Don't chapter 5:
"Hello, with Hattori Chiba." Said a woman on the other side of the phone.

"Good morning, Hattori-san – cough – I wanted to ask if you wanted to do something for me?" Hinata tried to sound sick.

"Sweety, of course I will help you! What do you need?''

"Well – cough – I… eh…I'm sick, and – cough – my dad is already off to work and I couldn't reach him through the phone and you know my mom is at the hospital so I wanted to ask if you could call my school and – cough – report me sick?"

"Oh! My poor boy! Your school is Karasuno high school, right? I think I can find their phone number, don't worry about it. I wish I could come over to take care of you, but I need to go to work. Are you okay being home alone?"

"Don't worry about – cough – it, Hattori-san. Thank you for taking the time to call!"

"For you, anytime sweetheart! Just go back to bed and get well soon! You know you can call me if you need anything!" Hattori said. They both said their goodbyes and they hung up the phone.

Hinata sighed. He didn't like to lie to Hattori-san. She was a good friend of his mother and used to baby-sit him a lot when he was little, she was almost like a second mother to him. However, he needed someone to call him sick for the day, and he was sure his dad wasn't going to do it.
Hinata was horrified after the scene he had made with Suga.

His bruise hadn't showed any progress and hurt just as much as yesterday. He was pretty sure they were going to notice it. Suga wouldn't let it slide a second time. He would want to take a look at his bruise and he would know that it wasn't from just an unlucky dive at the volleyball court.
Besides that, his body could use a bit of rest, so he decided to call in sick for the day. He felt guilty for skipping practice and class, but he was going to make sure to make up for it later.

So there Hinata was, home alone. It felt weird. He was never home alone, but his dad had gone to work and Natsu was at school. It felt like he had all the freedom of the world.

He decided to use that freedom to do some long needed cleaning. His hadn't done anything in the house since forever. Hinata knew that it was unlikely for his mother to come home some, but still she would have a heart attack if she saw the state of her beloved home.

Besides that, he had promised to be a better son. Maybe he could make his dad happy for cleaning the house!

So ignoring the sting in his side, he started with the living room. Since that was his dad's territory it was a complete mess, full of empty beer cans. Hinata sighed and just started on the work. After that he decided to vacuum down stairs. When he was done with that it was already 12:30, so Hinata made some lunch for himself and plopped down on the couch.

It was scary how nice it was to have the home for himself. He felt so much freedom. Normally his day was pretty full. If Hinata wasn't at volleyball, he would do something for school or something for Natsu.

However, this feeling of freedom went together with guilt. Normally he would have lunch break right now, were he and Kageyama would sit together, sometimes Yachi would joined them and on very rare occasions Yamaguchi and Tsukki too.

After school everyone on his team would practice, they would play volleyball together, while Hinata was here alone. They would do their best to get better so the team could go to the nationals and Hinata was right here slouched on his coach, just enjoying his free day. This way he would never become an ace.

It just seemed as if whatever choice Hinata made it was always the wrong one. Yesterday he regretted going to practice and today he regretted staying at home.

But right now, when he was laying on the coach with the feeling of having all the time in the world, Hinata noticed how tired he was.

His life felt like an endless train going on high speed. Waking up during the night for Natsu, the alarm that would go off early, making sure that Natsu would go to school on time, while he needed to be at practice on time, meanwhile trying not to wake his dad. Then practice and school (where he tried his hardest not to fall a sleep, 'cause he already did not have very good grade) and then again practice. Getting Natsu home, making dinner, visiting his mother, trying te please his father, concentrating on homework and then practice, taking care of Natsu, his sick mother.

It was like Hinata never had time to stop. Not that he didn't like his life, he chooses to put so much time in practice himself, he didn't mind it all. It was hard to think of his live without volleyball in it.
But it was just so much easier to put the time in volleybal when everything was still normal around the house.

And now he was just tired.

Without even noticing it, Hinata fell in a deel calm sleep.

-Haikyuu-

5 days later:
Kageyama walked into the clubroom and had again to bit back an annoyed grunt. Hinata wasn't there, for the fifth day in a row he hadn't shown up. On Tuesday and Friday he was called in sick for school, and that automatically meant practice too. For weekend practice Hinata had called Daichi saying he wasn't out of the blue yet.

Now again he wasn't there for morning practice.

It didn't feel right to Kageyama.

They needed to practice their quick. Hinata needed to be on top form for the trainings camp.
It kept being on Kageyama's mind all during practice and even in school he couldn't ignore the empty seat were Hinata was supposed to sit.

He knew that it bothered a few on the team too, he had seen the looks Suga and Daichi gave each other, as if they knew something Kageyama didn't know. And that annoyed Kageyama even more.

So when the teachers asked if someone wanted to bring Hinata his homework so he wouldn't get to far behind Kageyama raised his hand – to probably everyone surprise. True, Kageyama wouldn't do these kinds of things normally, although he was sure that Hinata would do these kind of things in a heartbeat for everyone, regardless of who it was for. Hinata was a dumbass, but he was a kind dumbass.

Later Kageyama would tell people that he brought Hinata his homework, 'cause he didn't want the idiot to get to far behind of school, 'cause then Hinata would have to follow extra classes. Precious time that was better used for training.

The real reason, however, was to check on him.

So after school – Kageyama couldn't believe he was actually skipping practice for that dumbass – he took the 20 minute bus ride towards Hinata's house (how Hinata even had the energy to bike such a hill every day after practice was beyond Kageyama's understanding). He suddenly realized that he'd never been at Hinata's house before. The teams had regular meet ups at someones place, but they never did it at Hinata's because it was up the hill.

Kageyama sighed and stepped towards the front door. He rang the bell, hoping that Hinata wasn't sleeping or something. It only took like half a minute before the door was opened.

Hinata was standing in the hall way, looking at Kageyama with big brown eyes. It was clear that he hadn't suspected Kageyama to pay a visit.

Kageyama was pretty surprised himself. He wasn't sure what he expected, but for Hinata to call in sick for practice, Kageyama thought he would be like really sick, lying in bed, maybe even puking a bit here and there.

And there was Hinata, yes he looked a bit tired, maybe even a little bit pale, but that was all.

"K-kageyama!?" He said surprised.

Like last time, Kageyama didn't really know what to say so he just held the papers he got from the teacher up.

"Homework." He said, while scanning Hinata from top to toe.

"Huh, what?"

"I've come to bring your homework dumbass. Just so you wouldn't get behind on school more then you already are."

"Oh, you really didn't need to that. It's fine. But thanks, I guess." Hinata seemed really uncomfortable. It was clear that he preferred for Kageyama not to be there.

Kageyama had to admit, he was starting to get uncomfortable too. Hinata didn't seem physically ill, so what was going on.

What if something happened with Hinata's mom? That was a legit reason to skip practice for a few days. If kageyama was in the same position he probably would have done the same.

"Did something happen with your mother?" He asked out of the blue. Hinata seemed clearly taken back by that question, 'cause he needed a few seconds to let it sink in, then he quickly shook his head.

"No! Don't worry, she is doing fine! I mean not fine, but not horrible either!" Hinata smiled, while scratching the back of his head.

"Then why are you at home?"

"Wh-well. I,um, I got the stomach flu really badly you know. With fever and puking and all that gross stuff. And I thought I was feeling better this morning, but then I started puking again. And uh, I guess I just thought that it would be really annoying for everyone if I had to puke during practice. So I decided to stay home for an extra day."

That sounded like a decent reason, but still Kageyama didn't hundredth percent believe it. There was something off with the way Hinata said it.

An awkward silence fell.

"So, are you coming tomorrow for practice?" He said.

"Well, yeah. If I am not puking again, I think I will!" Hinata said with a grin on his face.

Then out of the blue Hinata's face changed for a few seconds, it was almost as if he panicked for a few seconds.

"But I think you should leave now Kageyama, go back to practice. I am going back to sleep!"

This was unusual rude of Hinata. Not that Kageyama cared, but it was just so unlike Hinata. Kageyama didn't except to be invited in, but it was a completely different thing to just push him away.

"What, why?" He asked surprised.

"Just leave. Please Kageyama. Don't be as stubborn as always. You have done enough for me! Seriously go back to practice." It sounded like pleading.

Hinata never begged for anything and definitely not to Kageyama.

But here he was. Hinata was pleading him to go, still a bit of panic in his eyes. It annoyed Kageyama.

"What's going on dumbass?"

"Nothing, just. Thanks for the homework, but I think Natsu needs me. See you tomorrow at practice." And with that Hinata shut the door in his face.

Flabbergasted Kageyama stood right infront of the closed door. He wasn't sure what to do. He had hoped that visiting Hinata would give him some clarity of what was going one, but it only made it more weird.

He almost rang the doorbell again, but decided against it. If Hinata really didn't want him here, then there was nothing much he could do.

So Kageyama walked away again, with an uneasy feeling in his stomach. Then out of the corner of his eye, he saw a car stopping in front of the house. A man stepped out. He had kind of orange/red hair, however it wasn't as jumpy as Hinata's. Was this his father? His question was answered when the man walked towards the door and opened it with a key.

Kageyama sighed and walked towards the buss stop. What was he supposed to do with that dumbass?

-Haikyuu-

Daichi sighed and looked at his best friend. After practice Suga had stayed for dinner.

"Hinata just texted me, he said that he won't be back for practice tomorrow, but probably the day after." The captain said.

Suga looked up, both his eyebrows raised.

"I don't like this." He murmled.

"You don't know if anything weirdly is going on. He could just have gotten the flu, then it is't weird to stay home for almost a week." Daichi said, while taking both of their plates. He started doing to dishes.

Suga just let out a loud sign and let his head hit the table.

"You're right, but it just feels like to much coincidence. First he behaves weirdly with his stomach and all and then just a day later he calls in sick?"

Suga really didn't like it. He didn't want to intrude Hinata's privacy, but what if he was seriously injured and tried to hide it like this.
Reporting in sick wasn't the good option, this way Hinata didn't only miss practice, but also school. Suga knew that Hinata wasn't doing that well educational.

"Hey Suga," Daichi hit him with a tea towel, "Stop thinking so much. Let's wait till he gets back to practice and see how he is doing. If he is still acting weird, we will have a talk with him, okay?"

Suga nodded.

And so they waited. Hinata did indeed return two days later. Daichi and Suga both watched him carefully, looking for any sign that something was off.

However, Hinata acted normal. Maybe even more like himself then before his sick leave. He didn't seem hurt anymore, and he was jumping and spiking and running around with his normal amount of energy.

This put Suga at ease a little bit - although he still kept an eye out for Hinata - he could let it go for now.

Hinata did notice how close Daichi and Suga were looking at him – although his senpai's probably thought they weren't being obvious at all, it was easy for Hinata to tell. So he was extra careful and did everything he did with a hundredth percent of energy and enthusiasm and in the next few days he say how both of the older boys started to let it go.

He understood it though, taking a sick leave wasn't something Hinata normally did. He would always come to practice, even if he was to sick to play, he could just watch.

His original plan was to only take on or two days off, just to give his body time to rest. However, when his dad came home on Tuesday, he didn't have the best day at work. Hinata had tried to cook dinner, just to help him out, but had accidently burned it. His dad punched him again after that. This time just a bit below the first bruise.

The next day his dad apologized.

Hinata hadn't understand. His dad had the right to punish him.

So Hinata gave his dad a long needed hug and said it was alright. After that nothing changed. His dad hadn't felt the need to punish him anymore, but he wasn't back to his normal happy self. But that was okay. With baby steps they would get there.

Hinata had given himself three extra more days to rest and give his body the time to heal. He didn't want a repeat of what happened last week with Suga, that was just straight embarrassing.

So when he came back, he was afraid Suga was gonna question him again. Luckily the setter didn't do that; he only kept an extra eye out for him, but after a few days it was clear that Suga believed Hinata was okay.

Everything was back to normal.

Almost.

Kageyama just kept staring at him as if he knew. It made Hinata uncomfortable. He felt ashamed at being hit by his dad.

And even though he knew it wasn't his dad's fault, he wasn't so sure that other people would feel the same way. He didn't want anyone to think badly of his father. So he couldn't tell anyone.

He had almost got a heart attack from Kageyama's surprise visit. Of course the setter had to come the moment his dad was almost home. Luckily he had been able to shoo him away just before his father parked his car, but that was really close.

Hinata was going to be more careful from now one.

So that's what he did. At training he played the happy enthusiastic guy. He tried to forget about everything else and just focused a hundredth percent at volleyball at those hours. He was careful to not talk about anything personal with his teammates. Sometimes Kageyama or Suga would try to ask him about his mom, and he would quickly wave that away and talk about something else.

He had started visiting his mom less frequent. His dad had told him that Hinata was only bothering his mother. She was really sick, and she needed all the rest she could get. So instead of going almost once in every two days, he started going once or twice in a week.

In the weeks passing by Hinata knew his mom wasn't doing any better. She was getting worse, and it was so hurtful to sit at her bed site and just not being able to do something. He was so useless, while all Hinata wanted to do was to safe his mother.

The training camp was getting closer and closer. Hinata had tried asking his dad for his signature for on the permission paper. It had resulted in a painful blue eye on Hinata's part and no signature. Luckily the next day was Sunday and they had been given a rest day for practice. On Monday the eye looked almost completely normal, and it was believable that it was because of a volleyball that had hit him in the face.

But that still gave him one problem. He had no signature on the permission paper, which meant no Tokyo. There was no way that Hinata was going to miss that training weekend, he needed it.

Besides that, he had already promised to Kenma that he would come.
So there was only one option left. Hinata faked the signature. It wasn't hundredth percent the same as his father's signature, but it would do.

And it did. Takeda didn't notice a thing, although Hinata did feel a bit guilty for lying about it. However, the excitement of going to Tokyo was quick to overshadow that feeling of guilt. Hinata made sure that Natsu would be at a friend during that weekend.

Even though his father had never been particularly violent towards Natsu, Hinata just didn't want to risk it.

He was pretty sure that his dad wouldn't even notice it if he was away for the weekend. With how drunk he was getting these past few weeks.

The morning before the left, Hinata went to visit his mother one last time. Together with Natsu he said at her bedside and told her about Tokyo – of course not saying that he forced the signature. Just before they left, Hinata's mom gave him a little speech, about how she loved him and Natsu and that she was proud of them. Hinata gave her a quick hug goodbye before going to Natu's friend to drop her over.

Not knowing that this was the last hug he was ever going to get from her.

-Haikyuu-

I hope you guys liked this chapter!

I know I ended it a bit sad, but I'm gonna warn you guys, it is gonna keep being sad for quiet a while.

Don't forget to put a comment about what you thougt of this chapter!

Lots of love!

XXX

-Maredith