entrance instead of attending the class. On closer inspection, he found that they were not his classmates at all, and one happened to look all too familiar.
"You!" Hinata pointed an accusing finger at one of them, his voice loud, disrupting the current conversation between the two others standing a few feet away. His presence was certainly known now, his booming introduction more than enough to cause their heads to turn. "You're that guy!"
The one in question made a full body turn, his hands shoved in his jacket pockets and his eyes sending a glare towards the guy pointing his finger. He didn't look very happy to be standing out in the middle of nowhere with two college students - now three - at a warehouse. Much less being pointed at in a very obnoxious way by someone with very wildly colored hair. "Excuse me?"
The two taller people beside him were watching with mild amusement off to the side and away from the commotion. They were waiting just as he was, but they didn't look like they were friends with him.
Hinata clicked his tongue, taking another bold step forward at the student's ignorance. "Don't play dumb," he crossed his arms, trying to look more threatening once he realized that all three of them towered over him with ease. He didn't back down though, not when he had a score to settle. "I know you did that on purpose, so don't pretend like you don't know!"
The other raised an eyebrow, his scowl deepening by the seemingly unwarranted shouting. This kid seriously wanted to make a scene in the middle of nowhere? "Shut up, you fucking-"
A solid punch to the face promptly forced his own mouth shut, the man stumbling back from the impact. He grimaced, reaching to touch the tender spot on his chin where the blow landed. It stung slightly, but he could feel a possible bruise forming already. This is just what he needed, a nice red mark on his face.
This kid had a death wish.
He stood straight again, dropping his hand and reaching out to grip Hinata's shirt, pulling him up and making him squirm in his hold. "Listen brat, unless you want to choke on your own entrails, I suggest you get lost before the cops find your body mauled on the side of the road. Got it?"
Hinata's hands clamped around his wrist and tried to pull free, but to no avail. He kicked his legs, but they only managed to scuff the dirt under him and hit a few stray pebbles that rolled away towards the car nearby. He grunted, tossing his head to the side and struggling to break out of his hold. "Don't call me a brat, you prick." He gasped when he felt him yank, the collar of his shirt almost digging into his neck. His eyes followed the man's fingers as they curled into a fist, his arm raising to strike him in the nose just before their brawl was interrupted.
The door to the warehouse was slammed open, the noise causing the black-haired man to flinch and drop Hinata, his other arm lowering to his side as he turned to find the source of the sound. The open door revealed another man, older than any of them, leaning against the frame of the warehouse with a frown and a cigarette between his lips. He had a muscular build and blond hair, his hands on his hips as he assessed the scene before him. He reached for the cigarette in his mouth, pulling it out before blowing a puff of smoke.
"Do you two have any idea how much noise you're making?" He stood straight and waved his hand around him, motioning towards the outside, causing the smoke to waft around the air. "If you're going to kill each other, do it elsewhere." His eyes narrowed slightly, as if he were repulsed by the idea of the two of them fighting on his property.
"We were told to meet up here by someone," the tallest one said, his hands stuffed in his pockets, a pair of headphones placed around his neck. He stood beside another student, one with freckles and dark green hair, his eyes looking over towards Hinata with a strange sense of recognition. He refused to leave the taller man's side though, like he was glued at his hip.
The older man grunted, taking another drag of his cigarette before dropping it on the ground, grinding the heel of his shoe over it to put it out. "Of course you were." He disappeared inside the warehouse, only to come back a minute later with a folded slip of paper in his hands. He waved them inside without a sound, taking another look around to make sure no one of suspicion was near enough to see them.
The four of them looked at each other, Hinata hesitantly standing from his seat in the dirt before brushing himself off. He was the first to walk inside, passing the man and allowing himself to be enveloped by the darkened room. He heard the others follow him not long after, their presence lingering behind his back before the door was shut and a hand was braced on his shoulder a moment later.
The lights seemed to flicker on at the motion, Hinata squinting his eyes from the sudden brightness. The whole place smelled like oil and cardboard, but the one scent that wouldn't leave him was the cigarette smoke that seemed to cling to the man beside him and burn his nostrils.
The room was entirely lit up, the ceiling bright from the rows and rows of lights that burned a yellowish hue throughout the building. His sight was attracted to the wall opposite of him, lined with different variations of guns that expanded until they stopped at the corner where the walls met each other. That section had a smaller room made of concrete barriers and a tinted window that cut across the smooth white block. It looked something like a large office or cubicle, only sketchier.
By that wall was a staircase that led to the metal platform surrounding the inside of the warehouse, creating a second floor that was decorated with posters and papers taped up, most of them covered with red marks, slashes, and circles. There were several closed doors up above, leading to other rooms or possible exits. Another office was set in the corner, that particular one made of steel, not concrete like the other one was.
On Hinata's left was the rest of the warehouse, crates and boxes stacked in random piles scattered across the floor that were labeled with cautions and warnings. A few barrels of oil were next to the cars parked against the bare wall, all of them colored either black or gray. There were two more doors on the first floor and a large, dusty window that distorted the view of outside.
Hinata turned to see the tall blond student approach the smoker, his glasses gleaming from the illumination of the building. His friend was near Hinata's self-proclaimed rival, his gaze still focused on him in an eerie way. "Tell us why we're really here." His command caught his attention once more, Hinata eying both of them with suspicion.
He did find their situation odd, wondering why his teacher had alerted him so suddenly of the change without anything mentioned beforehand. Then, finding the bitter Kageyama Tobio waiting for his class that he wasn't enrolled in only dampened his mood. Unless there was an honest misunderstanding, Hinata refused to continue playing along to whatever this was. He was growing more cautious by the second. He felt around for the item in his jacket pocket, his fingers running over the cold metal cylinder for reassurance. If he were caught up in any danger, he knew what to do.
The door to the warehouse was pulled open again, the students jumping in surprise before they were fixed on the men who came inside. The one in front was a man with unkempt black hair, dressed in a dark sweatshirt and pants. Behind him were two other males, one with white hair and the other one was bald, carrying a rather large gun in his hands.
"Sorry we're late," the one in front said, offering a sincere smile, "Our meeting took longer than we originally planned it to be." He looked aware of his company, but did nothing more than dismiss the smoker, allowing him to leave the warehouse by himself.
"So these are the newbies," the bald one nearly shouted, walking over to Hinata with a crooked grin, "and it looks like we scored ourselves Shorty, too!" He buried his hand into his orange hair roughly, messing up the disarray of locks even further. "I saw your performance earlier, kid. You've got some potential in you."
"That isn't much of a compliment, coming from you," the other said, joining his friend. He had an air of serenity around him and his kind eyes gave Hinata both a sense of trust for the man and an uncomfortable feeling of foreboding. The white-haired man only gave him a slight wave before he turned towards Kageyama. "We have quite a few talented newcomers this time around, wouldn't you agree, Daichi?"