"Hey there, cutie." Hinata looks left and right, eagle eyes scanning for a cute girl but comes up empty. He shrugs off the remark and continues walking down the hallway.
Suddenly, there's a tug on his t-shirt, and he feels coarse fingers brush against his skin before he's being thrown against a wall. A man with teeth stained yellow and a sweater two sizes too big is peering down at him, his hand pressed flat against the wall by Hinata's head.
"Oi, I'm talking to you." Hinata manages to drag his gaze upwards and notice the blush on his face, the lazy gaze that keeps swinging back and forth and the unmistakable stench of alcohol on his breath. He feels his stomach twist violently once, before a cold feeling seizes his gut and his entire body goes numb. He'd spent the morning ejecting his breakfast through both ends of his body, but none of it comes close to the iciness creeping into every inch of his body, stilling his movements to the point where he can barely manage to breathe.
His eyes dart around the room, flicking from the empty doorway to the man's friend-also drunk-leering by the exit, anything to avoid the man in front of him. He could kick him in the gut, duck under his hand, or make a break for it but his body is frozen in place no matter how loudly his mind is screaming. And before he can make a move, the man is sliding his hand down the wall and it's over Hinata's wrist, clamping him in place with a force that threatens to drain the blood straight out of his fingers.
"I-I have to go," Hinata manages to stammer weakly, struggling to speak around the lump in his throat. The man remains unfazed, the same loopy look in his eyes. "M-my coach and my team will come looking for me."
The man finally perks up at that, releasing the pressure ever so slightly on his hand. He winks sluggishly at his friend by the door and slowly rolls his neck back towards Hinata to flash him a crooked grin.
"Then I guess we have to get you out of here before then."
Hinata wants to scream but the sound doesn't come.
Kageyama kicks a pebble across the floor, trying to recall where he'd left his stupid bento box. After their victory against Shiratorizawa, there had been too many people and too much commotion for him to remember the little blue box with the quilted cloth wrapped around it, and he'd been washing up in the bathroom when he finally remembered.
Except they'd been all over the building that morning, rushing between the nurse's office and the gym and the locker room and for the life of him, he couldn't remember where he'd last seen the box. So he was stuck roaming through the hallways, except he couldn't even remember which way he'd come from and if he'd already checked this hallway before. Directions had never been his strong suit.
He heard the voice first, and then had to do a double-take when he rounded the corner. Hinata was nearly pinned against the wall, the swaying figure of a clearly drunk man looming over him while his partner watched the entire affair from a distance with beady eyes.
He cleared his throat loudly and the man turned at the sound, releasing his grip on Hinata's wrist. Kageyama reached one hand out towards him, and with the last bit of energy he had, the boy bolted out on jelly legs and practically crashed into him.
Hinata locked his arms around Kageyama's midsection, and buried his face into the fabric, trying to scrub the man's face from his memory.
The man swung himself around to face them, wobbling slightly as his features contorted into anger.
"Oi, oi, I saw him first." His voice slurs as he takes one step, and then another towards them. Kageyama glares for all he's worth, but the man is unfazed as he continues his drunken pursuit, and Kageyama feels his throat go dry as he scans the room around them. Genius setter or not, he's never been in a fistfight and he doubts he can hold his own against the two men approaching him.
"Kageyama-kun?" His mind vaguely recognizes the voice but when he turns, he sure as hell is not expecting to see Iwaizumi staring at him with a dumbstruck expression. He also doesn't understand why the purpled-haired man with glasses and a tweed jacket is glaring at him, until his brain slowly processes the details again.
Oikawa takes in the panic written on Kageyama's face and the familiar bunch of orange hair pressed against his back and he understands in an instant.
"Get out of here before I call the police." Gone is the trademark teasing lilt in Oikawa's voice, and instead his words send chills down Kageyama's spine. The man glances over at him and flicks his eyes to the stoic figure of Iwaizumi before staggering out the door with his friend on his heels.
Kageyama lets out a breath he didn't know he'd been holding, and bows to the two upperclassmen who are still glaring into the distance.
"Thank you," he manages to choke out and Iwaizumi gives a gruff nod in response.
"How's Shorty?" Oikawa asks and Kageyama pulls gently at the hands still wrapped around his stomach. Hinata doesn't budge so he lets him be, instead craning his neck to try and get a look at his face.
"Hinata," he calls softly and there's no response, only the feeling of him burrowing deeper into his shirt. He repeats his name a couple more times, but to no avail, so he swallows the lump in his throat and tries again. "Shoyo."
The boy finally peeks up at that, swollen orange eyes appearing from behind Kageyama's back.
"Are you okay?" he asks gently, and his heart clenches as he watches a range of emotions cross the other boy's face.
"I want to go home," Hinata says instead, and Kageyama nods before glancing around a couple of times.
"I-I don't know which way is the exit."
Oikawa and Iwaizumi walk them to the bus, despite Oikawa's protests that they were in the middle of a date. Iwaizumi punches him in the arm in response and reminds him that they hadn't even planned to meet today. Oikawa had also tried to wrap his arms around Iwaizumi's stomach after "getting inspired by Shorty" but it only earned him another blow to the arm. They both go quiet though when Kageyama asks them how long they've been dating, and he can't understand why.
At some point, Hinata finally lets go of Kageyama's stomach, opting instead to grab his hand in a deathlike grip. The setter is a bit concerned that his fingertips are beginning to tingle but he knows that Hinata needs to hold onto something to ground him to reality so he squeezes back in an attempt to convey the emotions that he can't put into words.
The four of them are a strange sight when they arrive in front of the Karasuno team and Oikawa feels a slight shiver go down his spine. Mr. Captain and Mr. Pleasant are glaring at him for all they're worth-as if he's the reason that their precious gremlin child is quiet for the first time in his life. Oikawa glances quickly once more at the first-year duo, making sure they're absorbed into the crowd of black-and-orange jerseys before loosely grabbing Iwaizumi's hand and tugging him away towards the nearest ramen store.
Tsukishima glances at Kageyama and Hinata's intertwined hands and looks like he has a sharp retort at the end of his tongue, but it stops at the sight of a red-eyed and quivering Hinata. The boy's legs finally give way under him, and Kageyama has to half-drag, half-carry him up the bus steps and then practically throw him onto the seat.
He doesn't let go of Kageyama's hand even when he's fast asleep halfway through the ride, and Kageyama's on the brink of dozing off himself. And then suddenly, Hinata's screaming and crying, and Kageyama snaps back into reality as he stares into orange eyes wide with fear.
"Please don't let them take me!"
Kageyama's body moves on its own, and it takes him a few moments to register that he's running his free hand through Hinata's hair. He's surprised by how soft it is against his fingers and continues to lazily trace patterns even long after the screams have died down.
"I'm right here," Kageyama mutters softly and then he hears a click from a phone camera that brings his usual scowl back onto his face. "You're safe now."
Hinata relaxes at that, the faintest traces of a smile finally returning to his face as he settles back into sleep with the promise fresh in his mind.