"Tooru, we are going to the Hinata's now." Kageyama announced to his son suddenly, putting down the newspaper after reading it.
"Yay! Can we play with him now?" Tooru's eyes brightened up with excitement when he heard his dad.
"Maybe. Let's go."
They walked to the house next door. It was somewhat noisy for a time like this. He peeked at his watch.
9.30 am.
He pressed the doorbell. A short man with a slightly wild look opened the door. His hair was spiked and there was bleached hair sprouted from the middle of his head. Wild. He wore a white shirt with Japanese idioms on it and a pair of blue jeans.
"Hello! I'm Nishinoya Yuu! What can I do for you? Come in, please." He said cheerily with a grin.
"I'm Kageyama Tobio and this is my son, Tooru. We just moved in next door yesterday and I am looking for a daycare to take care of Tooru." Kageyama explained as he walked in. He took off his shoes and wore the slippers provided. Tooru did the same.
Kageyama looked around. There were a lot of murals on the wall, mostly crows with human-like hair, which he thought was unusual for a place like this. The birds looked fluffy and cute. Tooru couldn't resist staring at them. There were colourful numbers and alphabets painted on the wall in different sizes. There were toys and stuffed animals, balls and storybooks on the floor. He picked up a ball that looked like a volleyball and instantly he felt nostalgic.
"Hinata! You got yourself a visitor today!" Nishinoya called out to Shoyo, who was in the kitchen preparing sandwiches for the little kids.
"Who is it?" Shoyo asked loudly, carrying a tray of food. He set it on the table in the living room and looked at the strangers.
"What the hell? What are you doing here?!" Hinata yelled at them. He gritted his teeth with fury. The kids stopped making noises and turned to look at him.
"Hinata, please calm down." Nishinoya tried to keep Hinata's composure.
"Hinata-kun, we are here to play!" Tooru hugged his legs. His heart softened a bit at the sight of the cute little boy. He smiled.
"I'm here to say sorry, actually. I was worried about Tooru so I acted before I could think." Kageyama scratched his head awkwardly and bowed rather suddenly but with sincerity.
It was silent in the daycare for a moment. Awkward.
"Okay, fine. Apology accepted. But what are you doing here in my daycare?" He resigned from his feelings and sighed. He handed the egg sandwiches to the kid one by one.
"Well, long story short, I need to find a daycare for Tooru and my friend recommend yours to me." Kageyama explained as he sat down.
"Who's your friend?" Hinata inquired, sitting down next to him.
"Sugawara Koshi."
"Ahh. He sends little Kei here everyday." A blond boy with glasses turned to look at them, eyeing them suspiciously and sticked his tongue out at Kageyama.
"Kei is here? I didn't notice him. He never really liked me that much."
"Oh, you know Kei? Wait, that's a stupid question to ask. You know Koshi, so you must have known Kei."
"How much do I have to pay for you to take care of my Tooru every month?"
"Only 10,000¥."
"Uhh, okay. Can I have sandwiches too?"
"Sure. Do you want some tea with that?"
"Yes, thank you."
Kageyama grab a sandwich for Tooru and another for himself but it seemed Tooru already started socialising with the kids there. He was showing his alien plushie to a quiet boy with black spiky hair and boring eyes. Another boy with onyx hair and freckles on his face was chatting with Kei. Two boys, one with coal hair and another with grey hair were playing with each other, lifting their action figures in the air. Hinata came back with two cups of warm senmaicha. He handed one to Kageyama and he accepted it. Kageyama examined the designs on the ceramic cups and thought they were admirable.
Nishinoya would stand by to watch the kids and occasionally play with them or chat with Natsu.
"Noya-san is my friend. He's very friendly and outgoing and he offered to help me when I first wanted to open a daycare. He was my senior back in high school and we would play volleyball together. We were in the team. I was a middle blocker and he was a libero." Hinata informed Kageyama.
"You, a middle blocker? Don't you joke with me. No offence but you are a shortie."
"None taken. I get that lots of times. But, I can jump!"
"Yeah, yeah. Whatever." Kageyama sipped from his cup.
"So, don't you need to go to work?"
"I told my boss I will take a day off before officially go to work. You see, I'm not from this area. I was offered to work here so I took the chance and moved in here."
"Ahh, I see."
"So, these are the only kids you are taking care of?"
"Yeah, Ryuu is in the toilet now though. He has to shit."
"Ahh, I see."
Kageyama turned to look at Hinata. His orange hair made him looked attractive to him. He reached out his hands to ruffle that messy mop of hair. His fingers ran through the strands of hair slowly. Soft. Hinata looked at him, uncomfortable.
"What are you doing? Get your hands off me." Hinata shooed him away.
"Just ruffling you hair. I like it."
"You... like my hair? Or like ruffling my hair?"
"Both."
"That's the first. Everyone thought I'm a freak. Okay, maybe not everyone. But local people here are quite okay with it, I guess."
"They are wrong."
"I never cared that much, to be honest."
Hinata glanced at the wall clock that said 9:45. The wall clock was in a shape of a cat, a gift from his friend and a client. Its tail will sway left to right repeatedly with every ticks of seconds.
"Kageyama, we are going to take the kids to the park at 10. Do you want to follow us?" Hinata asked.
"Uhh, sure. I would like to see how do you guys work."
They sat in a comfortable silence and watched the kids played. They all enjoyed themselves. The table was laid with coloured papers and small scissors and glue and Nishinoya would produce something out of them. He's the master of art and craft. He would prepare craft supplies on the table before going to the park so when they get back they will start making craft. There's a display table where the kids put their work on it and each were labeled with names.
"Hinata, is she your sister?" Kageywama pointed at the teenage girl.
"Yes. Yes, she is. Her name is Natsu and I love her a lot."
Kageyama decided to keet quiet for the next few minutes, trying not to ask anything about his sister. He thought of his ex-wife at the moment. If he did not distant himself, he would be living happily with the family and that Tooru will be his real child and she will not be cheating on him. They will be doing family stuff like going to a shopping mall, watching fireworks at night, eating dinner. So many things that they can do they outnumbered the amount of fingers and toes combined.
Even in an oni's eyes, you'll find tears.
(A/N: I'm not feeling so well today, so you might find some grammar mistakes. Also, sorry for not writing longer. I have like 197 words more to go to reach the amount of words in the last chapter. Not to mention this note takes up like 48 words.)