Hinata was panicking.
On the inside, of course. On the outside, all he could do was hang his head in shame and keep his eyes trained to the floor, mirroring the rest of his unfortunate teammates as Daichi proceeded to scream in all of their faces, even Suga, which was rare.
He must've done something wrong in a previous life because Hinata's day had been going south ever since he stepped out of his door that morning. It had rained while he was walking to school, which had resulted in a sopping wet ginger being late for volleyball practice lots of teasing from Kageyama and Tsukishima but had ultimately ended with a worried Daichi and Suga fawning over him all practice. Hinata scoffed to himself, making sure it was quiet enough so he didn't piss his captain off even more than he already was. He would take smother hen Daichi over a furious one any day.
He had failed an English test that morning as well, and when lunchtime came, he had made the unfortunate discovery that he had either left his bento box at his house or had dropped it in the haste to get out of the rain.
Either way, he had nothing to eat.
His lousy day had only gotten worse when something had set Daichi off. The cause of his sudden anger could've ranged from Hinata and Kageyama's endless bickering to Tanaka vandalizing the boys' locker room. Still, the bottom line was that no one knew what they were being scolded for. Hinata couldn't really find it in himself to care at the moment, however, because Daichi's endless scolding had prolonged volleyball practice by thirty minutes.
Kiyoko, Coach Ukai, Yachi, and Takeda were long gone, sending one last regretful look over their shoulders before scurrying out of the gym, none of them wanting to be subjected to Daichi's wrath if they could avoid it.
Still. It had been thirty minutes, and Daichi still hadn't let up. Hinata took a peek at the clock, grimacing at the time. This was bad. This was very, very bad.
Usually, the energetic ginger would jump at any chance to stay in his beloved gym. While getting yelled at by his captain wasn't exactly a pleasant experience, Hinata didn't mind as long as he was surrounded by volleyballs, nets, and his friends, even if they were getting yelled at with him.
But today was different.
Hinata's finger twitched. His position was getting uncomfortable, but he knew if he lifted his head, it would only set Daichi off further. He had never been good at standing still and every part of his body was practically screaming at him to get out of the gym, run away before his team caught a glimpse of the very thing he didn't want them to see.
Or, in his case, the very people he didn't want them to see.
Hinata bit his lip and snuck another glance at the clock, fighting the urge to scream. It was now 5:33, precisely two minutes before two certain somebodies were supposed to pick him up from volleyball practice.
The very same volleyball practice was supposed to have ended thirty long minutes ago.
Hinata had been excited to see them at first, but now he was just downright scared.
The ginger kept his eyes trained on the clock, blood pumping in his ears as Daichi's rant became nothing but background noise. One minute to go. Oh god, what would his team think? They would undoubtedly have a lot of questions, not to mention Kageyama would be mortified by the fact that the person he hated most was picking his spiker up from school.
Hinata pursed his lips in anticipation. The suspense was killing him. He fought the urge to sigh and focused his energy on soothing his jumpy nerves. He thought he had everything so planned out and perfect too! Volleyball practice would end on time, as it usually did, he and Kageyama would practice for about fifteen minutes after, as they usually did, Kageyama would leave, as he usually did, and Hinata would have just enough time to pack up his things and get picked up by two of his very close friends without anyone on his volleyball team ever knowing!
Hinata rolled his eyes, his bangs concealing his annoyance. Apparently, the universe hated him, because absolutely nothing was going right today. His honey-brown orbs widened comically as the clock struck 5:35. Oh god, he was so screwed.
As if on cue, the double doors to the gym swung open to reveal two tall, good looking, and very recognizable volleyball players.
"Hey! We gotta-oh." Oikawa froze as the head of every single Karasuno member swiveled toward him. "Hello."
Hinata fought the urge to facepalm. Dammit Oikawa, why couldn't you be late for once in your life?
Daichi's yelling ceased immediately, his murderous expression morphing into one of surprise that quickly turned into suspicion. "Oikawa?" His eyes flitted to the other man, who was currently staring at the volleyball players before him with a guilty expression. "Iwaizumi?"
"Hey." The latter ran a casual hand through his hair, subtly scanning the crowd of volleyball players until he locked eyes with Hinata before raising a questioning eyebrow. Hinata grimaced and put a hand up in apology, this exchange luckily going unnoticed by his teammates, who were all busy staring at the two Aobajohsai players in front of them.
Tanaka was the first to pick his jaw up off the floor. "What the hell are you guys doing here?" His blatant hatred for Oikawa bled into his words, causing Hinata to send a slightly disproving glare toward his upperclassman.
"Yeah!" Nishinoya bounded to Tanaka's side. "This is private property! You can't be here!" He turned to Asahi. "It is private property, right?" Asahi sighed and nodded, the gesture making Nishinoya's face split into a triumphant grin.
Iwaizumi put his hands up in surrender. He just looked so utterly done with the situation that Hinata had to put a hand over his mouth to cover a smile. "Look. We don't want any trouble." He said flatly, regarding the team before him with wary eyes.
"Yeah!" Oikawa flashed a dazzling grin and a peace sign, his overly cheerful voice echoing through the gym. "No need to be so hostile."
"You didn't answer our question." Kageyama crossed his arms, refusing to meet the eyes of either of his former teammates. "What are you doing here."
Iwaizumi and Oikawa looked helplessly at one another, neither knowing exactly what to do. They were Hinata's only way home, which was the reason he had walked instead of biked to school in the first place, and they had been planning this day for a while in advance. However, neither of the Aobajohsai players were comfortable with telling the obviously angry team their plans with the ginger if he didn't want them to, so they settled for the next best thing.
Stalling.
Oikawa stole one last glance at Iwaizumi before wagging his finger in front of Tanaka's face dramatically, making the spiker practically vibrant with anger. "I could ask you guys the same thing."
Tsukishima wrinkled his nose in distaste as he regarded the setter with a cold stare. "It's our school."
"But it's nearly forty minutes after practice was supposed to be over."
"But it's still our school, and...wait, how do you know that?"
Hinata winced, and Iwaizumi pinched his childhood friend's arm roughly. That slip up was going to be pretty hard to explain, and all three of them knew it. Still, all were determined to keep their friendship a secret from Hinata's admittedly overprotective team, Hinata because he knew Kageyama hated them (though he couldn't understand why) and the Aobajohsai players because they knew if Karasuno found out then the chances of them getting a moment alone with the ginger they had grown so fond of decreased dramatically.
As far as the three knew, Karasuno thought they were mere acquaintances at best, and they intended to keep it that way.
"Uh. Lucky guess?" Oikawa gave a weak shrug and scratched the back of his neck, fully aware of how stupid his excuse sounded.
"Why are you here." Suga's voice was cold and demanding as he crossed his arms. It was a statement, not a question. That much was clear.
Iwaizumi rolled his eyes and took Oikawa by the arm, not even attempting to be careful. Hinata was pretty sure he elbowed his best friend on purpose just to get back at him for his obvious slip-up. "Nothing. We were just leaving."
"Iwa!" Oikawa squawked in protest, "What are you-we have to-" He clamped his mouth shut as Iwaizumi fixed him with a hard stare. Hinata watched in wonder as a silent conversation seemed to be had between the two men, both of them understanding perfectly what the other was saying.
"We're. Leaving."
Oikawa stopped his struggle against Iwaizumi's grip and allowed himself to be lead outside, casting one last warning glance to the ginger before the double doors swung shut. Hinata peeked at his team out of the corner of his eye, feeling himself relax a bit, as it seemed they had assumed the setter had been looking at all of them.
"Well, that was...weird." Asahi was still looking toward the doors, brow furrowed and head cocked. "What was that all about?"
"Dunno." All the anger that had resided in Daichi only minutes before had disappeared, leaving only a very confused volleyball captain.
"I bet I scared them off!" Tanaka puffed out his chest proudly. Tsukishima had to physically restrain himself so he didn't facepalm. "The fella may have all the ladies, but he doesn't have any brawn like a real man!" He smirked, nodding in self-satisfaction. Nishinoya's triumphant smile had only widened after the Aobajohsai members had exited the gym, and Hinata suspected that the libero thought he had something to do with their sudden absence as well.
Hinata smiled to himself before turning away from the doors to face Daichi. He offered an apologetic smile and jammed a thumb behind him. "Uh, I know you were in the middle of yelling at us, but could I get going?" As the captain directed his gaze down to Hinata, the ginger took the opportunity to flash a blinding grin his way, always thrilled to have the captain paying attention to him. "I walked to school today instead of biking, so I need to go, or else I won't get back home before it gets dark!"
"Uh. Sure." Hinata could've sworn that Daichi looked a little choked up, eyes trained on his excited smile. The captain blinked after a moment and shook his head as if trying to clear it before stealing a glance at the clock. "Oh. I guess it is pretty late, huh."
"Thanks, Daichi!" Though it wasn't a clear answer, it was all Hinata needed to gather up his belongings, wrap the captain in a quick, surprise hug, and sprint out of the gym like his life depended on it.
"Huh." The was all Suga could say as he uncrossed his arms and stared at the spot the ginger had been only moments before. "He sure is eager."
"Why the hell would that dumbass walk to school instead of bike?" Kageyama crossed his arms in annoyance, seemingly displeased by his friend's stupidness. Daichi just waved his comment off, his eyes glazed over and expression one of pure bliss. Kageyama resisted the urge to groan. It was probably only because he had gotten a hug from Hinata. Ugh. Stupid Hinata and his incredible hugs.
"Uh," Yamaguchi raised an eyebrow. "Hinata left his water bottle."
"Of course he did." Tsukishima and Kageyama grumbled in unison, shooting each other death glares after the fact.
Nishinoya, who jumped at every chance he could get to make his precious underclassman smile, practically leaped from his position beside Tanaka to where Yamaguchi was holding Hinata's waterbottle about fifteen feet away, making the poor freckled boy yelp in surprise and back into Tsukishima.
"I'll take it to him!" The overexcited libero snatched the bottle from Yamaguchi's hands before bounding over to the swinging doors, humming a strange theme song none of them had ever heard before. "If he's walking, he probably hasn't even exited the parking lot yet!" Nishinoya pointed a proud finger to his chest and grinned. "I got this, guys, don't worry! I will return this bottle to Shouyou if it's the last thing I do!" With a final salute to Tanaka and a screeching battle cry, the second year promptly exited the building by kicking open the doors and running through them like a maniac, cheering all the way.
"What's with him?" Tsukishima asked bluntly, watching the double doors swing closed. "It's literally just Shrimpy's water bottle."
Tanaka glared at the middle blocker before wiping a non-existent tear from his eye. "Such a brave soldier."
Not even a moment later, Nishinoya burst back through the doors, face red and eyes wide.
Asahi blinked. "Woah. That was fast."
"Yeah. No kidding." Daichi furrowed his brow. "Like five seconds."
Nishinoya rolled his eyes and threw Hinata's water bottle on the ground, much to the surprise of his teammates, who looked from the discarded water bottle to the distressed libero.
"What's wrong?" Suga questioned after a beat of silence. His eyes narrowed. "Where's Hinata?"
Nishinoya pointed wildly towards the doors, all thoughts of returning the water bottle to his beloved underclassman forgotten. "He hasn't even made it to the parking lot yet!" He whisper shouted, eyes darting around the gym as if he suspected something would pop up at him. "He's around the corner, by the vending machine!"
"So?" Kageyama crossed his arms. "That dumbass is getting a snack, big deal. He didn't have any lunch today anyway. He's probably hungry." He punctuated this last statement with an annoyed huff, rolling his eyes at his partner's stupidity.
"What? He didn't have lunch!" Suga turned to glare at Kageyama. "Why didn't you tell me! I had extra!" He gave his fellow setter a pointed look, causing the younger to shrink back. "He shouldn't be playing volleyball on an empty stomach! Seriously, he could faint or get dizzy or-"
"Ohmygod Suga, stop being such a mom!" Nishinoya flexed his hand carefully. "Hinata's your precious angel child and you must protect him from all danger and harm blah blah blah now WOULD YOU PLEASE LISTEN TO ME?!"
All noise ceased instantly at Nishinoya's words. If it was bad enough that the libero had risked the wrath of Koushi Sugawara of all people, then he had to be seriously concerned about something. It seemed like the grey-haired setter had come to the same conclusion as his team, crossing his arms and tilting his chin up slightly toward his underclassman to indicate that he was listening.
Nishinoya smiled in relief, opened his mouth, closed it, then opened it again. His team watched this internal debate with mild curiosity, knowing something was probably wrong, but then again, the libero did tend to exaggerate things. Whatever struggle Nishinoya had been facing seemed to have been resolved as he beckoned to everyone with one finger, serious as ever.
"It's better if I show you."
Without another word, the libero ran through the double doors for the second time in two minutes, his team falling into step behind him. They turned the corner and froze.
"See!" Nishinoya gestured vigorously at the sight before them, keeping his voice down so it didn't carry. "See see see!"
Hinata had moved from his previous position in front of the vending machine and was now walking up the pathway towards the parking lot. The only problem was, he wasn't alone. He was flanked on either side by two disgustingly familiar people, the sight of which made Kageyama swear. Iwaizumi was positioned to the right of their resident ginger while Oikawa to the left.
"The hell..?" Ennoshita muttered, as confused by this development as everyone else.
Kageyama glared at the back of his two previous mentor's heads. "I swear to god if they're doing anything to him I-"
Yamaguchi put a calming hand on the setter's shoulder to prevent him from revealing their presence and socking someone in the face without a good reason. To be fair, Yamaguchi thought that getting Hinata away from dangerously strong rival volleyball players that could potentially crush his friend between their thumb and pointer fingers was a fantastic reason, just not one the court would approve of if Kageyama was charged with homicide.
"Just watch." That was all they could do for now, and they knew it.
Asahi nodded, an unfamiliar ominous look passing over his usually gentle features. "The second they make a move on him, that's when we'll beat them to a pulp."
Tsukishima adjusted his glasses, already fed up with this situation. "Guys, it just looks like they're having fun." He crossed his arms in annoyance. "He probably flashed one of those stupidly lovable grins in their faces and now they're best friends or something."
Suga poked Tsukishima in the cheek, retracting his hand before the blond could swat it away. "Did you just call Hinata lovable?"
"Well, duh. I'm not an idiot." Tsukishima raised an eyebrow. "You gonna tell me I'm wrong?"
Suga just shrugged and returned his gaze to the scene playing out in front of them. "Nope. You're totally right."
Upon closer inspection, the members of Karasuno could see that Hinata was, in fact, laughing with the two most recognizable faces of Aobajohsai. Though they were too far away to hear the words exchanged between Oikawa, Iwaizumi, and Hinata, the bubbly laughter emanating from the three could be heard faintly by the lurking team.
"What if they're luring him into a false sense of security before sweeping him off his feet and encouraging him to quit volleyball or join their team or something?"
"TANAKA!" Daichi hissed, whirling around to face the second year. "WHY MUST YOU BE SUCH A PESSIMIST WHEN LITERALLY ANYTHING INVOLVES HINATA!"
If Tanaka was at all fazed by Daichi's quiet outburst, he didn't show it. "All I'm sayin' is that that kid is definitely going to get kidnapped someday." He thought for a moment. "Or run over by a bus."
"Jesus Tanaka." Asahi muttered, his face going strangely pale. "Where the hell did these ideas come from?"
"Shorty's too perfect." He shrugged as if it was the most obvious fact in the world. "There's no way the universe doesn't do something terrible to him sooner or later."
"You mean more terrible then his dad dying?" Tsukishima deadpanned, boring holes in the back of his upperclassman's head.
Tanaka flipped him off without wasting a second. "Yes. Other than that."
"You make it sound like you want it to happen," Nishinoya muttered, scowling accusingly at his fellow second year.
Tanaka shook his head solemnly. "Nah, man. That's why I must always assume the worse." A maniacal grin suddenly took its place on Tanaka's face. "It's so I know whos head to rip off once it does."
"Aw hell yeah! That's what I'm talkin' about!"
"Thanks, Noya!"
"Can I help?!"
"Of course! We can murder whoever hurts Shortypants together!" He pumped his fists in a silent battle cry, not wanting to alert the very people they were trying to hide from of their presence.
Suga rolled his eyes at his underclassman, waving a hand in the air in a gesture of silence, to which everyone complied immediately. Nishinoya had already tested Suga's patience once that day, and no one wanted to see if it would hold. "We're following them, right?"
"Oh yeah, totally."
"One hundred percent."
"Was that not what we originally planned to do?"
"Duh."
"I need to be there in case a certain pretty boy needs to be beaten up!"
"I'm kinda curious."
"For sure."
"Uh, guys? They're gone."
All eyes turned to Ennoshita, who was pointing to the now empty pavement in front of them.
"Shit!" Kageyama sprang up from his crouching position and broke into a run towards the direction of the parking lot. Exchanging determined glances and helpless shrugs, the rest of the team quickly followed.
xxx
It didn't take long for the panicked volleyball players to catch up to the unlikely trio, given that the parking lot was only a few hundred meters away. Karasuno quietly obscured themselves in a particularly thick patch of bushes as they watched Iwaizumi, Oikawa, and Hinata exit the lot and start walking down the road together.
"How the hell are we going to follow him now?" Daichi asked in annoyance as they watched the trio get further and further away. "There's no way we can keep an eye on Hinata without them seeing us."
His teammates were silent for several seconds, each one musing over their predicament. They hadn't thought very far ahead about how exactly they were going to follow their energetic ginger teammate since they kind of decided to follow him on a whim, but no one intended to give up so easily, especially when it concerned their precious ball of sunshine hanging out with the two most skillful (and arguably most dangerous) Aobajohsai players.
"We trail them from a distance," Kageyama said finally, sitting back on his heels. "We follow them from afar and see where they go."
Asahi scratched the back of his head. "I dunno. How far are we talking?"
Nishinoya's eyes lit up. "So far that we can barely see them, but if they look back, we won't seem suspicious!" The libero grinned excitedly. "I love it."
We'll be just like spies!" Tanaka pumped his fists in the air, getting them scratched relentlessly by the numerous branches surrounding them in the process. His gaze slid over to Nishinoya, who nodded gravely.
"We've trained for this moment."
Tsukishima rolled his eyes. "Of course you have." He wrinkled his nose. "If we're gonna do that, don't you think we should probably get going already?"
All eyes turned to the spot Hinata, Iwaizumi, and Oikawa had been moments before, only to discover that the trio was barely a speck in the distance as they walked farther and farther down the road.
"Can we go now?" Yamaguchi turned to Kageyama in question. The setter nodded solemnly, his face utterly serious.
"Yeah."
As if a switch had been flipped, all eleven volleyball players emerged from the bushes and started running toward the edge of the parking lot, scaring the wits out of a first-year girl in Kageyama's class who kept screaming about how "monsters had arisen from the depths of the foliage", which had prompted Nishinoya to start growing and chasing her around her parked car, which had resulted in Daichi chasing him and everyone else doubling over laughing.
By the time they finally got themselves situated, the very people they were trying to trail were barely visible in the distance. After many karate chops to the head from a very impatient Suga, the highschoolers finally set off to follow their first-year teammate.
The Karasuno players made sure to stay a respectable distance away from the trio just as Kageyama had suggested, making sure to keep them in their sights but not getting close enough so that they could see their faces.
"Where do you think they're going?" The crows had been walking in silence for about ten minutes before Yamaguchi spoke the question they had all been wondering but didn't know when to ask.
"No idea," Daichi answered, scratching his chin. "Anywhere, I guess."
"I'm tellin' you guys. They're totally kidnapping him."
"Tanaka, I highly doubt Hajime Iwaizumi and Tooru Oikawa would kidnap Hinata." Daichi went silent for a moment before turning to Kageyama. "Right?"
Kageyama simply shrugged, keeping his eyes trained on his partner and former teammates. "I dunno. Oikawa did try to punch me in the face one time when I was in middle school, though."
"WHAT?!" Suga nearly choked before spinning around to glare at his fellow setter. "AND YOU DIDN'T THINK TO TELL US THAT BEFORE WE LET THEM GO OFF WITH HINATA?!"
"I told you. They're gonna murder him."
"TANAKA!" Daichi flicked the second-year on the forehead before resuming his walk, sending death glares over his shoulder every once in a while. "Hinata's not going to be murdered."
"Yeah!" Nishinoya bounded up to Tanaka, a humongous smile plastered on his face. "Shouyou's gonna be fine! We're such wonderful upperclassman that we'll beat up anyone who so much as touches a single hair on his head!"
Asahi shuddered. It was weird to hear such a serious threat come out cheerfully and casually as if someone were describing the weather. "Calm down. The whole reason we're following Hinata in the first place is to make sure nothing bad happens to him."
"I'm telling you guys, you're overreacting." Tsukishima crossed his arms with a huff. "I doubt Shrimpy's going to get kidnapped, murdered, or otherwise." He sent a pointed stare Tanaka's way, who in turn, just shrugged the indirect insult off.
"Rather be safe than sorry, Tsuki-dude," Tanaka stated, sending a shameless grin over his shoulder. Tsukishima merely sniffed and looked away.
Ennoshita smirked slightly at his team's antics before narrowing his eyes. The only reason they had been able to keep track of the three volleyball players for so long was because Hinata's bright orange hair was a stark contrast to the browns and greys of the city around them, as well as Iwaizumi and Oikawa.
"Did they just go into that cafe?"
All conversation ceased as ten pairs of eyes turned to stare at Ennoshita, and then the trio in the distance. Sure enough, a faint mop of orange curls could be seen turning the corner and swinging open a door, still flanked on either side by Oikawa and Iwaizumi.
"Huh."
It wasn't entirely clear who had made that sound or whether it was in response to Ennoshita's observation or in confusion as to why the three volleyball players would go into a cafe. Still, it was all the response Karasuno needed to exchange wide-eyed glances and start sprinting down the road, abandoning all secrecy and stealth that they had had only moments before. Their first and only priority at that very moment was to get eyes back on Hinata, and since he was now in that quaint little restaurant, all they could do was get down there as fast as they could and pray that ginger didn't take any notice of eleven teenagers sprinting by.
"What the hell do we do now?" Tsukishima hissed as he joined his teammates off to the side of the little cafe. Never one to put in more effort than he had too, the blond blocker had taken to jogging down the road instead of tearing to the restaurant at top speed, which had resulted in ten very winded volleyball players and a mildly annoyed Tsukishima.
"Go...inside..." Kageyama panted, struggling to catch his breath. "We can...sit in..the booth seat...behind them."
Tsukishima peeked through the window of the cafe. Sure enough, Hinata, Iwaizumi, and Oikawa were all seated in the booth farthest away from the door, which was both convenient and inconvenient at the same time. On the one hand, the booth was big enough that it could sit almost all of their present team and tall enough that it would obscure any view of Karasuno from the trio they were trying to spy on. Plus, Tsukishima estimated that they would be able to hear the conversations going on between the three if they listened hard enough, given that the restaurant wasn't very full of chattering people.
On the other hand, though, since the booth was in the back of the restaurant, it would be harder for the Karasuno players to make it there without drawing any unwanted attention to themselves from their resident ball of sunshine. Everyone's duffles and changes of clothes were all back at the gym, so they had nothing to obscure their faces with or anything to use to change their appearances. It would be a hassle, but it was certainly doable, especially since Oikawa and Iwaizumi were sitting with their backs to the door and Hinata was a notorious chatterbox who probably wouldn't even spare a glance at anyone coming through the doors if he got deep enough into a conversation.
It seemed that Kageyama had reached the same conclusions because he beckoned everyone to come closer, eyes flitting around as if he were anticipating something. He silently motioned to the alleyway behind the cafe before darting off in its direction, effectively getting out of view from the window and motioning for his team to follow him.
"Okay, here's the plan." Kageyama's serious side was coming out, a side of the temperamental setter that everyone was afraid of to some degree. "We're going to go in in groups of three in five-minute intervals." He peeked around the corner to get one last glance inside before settling down and facing his team once more. "It looks like the booth was made for eight people, max, but I'm guessing we can fit nine since Noya's so freaking short."
"HEY!"
Tanaka snickered as Kageyama continued. "The problem is, two people are going to have to stay outside." He paused. "There are no other tables that obscure us from Hinata like the booth behind them, and we cant' squeeze everyone into one booth without making a racket and alerting them that we're here."
Everyone was silent for a few moments as they let this piece of information sink in. No one wanted to be left out of the mystery surrounding their energetic orange teammate and the two Aobajohsai players, but Kageyama made a good point. There was no way they were going to be able to watch over Hinata and figure out why exactly he was hanging out with them if they tried to squeeze everyone into one small booth, which would undoubtedly cause a lot of fuss.
"I'll stay behind," Narita said finally, followed by a nod from Kinoshita.
"I will too."
Relieved smiles graced the faces of the rest of Karasuno as they thanked their teammates warmly for stepping up. Though those two weren't as close to Hinata as the rest of them were, they were still fond of the ginger and adored everything about him. After Narita made them promise to tell them everything as soon as they exited the cafe, the rest of Karasuno put their plan into action.
xxx
After a substantial amount of bickering, it was decided that Kageyama, Asahi, and Nishinoya would enter the building first. After waiting for Nishinoya to give Tanaka a sharp salute, the three exited the alleyway and entered the cafe. As expected, Hinata didn't even look up from his conversation with Iwaizumi and Oikawa, much to everyone's relief. The first group had been strategically composed of the people Hinata would be most likely to notice. Kageyama, because they spent the most time together out of everyone in the team, Asahi because of his looming presence and height, and Nishinoya because of his distinguishable hair.
Five minutes after the first three were safe and seated, Yamaguchi, Tsukishima, and Tanaka entered the cafe. Once again, Hinata didn't even spare them a glance. Putting Tanaka and Tsukishima in the same group had been a risky move since the two were prone to breaking out into fights with each other out of nowhere, but that was what Yamaguchi was for. The pinch server had a knack for calming Tsukishima down that not even Hinata could match, so he was there to act as the peacemaker between the two. Luckily, they reached the booth unnoticed and without incident.
Daichi, Suga, and Ennoshita were the last group to enter the restaurant, otherwise strategically known as the plains. Neither Daichi nor Ennoshita had any real distinguishing qualities. To be blunt, they were plain-looking. Other than Suga's grey hair, which he easily hid under the hood of the jacket he had been wearing when they first ran out of the gym, the three inconspicuously made their way to the booth where the rest of their team was waiting.
It was a tight fit with four people on each side, but as expected, Nishinoya was able to squeeze between Asahi and the wall. Everyone was practically shoulder to shoulder, but even though it was uncomfortable, no one minded all that much.
"What now?" Yamaguchi whispered, fully aware that if they talked too loud then they risked Hinata hearing them. "Do we just listen?"
Kageyama nodded from across the table and put a finger to his lips. Everyone immediately shut up and focused everything they had into hearing the conversation from the booth in front of them.
"Did you really get another confession?!" That was Hinata's voice, loud and clear as day. Everyone relaxed a bit at hearing it, still keeping their ears trained on the conversation at hand.
"Obviously, Shou," Karasuno stiffened at Oikawa's use of Hinata's first name. How did he even know it? They'd never seen each other outside of volleyball matches, right? Had he just begun using that nickname today? What exactly was Hinata and Oikawa's relationship? Countless thoughts spun through Kageyama's head as he struggled to shake them off so he could focus. "Confessions are practically an everyday occurrence for me!"
"Whatever you say, Shittykawa." That was clearly Iwaizumi. If the derogatory nickname wasn't enough indication, his deeper tone of voice was.
"Mean, Iwa!"
"No one cares, asshat."
"Don't curse in front of my precious Shouyou!"
Hinata giggled. It was still as bubbly and cheery as ever, much to his team's relief. "Oikawa, I've heard you curse plenty of times."
Karasuno exchanged glances. When had he become 'Oikawa' to Hinata and not 'The Grand King'? The relationship dynamic between the three was getting way too confusing for Karasuno's liking.
Oikawa scoffed. "I do not curse, thank you very much! I am a perfect gentleman!"
Karasuno could hear Hinata snort in disbelief and cross his arms. "You once cursed out Iwaizumi for 'hogging' me for thirty minutes to help me practice my spikes." His face split into a grin. "It was really, really vulgar."
The table erupted with laughter from Hinata and Iwaizumi, followed by angry squawking from the Aobajohsai setter, causing Karasuno to wince and cover their ears at the sudden noise, before looking bewilderedly at each other. Practice spikes? What were they talking about? Hinata only practiced with them and them alone. No way would he be thinking about practicing with an enemy team as nefarious as Seijoh, right?
"But I always curse at Iwa! That doesn't count!" The pout was evident in Oikawa's voice, thankfully much quieter than the booming laughter moments before. "It's not my fault I wanted to toss to you before you had to leave!"
Okay, that was weird. Toss to Hinata? Before he had to leave? What the hell was going on? Karasuno was at the edge of their seats, willing silently for the trio to continue with their conversation. The fierce protectiveness Karasuno had felt towards the ginger at the beginning of their journey was replaced with burning curiosity. They just had to know what was going on, for the sake of their sanity and Hinata's.
Whatever, Asskawa." Iwaizumi said, though there was no real heat behind the playful insult. "So, Hinata, you ready for Tuesday?"
"Of course I am!" Karasuno could hear the faint sounds of Hinata bouncing up and down in his seat. "I'm super duper excited!"
"Good." There was a faint smile playing at Iwaizumi's lips. "And remember, don't tell Karasuno about this."
The volleyball team in question exchanged worried glances as they waited for the next words from the trio. Something was off here, and no one liked it.
"I know!" Hinata's chirpy voice reached their ears, no problem. "Kageyama would be furious." He shuddered at the thought.
"They all would," Oikawa muttered, so soft that the eavesdropping volleyball team could barely pick it up. His voice brightened almost immediately. "Remember Shorty, Aobajohsai volleyball practice at 7:00 pm, don't be late!"
"I won't!"
Every member of Karasuno stiffened immediately, deeply disturbed by what they just heard. They had all reached the same conclusion, though no one wanted to say it out loud. It was impossible, right? There was no way. Something like this would never happen. Hinata loved Karasuno, right? He was going to nationals with them, for heaven's sake! But what if it wasn't enough...
The team sat there in the booth, unmoving and unspeaking until Iwaizumi, Oikawa, and Hinata left the cafe about ten minutes later. Thankfully for them, the trio didn't even spare a glance their way, but at that point, they didn't care if the ginger noticed them or not. They were too shell-shocked to care about much of anything right now.
"Is Hinata..." Yamaguchi's voice was quiet, timid, almost.
Kageyama had gone deathly pale. He swallowed thickly, preparing himself to say the words no one else wanted to.
"Hinata's leaving us for Aobajohsai."
xxx
Hinata may be naive, but he wasn't stupid. The tension in the gym the next day could practically be cut with a knife, and the fact that his teammates were giving him weird looks and pained glances wasn't helping. Had he done something wrong? Had something happened? Countless possibilities filtered through his head as to what could've happened to make his teammates this way.
The first indication something was wrong came the very moment he stepped into volleyball practice. Kageyama had rushed up to him, desperation evident in his eyes, and had practically dragged Hinata over to the net to throw some tosses to him, which had never happened before. Hinata always had to beg his setter for even a little acknowledgment most of the time.
The second indication was when he messed up horribly on a receive later on in practice. The ginger had reflexively tensed up, awaiting an onslaught of playful jeers and reprimands from Tsukishima or Daichi, but they never came. Neither said a word as they continued on with practice.
The final straw was Nishinoya. The only person in the gym who could hold a candle to Hinata's enthusiasm had been quiet all practice, no declarations of war, love, or victory crossing his lips at all. Instead, his face just looked downcast, eyes trained onto the floor, and only putting in what looked like half of his usual effort. It was tearing away at Hinata's heart, who was finding it much harder to be his usual happy self when the very people who made him happy looked so depressed and unmotivated.
"Alright, what's going on?" Hinata put his hands on his hips and glared at his surrounding teammates, making sure he spoke loud enough so all of them could hear. "You guys have been acting weird all day, and I know there's something you're not telling me!"
The gym was silent save for the bouncing of one lone volleyball as Karasuno started at Hinata, unreadable expressions on their faces. They had been waiting for this conversation all practice, and now that it was finally here, they weren't sure how to approach the subject. It was common knowledge that Hinata was good at reading the room, and so far, the room had been dreary and depressed. They knew it wouldn't be long until he said something about it, for he was always one to speak his mind.
"Are you sure there's not something you're not telling us?" Tanaka abruptly ended the silence, though it was no more than a whisper. He kept his eyes trained to the floor, refusing to meet Hinata's. This just made the ginger even more uneasy. Had they found out about Aobajohsai after all? He didn't think they would be this mad about him being friends with some of the players, would they? He shook his head. Nah, there was no way they could've figured it out from Oikawa's slip up the day before.
"Excuse me?" Hinata blinked because that was the only response he could come up with. How was he even supposed to reply to that?
"Look...Hinata..." Nishinoya wrung his hands out nervously. Hinata narrowed his eyes. His fantastic upperclassman was never nervous. Something must've really rattled him to get this way. "If you're unhappy with us, you know you can tell us, right?"
"Whadadddddddda-HUH?!" Hinata's jaw hit the floor. What the hell were they getting at?
"Yeah. Uh." Yamaguchi offered a smile, but it came out more like a grimace. "If, you know, you think you could get something more somewhere else the, you know..." He trailed off, the words getting caught in his throat. All Hinata could do was stare. Where had they even gotten that idea?
"I mean..." Daichi ran an exasperated hand through his hair. "We know we give you a lot of crap, but none of us really mean it, and we really do think you're an amazing player and person and-"
"Don't go to Aobajohsai." Kageyama's words were desperate, almost pleading. He regarded Hinata with wild, unguarded eyes, eyes that were begging him to say something.
At this, all Hinata froze with a choked gasp. "Wha-"
Kageyama rambled on, his hurried words practically blurring together. "We saw you yesterday with Oikawa and Iwaizumi. At the cafe."
Suga nodded, his eyes unreadable, holding up a hand to cut Kageyama off. "We heard you are talking about Tuesday practice with Aobajohsai, and how Oikawa tosses to you and Iwaizumi's been teaching you how to spike better and..." He couldn't bring himself to finish his sentence. Hinata was frozen on the spot. He knew he should do something, he knew he should explain, but all he could do was stare.
"What made you do it?" Asahi's voice was the softest of them all, fiddling with loose strands of hair and averting his eyes from his underclassman. "Do they have better gyms? Better practices? Better coach? Better teammates? Just a better team? I mean hell, we're going to Nationals, Hinata, we-"
"Okay, I'm going to stop you right there." Hinata held up a single hand, finding his voice and effectively shutting Asahi up. He regarded his team with wide eyes. "You think I'm leaving Karasuno for Aobajohsai?"
"Well...yeah..." Hinata raised a disbelieving eyebrow at Tsukishima, the one person who he thought wouldn't really care if he left or not. Was he really affected by this as much as the rest of them were? "We heard you talking to them about practice, and you were excited and-"
"Okay, no." Hinata waved his hand in the air, signaling for silence. "Did you guys think that I would leave this team for Aobajohsai?:"
A defining silence filled the gym as the faces of despair turned to ones of confusion. Hinata rolled his eyes. Boy, his teammates sure were dense sometimes.
Hinata crossed his arms. "Look. A while ago, I got lost nearby their school, and Yahaba, one of their setters, found me. He brought me back to the school since it was late and I needed to call someone, and I ended up staying the whole practice." The ginger could sense the growing panic from his team. He had to hurry this explanation up before they misunderstood again. "Yes, I played with them, but we all became friends, and that's all. And yes, every once in a while I go to their practices so I can see all of them because normally I don't get the chance to, not because I would ever think about leaving Karasuno or this volleyball team." He bit his lip. "I can stop if that will make you guys feel better, but it's not what you were assuming at all."
"Of course he did." Tsukishima was the first to speak, taking his glasses off and running a hand exasperated down his face. "Of course. He made friends with Aobajohsai."
Hinata offered a shaky smile. "Uh. Yeah." He sucked on the inside of his cheek. "They're super fun people when you get to know them, seriously. I dunno why Kageyama didn't like them so much..."
"Dumbass." Kageyama interrupted, sending him a glare. "So you're not leaving us?"
"Obviously not! I can't believe you guys even thought that!"
"Well, based on what we heard, it seemed like an obvious conclusion..." Suga muttered, looking immensely relieved yet still a little confused.
Hinata resisted the urge to roll his eyes. Did he have to spell it out for them? "Don't worry about it. I love playing with Karasuno!" His face split into a heart-melting, genuine beam, which to his surprise, shut everyone up immediately.
"Just to be clear, you're not joining a team with those Aobajohsai bastards?"
Hinata just grinned even brighter and barreled into Tanaka's chest, wrapping his upperclassman in a reassuring hug that he knew he needed.
"Nope!"
xxx
Everything went much smoother after that. The tension dissipated almost as quickly and abruptly as it had appeared, much to everyone's relief. Daichi had, thankfully, allowed the ginger to keep on occasionally going to Aobajohsai practices with the condition that if any of the players hurt him at all, Tanaka and Nishinoya had full permission to beat someone up.
Hinata and Kageyama were the last ones in the gym by the time practice was over, Hinata offering to clean up since he had caused his team so much mental distress and Kageyama because he usually walked home with the ginger.
"Hey, dumbass?"
Hinata looked up from the volleyball cart he was putting stray balls into to see Kageyama fiddling with the strap of his duffle, eyes trained on the floor. His voice was oddly strangled. Hinata frowned. He had thought he had gotten this whole thing sorted out, but maybe not.
"Yeah, Bakayama?"
"I know I'm...not exactly the nicest person to you or anything, and I know I bash you and your skills a lot, but..." He bit his lip, locking eyes with his friend. "Don't ever think that I don't care about you or appreciate you, okay?"
A smile instinctively tugged on the corners of Hinata's lips. "Woah there, Bakayama!" He pranced over to the setter, volleyball cart forgotten. "It's weird to see you being nice, kinda freaking me out a little bit, not gonna lie."
"Oh, shut up," Kageyama grumbled, crossing his arms and looking away. "I just don't want you to ever...you know...want to join another team or feel inadequate because of the things I say."
Hinata blinked. How had that thought gotten into Kageyama's head? They had always exchanged insults and bickered like it was nobodies business. It was part of his daily routine, and he would never ever even consider joining another team to get away from it. Hinata had already known all of the things Kageyama had been saying, of course, but instead of reassuring him like he would anyone else, he resorted to the only way he knew how to talk to his partner.
"KAGEYAMA STOP YOU'RE SERIOUSLY FREAKING ME OUT!"
"YOU KNOW WHAT? I TAKE THAT BACK OIKAWA CAN HAVE YOU."
"RUDE! YOU LOVE ME!"
"THINK AGAIN, DUMBASS!"
Yep. He wouldn't trade this for the world.
