Summary: After a volleyball match almost kills Hinata (twice) he learns that Kageyama is scary when he's protective. Correction: scarier.

Luuka: this fic is permanently ongoing, some people were unsure but it isn't complete.

Please read! Kakugawa are a volleyball team in the Haikyuu! manga- you DON'T have to know about them in order for this chapter to make sense. There isn't a lot of information about them in the manga at this point, as a result, I had to invent what I imaged their personalities to be like based on their appearances, meaning that if Kakugawa are mentioned in S2 of Haikyuu or the Haikyuu manga in more detail, this fic won't portray the characters accurately to their canon selves.

It had been the worst volleyball match ever.

And that was saying something.

Because even though Karasuno had won, the game itself had gone awfully.

Winter was nearing an end and Karasuno had scheduled a volleyball match against Kakugawa high. The two teams were overdue to play each other and as a friendly gesture, Karasuno had travelled to their high school in the mountains, where they were permitted to stay for the night to get to know the other team and play a practice match before the final, deciding game the next day.

Kakugawa high was situated on a mountain and Hinata had been over-excited throughout the entire coach journey, peering at everything outside of the window and elbowing Kageyama, with: 'Kageyama! I saw the first flower on the mountain!' or: 'Kageyama, their shrine gates are a different colour to ours!' which Kageyama had tolerated until it had gotten old ('Kageyama! First mountain traffic jam, YEAHHH!') and he'd crammed his earbuds in, suppressing a scowl.

When they'd reached Kakugawa, however, disillusionment had settled in and Hinata had become very quiet- it was freezing. Kakugawa's sports department consisted mostly of wooden halls that were scattered throughout craggy rocks, a deep lake twisting around the buildings. A chill breeze ran through the air; Hinata shuddered.

'I-I thought... ' Hinata sounded so broken, so confused- 'K-Kageyama... I thought it would be a snowy mountain with forests and bonsai's and hot springs-'

'We're not on vacation,' Tsukishima drawled. 'I assume you are aware that we came to this place to play a match?'

Coach Ukai climbed out of the vehicle and a roll call was performed.

'Kakugawa's volleyball team have been kind enough to come out and greet us,' Ukai informed them, folding his arms. 'I'd like you to show them the same respect. They're letting us stay here, so you'll thank them for their hospitality.'

'Meeting Kakugawa's team should be interest,' Kageyama muttered.

'What do you mean?' Hinata asked.

'I heard rumours about them when I played in Kitagawa. Nothing positive.'

'O-oh...'

'Hey!' Ukai yelled. 'Quit whispering. What did I say about respect?'

Kakugawa's volleyball team stamped out from the back of a barren courtyard, into view. After Karasuno bowed and thanked the other team, Ukai ordered them to mingle then disappeared with Kakugawa's coach into a hall.

No members from either team made any attempts to speak with the other. Hinata stared intently at a tall, slim teenager from Kakugawa, eventually, nudging Kageyama and pointing.

'Who's he?'

'Nurukawa,' Kageyama responded. 'Number 1-he plays the same position as you. I've heard he's nicknamed: the 'axe,' during matches.'

'He's our campus serial killer!' Hinata whispered back.

'It's because his blocks are blunt and he has sharp reactions,' Kageyama replied, frowning down at Hinata.

'He's nothing,' Nishinoya snorted. 'You see that number nine on the end? That's Yuudai... he's one of the first years.'

'That's a first year?!' Hinata choked, and Nishinoya had to stamp on Hinata's foot to stop him from staring open-mouthed. The number nine player-or Yuudai- was tall and broad shouldered with a squashed nose and small, dark eyes that resembled squares of onyx, beady as they flicked around. His body was gigantic.

'Kageyama... I could climb him if I wanted!'

'You'd better not,' Ennoshita advised, coming up to stand beside Hinata. 'Kageyama... you said you'd heard rumours, so I suppose you know how the Kakugawa team have become infamous?'

'They don't like to lose,' Kageyama replied-gritting his teeth, because he'd once shared the same mentality they had. Hinata scrunched up his fists.

'If they don't like to lose, they should play better!' He said, loudly.

'Some of them are coming this way,' Kageyama said. 'Hinata, they must have heard you.'

Hinata seemed to liquefy on the spot, hiding behind Kageyama and gripping the taller boy's black jersey for protection. Yuudai had stomped over to them with the number 1, 9 and 4 players at his heel... his small eyes settled on Hinata.

'The small... orange... shrimp, huh?' he grunted.

'It talks!' Tanaka whispered to Tsukishima, and Tsukishima leaned in to Tanaka's face and whispered: 'do you want to lead a happy life?!' because the 9, 1 and 4 players had all begun to glower at Tanaka. Yuudai, however, kept his eyes on Hinata.

'I... I'm not a shrimp...' Hinata murmured, and Kageyama could see that he was getting riled. 'You shouldn't judge people on first impressions...'

'You're small. It's hard to miss,' the number 4 player remarked. 'How is someone like you competing in the Miyagi Prefecture... is this a joke?'

'So, I'm not tall,' Hinata said, determinedly, coming out from behind Kageyama. 'But I can jump!'

The number 1,9 and 4 players looked at each other fearfully... then burst into laughter.

'Crickets can jump.' The number 4 snorted. 'But that doesn't stop us from crushing them, does it?'

'W-well, g-go ahead and try!' Hinata stammered, straightening his back and glaring at them all, and in that moment, something inside of Kageyama seemed to glow in admiration.

'I'd take a cricket on my team over three elephants any day,' he agreed, with a scowl. Yuudai's gaze flicked over him.

'King of... the court...' he said, slowly. 'Looking forward to playing against you.'

Then Yuudai turned and left, with the 1, 9 and 4 players following in his wake. Kageyama's palms flared at the use of his old nickname and the fact that even the Kakugawa volleyball team knew about it. Had he really been that selfish during matches in junior school?

'Yeah, you'd better run!' Tanaka yelled, when the Kakugawa team were too far away to possibly hear him. 'What a bunch of dicks.'

Kageyama was used to it: every team that they played seemed to have their own variety of height-themed insults for Hinata, and an assortment of king-themed remarks for himself... it was strange how he and Hinata didn't fail to get frustrated every time- they should be used to it by now.

'Ahh... on the bright side...' Yamaguchi trailed away. 'At least the other team have acknowledged us enough to insult us?'

'Always nice to know,' Kageyama replied sourly, hitching up his gym bag as they followed the Kakugawa team members into a dilapidated hall. It turned out to be the cafeteria, where they were given dinner-Hinata spent the first half of the meal announcing that he didn't care if people called him short, then proceeded to spend the second half saying that even if he was short, it wasn't a drawback-Nishinoya was shorter than him anyway, but noone seemed to care. Everybody liked Nishinoya.

'I'm pressing things that shouldn't be forced-I should be content as I am! So what if I'm short? I have other abilities! The small giant was never deterred by any of that!'

'The small giant is another person,' Kageyama replied. 'Hinata... you are an individual. So, you should stop depending so much on the shadow of others and focus on your own strength!'

'Y... yes! I will!' Hinata blurted out, unsure if Kageyama was critiquing him or praising him, but the words seemed to motivate him enough to restore a little of his confidence.

Yamaguchi sighed.

'You know... it's a real pain that Kakugawa aren't good sports about this...' he stirred his ramen. 'Perhaps we just got off on the wrong foot...?'

'It's not our fault if they hate us!' Hinata protested, obviously still upset about the fact he'd been called a 'joke.' When they'd sat down at their cafeteria table, Tanaka had asked what everyone thought of the other team, and Hinata had been the first person to blurt out his opinion, which was that (Kageyama quoted) Kakugawa's volleyball team were the kind of people who ate 'the cores of their apples as well as their apples.' Tsukishima had said he'd give Hinata his desert if Hinata told them that to their faces. Hinata had declined.

'Sawamura, you should introduce yourself to them,' Yamaguchi said, dreamily. 'After all, you are the teams captain...'

'Ah... ' Sawamura slurped up his noodles. 'I'm the captain when we play volleyball. Not at dinner.'

'I'll do it,' Azumane imputed.

'S-Seriously?' Nishinoya demanded.

'Sure.' Azumane shrugged. 'There's no harm in saying hello. We're staying in their school and coach Ukai was right-it's kindness to show gratitude.'

'T-that isn't gratitude... it's suicide!' Hinata wailed, but Azumane climbed up from the bench and crossed the cafeteria all the same, standing before Yuudai's table. Kakugawa's team all stared at the confrontation as Azumane said something placating to Yuudai. Then Azumane offered Yuudai his hand.

'He's a madman...' Tanaka breathed. 'Who wants to bet they'll eat him alive?'

'E-eh... you think they will?' Ennoshita whispered.

'Sure they will! Azumane's just walked into a lion's den!' Nishinoya laughed, and if Kageyama didn't know better then he was enjoying this. 'They're gonna kill him-actually kill him. Disembowel him with the dinner cutlery edo warrior style-'

From across the hall, Kageyama saw Yuudai nod at Azumane then reach out to take Azumane's hand. Yuudai seemed to hold it in a firm grip as he shook it, then he said something which made Azumane smile. Afterwards, Azumane came back to Karasuno's table.

'Yuudai shook his hand,' Sawamura summarised.

'Kakugawa's team didn't even attack him a little...?' Tanaka echoed.

'Are you all disappointed that Azumane wasn't violently killed?' Tsukishima asked, in a bored voice. Azumane back sat down at their table.

'How was it?!' Hinata demanded. Azumane just shrugged.

'They all seem like nice guys, if you ask me,' he replied, casually lifting the rest of his soba into his mouth. Kageyama turned to Hinata.

'It must be just you they don't like,' Kageyama told him. Hinata huffed.

'No, the other team are all dicks,' he insisted, cramming his own food into his cheeks.

After eating, both teams went to the gym and took their positions for the practice match.

It had started to get late so the teams had agreed to play a single set instead of a game. (Which usually consisted of between 3-5 sets and could last for hours.) Kageyama warmed up silently, hearing two of Kakugawa's players whispering on the other side of the net.

'Karasuno's number nine is scary...' one of them murmured. 'No other part of his body is moving... just the eyes-'

'Not in volleyball,' the other replied. 'That's the king of the court...'

The name made Kageyama's blood burn, but he continued stretching silently.

'Are we going to show them our kings toss?' Kageyama asked, once the Karasuno team had all gathered in a circle. 'Or will we save it until the tournament game tomorrow?'

'That move has made the match for us on several occasions,' Sawamura considered. 'And... our reputation for using that move has already preceded us, so I don't see why we can't give them a taste. The game tomorrow will be played honestly that way.'

'Honesty' wasn't a concept that existed to the other team-Kakugawa, Kageyama discovered, relied on brute force. Karasuno's players (mostly Hinata) being covered in scuffs and grazes from diving to smack the ball wasn't exactly unusual, but during this game, Kageyama knew that Kakugawa's team all directed the ball with the specific intent to hit the opposing players, at speeds too fast for them to block. This was where Hinata and Nishinoya's size and agility became useful for saves, although the times where they missed were potentially drastic: Tanaka had been dragged yelling and scratching from the court by Ukai because his nose had started bleeding-although thankfully it wasn't broken-Yamaguchi's left eye was watering and didn't want to open, and Tsukishima had outwardly refused to play in case his prescription glasses were broken... even at speed, Kageyama didn't know how a soft ball could cause so much damage. Even Hinata had a bruise above his eye that had turned a moulted purple-brown colour, but he'd refused to sit out; the wound only made him more determined to win.

When Hinata rotated to receive his toss, Kageyama threw it-almost without thinking-seeing Hinata run toward it like a lion then jump in the corner of his eye, hearing the 'thwack!' as Hinata's hand slammed the ball and it bounced down on the other side of the net. The move scored Karasuno the remainder of points they'd needed to win and the match ended.

They all bowed and parted from the court to go to the sleeping hall, whilst the Kakugawa team went back to their dorms. As they parted ways, Kageyama could hear the Kakugawa members muttering among themselves:

'That orange spiker is dangerous...'

'We need to do something about him...'

And he laid a hand on Hinata's shoulder, telling him that he'd played well tonight. Hinata beamed, skipping along to the sleeping hall where futons had been rolled out beside their bags.

'My futon is the other side of the hall from Hinata's,' Kageyama informed the others, a ball of injustice furling in his stomach.

'Ah... that's because...' Yamaguchi appeared thoughtful. 'It's so you won't distract each other at night?'

'No gay sex before important matches,' Tanaka translated, slapping Nishinoya a high five. Kageyama glowered at the pair until they looked sorry then skulked off, crawling into his futon.

The lights clicked out and Kageyama didn't know how long he spent laying in his futon, staring at the figure of Tanaka in the darkness who was asleep next to him with his mouth open and a bundle of bloody tissues taped to his nose. Kageyama shifted to locate Hinata's futon in the darkness.

It looked alarmingly flat. ...Had he left at some point?

Kageyama waited-supposing Hinata had just gone to the toilets-then when he didn't come back after five minutes, he stood, aggravated with himself for losing sleep. There was noone in the male toilets and cafeteria had been locked, so Kageyama crossed the grounds and walked to the gymnasium.

The gym hall was pitch black but Kageyama found Hinata inside, sitting in a solitary pool of moonlight streaming in from the high windows. He was laying against the wall with a volleyball between his legs, watching as it rolled a certain length away, then back.

'What are you doing?' Kageyama asked, resisting the urge to add: other than wallowing in your own despair. Hinata didn't reply immediately.

'I don't trust the Kakugawa team.' He mumbled.

Kageyama took several steps closer.

'Are you upset because they called you short?' he asked, because even though it had happened over five hours ago and countless times before, he wouldn't put it past Hinata to still feel wounded over this. Hinata shook his head.

'T-they're gonna do something to me... Kageyama-you heard them talking after practice! T-they're planning to do something...'

'They're planning a strategy to render our king's toss ineffective during the volleyball match tomorrow,' Kageyama agreed.

'They're not!' Hinata looked outraged. 'Kageyama, how the hell did you get that from what they said?! And you saw the practice match today-what part of their game was strategic?! Kakugawa do everything by force...'

Hinata looked down and his lower lip begun to tremble.

'You can't hide in the gym all night,' Kageyama told him.

'I-I'm not hiding...' Hinata muttered. 'I just wanted some privacy...'

Just as Kageyama registered the words, he realised that there was a hand on his thigh. He swallowed, lifting Hinata's hand in his own and smoothing his fingers along the pale skin, feeling his own body prickle in response, his blood heating in his veins. Then-in a decided movement-he let go of the hand and kissed Hinata on the mouth, pressing him back against the wall and delving his tongue into Hinata's mouth, between the seam of his lips and into the warmth that awaited beyond it. Hinata squirmed and made a soft, satisfied sound when Kageyama put a hand down on his narrow shoulders, feeling Hinata's chest rise and fall against his own in quick bursts.

'Do you feel better now?' Kageyama asked, pulling back.

'I'm... not sure.' Hinata blinked. 'Kiss me again and I'll let you know-'

'It's late,' Kageyama frowned. 'Hinata, you need to rest for tomorrow. Go back to bed.'

'I can't!' Hinata sounded distraught. 'Kageyama, nerves make me feel sick and if I lie down, I-I feel like I'll throw up! I just...' he dropped his head. 'Let me stay here for five for minutes. Then I'll go back to bed, but now... I can't...'

Kageyama scowled to show that he didn't like leaving Hinata alone, but he was too tired to disagree, and the dark shadows underneath his eyes seemed to have a physical weight. Grumbling, he went back to the sleeping hall to wait alone.

Fifteen minutes passed and Hinata still didn't come back.

Tanaka was sleeping in the futon next to Kageyama, where he seemed to be dream-harassing Karasuno's female volleyball team manager, murmuring: 'Yeah, Shimizu-sensei, I'd love to join a hot spring party wi'yuu 'nn your friendsss...' to himself, whilst grinning creepily in his sleep... Kageyama shook him awake.

'Get up.'

'Whu'dyou waaant?'

'Hinata's missing,' Kageyama hissed.

'Have you checked the closet?' Tanaka smirked. Kageyama's palms twitched but he drew in a breath through his nose, resisting the urge to asphyxiate Tanaka with a pillow only because now was not the time to get riled about homosexual comments-however much Tanaka had it coming. He jerked the bedding of the futon and Tanaka fell out, rubbing his head.

'Why'd you do that?!'

'The Kakugawa team have something against Hinata,' Kageyama explained. 'After the practice match, they were whispering that they needed to do something about him. Hinata was worried but... I didn't take him seriously. Now he hasn't come back.'

'You think the Kakugawa team will try and stop him from playing tomorrow? Shit... those bastards,' Tanaka growled, pulling on his jacket. 'Kageyama, you go ahead and I'll wake some of the others. We'll find him, okay?'

Kageyama nodded, keeping his face hard to hide any worry because he didn't feel worry. He didn't feel anything-he was made of iron. Or at least, he considered himself to be but now he wasn't so sure.

Their curfew was nine pm and it was almost midnight now, crickets chirping amid the craggy rocks. The night was freezing and Kageyama's breath steamed in the air-what little grass there was had a frost coating, and the surface of the rivers were glassy and unbroken. After searching, Kageyama noticed that some of the frozen grass had been trampled around the entrance to the campus and followed the river down the mountain, finding himself in front of where the threads of water pooled into a lake; he used the light of his cell to look around, seeing a small figure curled on the bank.

Then Kageyama was running.

Several other Karasuno members spotted Hinata too and were making their way towards him, but Kageyama was the one who got to him first. He dropped down beside Hinata to see that the smaller boy was soaking wet... every inch of him dripped with cold water. Hinata shuddered.

'N-no way...' Sawamura whispered. 'Did the Kakugawa team have him thrown into the lake?'

'It's okay,' Nishinoya said loudly, elbowing his way through the crowd. 'I know CPR! Kageyama, bring him here-'

'I'M CONCIOUS,' Hinata screamed.

'If you're ever doing CPR and something happens to me,' Kageyama told Nishinoya. 'Just let me die.'

'Will do,' Nishinoya saluted. As Hinata coughed water, Kageyama pulled him into a half hug, letting Hinata use his shoulder for support as he seemed too exhausted to sit on his own. Hypoxia meant that Hinata had taken a lot of water into his lungs, but the lake was shallow enough for even someone who couldn't swim to be able to make their way out once thrown in... which meant that Kakugawa hadn't intended to hurt Hinata by doing this to him: just to scare him, and possibly to give him a cold. Sawamura came closer and draped his jacket around Hinata's shoulders, putting a hand on Hinata's back supportively.

Eventually, Ukai pushed through them in a robe and slippers.

'What's going on?'

His torchlight made Kageyama squint.

'It was those Kakugawa assholes!' Tanaka growled. 'Those bastards threw Hinata in the lake-'

'Tanaka, you'll watch your tongue.' Ukai frowned. 'You've forgotten... we're in their school. One of you will help me take Hinata to the infirmary, then I want the rest of you back in the sleeping hall.'

Kageyama was cold from just standing outside and he hadn't been drenched in freezing, black water, so he couldn't imagine how Hinata must have felt, but he could see the effect the ice water had on his body. His teeth were chattering and his skin was blue-even his orange hair seemed to have paled and the flicks had drooped significantly, which made Kageyama grind his teeth and feel something awaken inside of him. Anger coursed through his body.

Once at the infirmary, Ukai told Kageyama to go back to the sleeping hall but Kageyama stood his ground and refused, saying he'd stay with Hinata; from the studious look in Ukai's eyes, Kageyama thought that maybe Ukai knew the real reason why. But maybe he didn't.

'You shouldn't have been skinny dipping this late, dear,' a nurse told Hinata as she gently warmed him. His wet clothes had been peeled away and he'd been given dry ones-buried within a nest of blankets, unable to stop shivering. He was sick, Kageyama realised... at this rate, Hinata wouldn't be able to play the volleyball game tomorrow.

White hot anger burned in Kageyama's stomach; it was the touch of small fingers on his wrist that took the feeling away.

'Hinata, your hand feels like ice.' Kageyama said, tucking Hinata's hands back into the blankets.

'I'm cold and wet and think I need a hug,' Hinata mumbled, with a sniff. Kageyama fished a piece of pondweed from Hinata's hair.

'Go to sleep,' he commanded, perhaps with more force than necessary but Hinata needed rest more than emotional comfort. Hinata mumbled dreamily then drifted into sleep with Kageyama beside him. After an hour, Kageyama felt Hinata's forehead to discover that the smaller boy once again radiated heat...

Satisfied, Kageyama lost the ability to keep his eyes open and either passed out or slept, too.

They were prodded awake at eight am the next day by a nurse. The rest of the team had come to see them and brought he and Hinata some breakfast-Karasuno's volleyball team all crowded around Hinata's infirmary bed in concern.

'Hinata, how on earth did you end up hospitalised?' Drawled Tsukishima-who'd slept through the whole night-as he twirled the cord of his headphones.

'Hinata isn't playing the match today,' Kageyama replied. 'The Kawakawa team threw him into their lake.'

'HAHAHAHAHAhaha,' Tsukishima laughed, then his expression darkened. 'Oh... you were serious.'

'The match has been postponed to this evening,' Kageyama continued. 'We need to plan a new strategy now that Hinata is indisposed.'

'Is he ill?' Tsukishima asked, looking a mixture of contemptuous yet dignifiedly concerned. Kageyama nodded curtly.

'It's a cold.'

'I can talk for myself, Kageyama!' Hinata shouted, his high voice raspy from a night of sleep-coughing. 'And I'm definitely playing today... I want to be a part of it when we beat them!'

'You're sick,' Kageyama growled, unsure if Hinata understood the extent. Kageyama had sworn to himself that Karasuno would win that match against Kakugawa regardless of what it took after this-even if it would be a handicap not to have Hinata play the game with them, it wasn't worth risking Hinata's health to include him.

'I can't believe they really threw Hinata in their lake...' Azumane said, sounding surprised.

'It's such a low move,' Nishinoya growled. 'Those Kakugawa bastards won't know what hit them when they play us... it's personal now!'

'Did you all hear that?!' Tanaka yelled. 'We're winning today if it means out LIFE!'

Other teammates joined in the shouts to avenge Hinata by winning the match which would take place later that afternoon, each one of them wishing Hinata a fast recovery. Kageyama told them all to go ahead, lingering behind to stay with Hinata.

'I'm playing,' Hinata announced. 'Kageyama, I'm a part of the team, too! If I don't play, I'd let everyone down!'

'If we let you play then the team has let you down,' Kageyama corrected. 'The purpose of a team is to take care of the players. Hinata... isn't that what you taught me?!'

'I don't need taking care of,' Hinata mumbled, pulling a thermometer out of his mouth and scowling. 'Kageyama, I only almost drowned... I don't understand why everybody is overreacting! At least let me watch from the bench-I'm basically fine.'

Basically fine, Kageyama thought, mentally rolling his eyes. At first he was annoyed that Hinata wouldn't give in, then realised how much the match meant to the smaller boy and nodded.

'Fine,' he growled. 'We'll see how you perform in practice. But at the first signs of you getting worse or being sick then you're coming back here. No arguments.'

Hinata pouted and Kageyama kissed the side of his face.

Stupid, he thought, for not being able to refuse Hinata. He hoped he wouldn't regret this.

The water had been squeezed from Hinata's volleyball jersey and he'd turned his shoes upside down but still had to wear his spare volleyball kit, as the old one was damp from last night. Kageyama and Hinata practiced alone with a volleyball on the grass outside the gymnasium. Hinata looked cold and his cheeks were red, but not once did he complain or express unhappiness.

At one point, the volleyball rolled onto the path where one of the Kakugawa players looked at it. He didn't toss it back.

'Helping others costs nothing, asshole!' Hinata yelled before he could stop himself, and the player turned around, fixing Hinata with a dark glare which made him recoil, shrinking behind Kageyama's back then pointing a finger at Kageyama, squeaking: 'he said it!'

Kageyama gave the Kakugawa teenager a hard stare, which he returned with a scornful look-the Kakugawa player was the one who turned away first when he realised Kageyama obviously wasn't intimidated. The ground practically shook as he stomped off.

'Was he one of the players who threw you in the lake?' Kageyama demanded.

'I-I don't remember...' Hinata admitted. 'It was dark, so I couldn't see. A huge one grabbed me and slung me over his shoulder...'

'Was it Yuudai?' Kageyama asked, remembering the large player whom Hinata had said he could 'climb-' Yuudai was a silent, foreboding mountain of a first year who seemed to be the captain of Kakugawa's volleyball team. Hinata shook his head.

'It wasn't him. Yuudai is huge and blocky, but these were all tall. And slim. Oh, and they had bad breath... like, T-Rex bad!'

And you wonder why they hate you, Kageyama thought, but he knew that Hinata hadn't intended to offend them at first-the only reason Hinata was so outward now was because they'd thrown him in an icy lake in the middle of the night and given him a cold... so, the insults were understandable.

They met up with the rest of the team in the Kakugawa lunch hall, who told Kageyama that coach Ukai had spent the morning in an argument with Kakugawa's volleyball coach. According to them, when Ukai had explained what had happened to Hinata and demanded to know the reasons behind the Kakugawa team's behaviour, Kakugawa's coach had replied that they couldn't prove the Kakugawa players were the ones who threw Hinata in that lake-for all he knew, Hinata could have been out there swimming willingly. Ukai had obviously found the accusation as unbelievable as Kageyama did, because he'd taken the issue up with the schools principal during lunch.

'You going to eat your egg rolls?' Hinata asked, when food was served.

'You can have them,' Kageyama replied, noticing how slender and shivery Hinata was and deciding that the younger boy needed the warm food more. 'Just don't be sick at volleyball. If you have to play.'

'Mhnsneyeuyou,' Hinata replied as he ate, which could mean either: 'screw you' or 'thank-you...' with Hinata, it was impossible to tell.

'How are you feeling?' Kageyama asked, as they pulled on their gym socks before the volleyball match several hours later-Kageyama was still trying to persuade Hinata not to play the game to no avail.

'I can't word it, Kageyama.'

'Then give me a percentage of how you feel with one hundred being: 'great' and zero being: 'dead.'

'Thirty six point eight percent!'

'That's... oddly specific,' Kageyama muttered, giving Hinata a sideways frown as they joined the rest of Karasuno's team in the hall. Tanaka had taken responsibility over giving the motivational speech and Kageyama heard parts of it as he came closer:

'...volleyball game will be the result of our sweat, blood and passion! Many men may die in this hall-'

'Noone is going to die,' Kageyama said in a low growl, as Hinata's eyes had become wide and fearful-Hinata had a habit of becoming way too sucked into his teammate's motivational speeches, and had an expression on his face which suggested that for a moment Tanaka had really convinced him that they were a band of hardened warriors riding out to battle... as opposed to a group of Japanese high schoolers competing in the national volleyball league.

'Let's play our best,' Sawamura finished confidently, and Kageyama and Hinata both nodded in determination. They all layered all of their hands on top of each others then with an encouraging group cheer ran off, gym shoes skidding as they formed their positions.

Let's do this, Hinata mouthed to Kageyama, who gave him a nod in return. Kageyama could see Sawamura discussing their rotation advantages with Ennoshita, then looked across the net to see the Kakugawa players glaring back at him with hard expressions, wiping sweat from their brows. There was competition in the air-it was thick, palpable, and both sides wanted success, so much that Kageyama could taste his victory (uh, his team's victory, force of habit) on his tongue.

The match itself was just as rough as the practice one, but several nosebleeds and three king's tosses later, Karasuno won the game by at least ten points in each set. Tanaka roared when it was done, throwing himself into the middle of the court, ripping off his shirt and swinging it over his head before tossing it onto the sidelines-only then did he proceed to run up to each of Karasuno's players, grab them in headlocks and mess up their hair before hugging them. Hinata fisted the air and turned to give Kageyama a grin which said: 'the next time we have sex, it's going to be so hard,' and Kageyama smiled too, despite his stony exterior.

'You guys didn't want me to play!' Hinata said. 'B-but even though I had a cold and I'm smaller than most of that team, I still helped beat them-'

'COME HERE,' Nishinoya yelled, tackling Hinata to the floor in a hug while other team members started to pile on top of them-the excitement was getting a little out of control so Ukai separated the group and barked at them to go back to the changing rooms, shower and put on their normal clothes. After that, they would thank Kakugawa for their hospitality at the school gates before leaving.

'Shimizu-sensei will be so proud to hear we won...' Nisinoya said-eyes glazed-as they shoved their volleyball kits into their gym bags. 'M-maybe... she'll lean down and kiss our cheeks-'

'Ssh.' Tanaka held up a hand. 'Kageyama... do you hear that?'

'Hear what?' Kageyama asked.

'THE SOUND OF OUR VICTORY,' Tanaka yelled, apparently still in celebration about the match they'd won over half an hour ago. Kageyama looked beside him to find that Hinata had gone, supposing the smaller boy must have finished changing.

Stepping outside, Kageyama heard shouts from around the back of the changing hall.

'Fuck off!'

Hinata had been backed against a drinks machine with four of Kakugawa's players surrounding him. By the way his hands were balled into fists Kageyama could tell that he wasn't frightened, although the waver in Hinata's voice meant he knew he had the disadvantage-all of the teenagers were close to double his size, both in width and height. Kageyama knew that if they hurt him then Hinata might be able to throw a few punches, but he'd come out worse in the end. Much worse.

'We told you not to play, shrimp,' one of them jeered.

'It looks like tossing you in the lake didn't teach you a lesson...'

'Still think we can't crush you?'

One of them drew back a fist and Kageyama didn't know what happened then... all he saw was white rage-it was if a demon had possessed him. He was moving, biting his tongue to stop himself from shouting, roaring at the Kakugawa players to get away from his boyfriend while they still had all their limbs intact.

'Back... off...' Kageyama said quietly, grabbing the Kakugawa player's arm before he could hit Hinata. The Kakugawa player laughed.

'Or what, king?'

Kageyama's grip twisted and the Kakugawa player cried out then stumbled and fell forward, hitting his head on the vending machine. The other three Kakugawa players glanced up, saw the look in Kageyama's eyes then dashed away. For a moment, Kageyama thought he'd frightened Hinata before Hinata threw himself forward, clutching at Kageyama's shirt and shuddering.

'K-Kageyama...' he looked up. 'You're scary when you're mad...'

'Did they hurt you?' Kageyama demanded, and Hinata's back straightened as if he were addressing an army general.

'N-no! I-I'm fine!'

'That was out of order,' Kageyama managed, coming down from himself now, his heartbeat slowing. 'They followed you and harassed you. In a group. Because you looked like an easy target. That... that was wrong.'

'N-no, I'm fine... and hey, w-what do you mean, an 'easy target?!' Is that how I look to you?! You're such a jerk-'

Kageyama pulled Hinata into a tight hug, squeezing him and closing his eyes, thinking about all of the things that could have happened if he wasn't there. Hinata wasn't sure about the: 'I-will-never-let-you-go-again-when-we-get-back-to-Karasuno-I-will-put-you-in-a-concrete-mould-with-only-your-orange-haired-head-sticking-out-and-keep-you-safe-forever' insistence that Kageyama hugged him with, but he melted into Kageyama's arms all the same.

'K-Kageyama,' Hinata stammered, surprised to find that he'd started crying because he didn't know Kageyama could worry so much. 'I'm okay.' He gave a reassuring smile. 'Really.'

'Good,' Kageyama replied stiffly, mustering his dignity as he stepped back. '...Good.'

'Kageyama, um... I hate to ruin the mood, but the person you shoved on the ground...' Hinata blushed. '...doesn't he look kind of unconscious to you?'

'You gave another boy a concussion?!'

Ten minutes later and Kageyama and Hinata were inside of the principle of Kakugawa high school's office with each other, Kakugawa's principle and coach Ukai. After the teenager Kageyama had shoved away from Hinata hadn't woken up, he'd been forced to tell someone and an ambulance had taken the Kakugawa player away. At first, Ukai had been furious but as the meeting went on he seemed to collect himself.

'He tried to punch Hinata,' Kageyama explained.

'You gave him a concussion,' Ukai pointed out. 'Kageyama, I don't think you understand how serious this is-he's unconcious.'

'I shoved him away from Hinata,' Kageyama answered. 'I didn't mean for him to fall and knock his head.'

'You don't sound very sorry.' Ukai had an 'I-need-a-cigarette-ASAP' look about him. 'Then again... I suppose I couldn't have exactly expected you to stand back and watch one of your team mates take a beating.'

'They almost drowned me!' Hinata added. 'And I almost died. Twice!' Noone seemed to pay attention.

'There were four of them on him...' Kageyama found it hard to keep his voice level. 'They ganged up on Hinata because they lost a match. That's cowardice.'

Even if it hadn't been Hinata, Kageyama couldn't tolerate that kind of weak behaviour. Maybe he was like a king in that respect but he didn't care-it was unjust. His fists clenched at his sides.

'Well,' Ukai raked a hand through his hair. 'If the boy had gotten up after you pushed him then he and his friends probably would have beaten you and Hinata until you were half dead... though we've got no way of proving that, of course. Kageyama... regardless of the circumstances, the fact remains that you pushed another boy and now he's in an ambulance. Your parents will hear about this and a punishment will be decided at Karasuno.'

Hinata argued loudly at that, but it didn't do any good-Kakugawa's principal kept threatening to involve the police if Kageyama wasn't punished in some way, sharply ordering Ukai to immediately remove Karasuno's team from the school as they were no longer welcome.

'I didn't want to stay here, anyway,' Hinata murmured as they dragged their feet back to the coach. 'Kageyama, this place sucks-it's cold and wet and filled with assholes. If those guys who tried to beat us up aren't in jail by the time we're done with high school, I'll be honestly surprised.'

The rest of the Karasuno team greeted them, looking miserable.

'We all heard what happened...' Ennoshita said, putting a hand on Kageyama's shoulder whilst Yamaguchi asked Hinata if he was okay. They all picked up their gym bags to leave, when a figure crossed the rocks and came towards them.

It was Yuudai.

'King,' he said, and Kageyama turned. 'I would talk with you... and your small orange.'

My 'small orange?' Kageyama thought. It took him a few moments to realise that Yuudai was talking about Hinata-apparently, Yuudai had never needed to talk very much and as a result he wasn't completely fluent in the Japanese language. Kageyama heard his words.

'I am... captain of Kakugawa's team,' Yuudai said, slowly. 'But... do not permit behaviour such as throwing small orange in lake. Hounding small orange in groups-did not know. Disappointed. Deepest regrets. Sincerely apologise.'

'You didn't tell your team to do that?' Kageyama was taken aback. 'If that's correct, then why did Kakugawa's team come after Hinata?!'

Yuudai shrugged.

'Not good... at communicating sometimes,' he said, scrunching up his forehead as if the words were causing him pain. 'Team... don't listen to me. Sometimes they are... assholes...'

'They are assholes,' Hinata grinned, holding out his hand. 'But you're okay!'

At Karasuno, a meeting was held which resulted in Kageyama being expelled from high school for a week. Karasuno's principle was sympathetic to his story and Hinata's graphic description of how he'd been tossed in the mountain lake, but he explained to Kageyama regretfully that if he wasn't punished, then the boy's family would be likely to cause a stir. The boy himself was fine, of course; he'd fallen unconscious after Kageyama had pushed him away, yet woken up disoriented but entirely healthy. Ukai had visited the teenager himself to apologise for Karasuno.

'Sorry you got suspended because of me,' Hinata told Kageyama, as they left school that evening.

'It's done,' Kageyama replied. 'Forget it.'

'B-but I should have been suspended instead of you...' Hinata murmured. 'It was my fault...'

'Don't say that,' Kageyama ordered sharply, as although it was technically true, it wasn't as if Hinata had asked to be thrown in a lake and almost punched. 'I wanted to say... I feel bad about lashing out in front of you when I shoved that Kakugawa player. I lost my temper. You shouldn't have seen it.'

'Why are you apologising to me about that?' Hinata demanded. 'Kageyama, are you sorry you saved me?! Is that what you're trying to say?!'

'You know it's not.' Kageyama frowned, following Hinata back to his house.

It had been less than two days they'd spent at Kakugawa, but Kageyama didn't know what he had more of-blisters, or psychological scars... the experience had given him more than his share of both. He removed his shoes politely as he entered Hinata's house.

'Are your family here?' he asked.

'They're visiting my grandmother,' Hinata replied, taking off his yellow scarf and black zip up. Kageyama paused.

'Is... this okay?'

'Of course. My family love me having friends over!' Hinata chirped, grinning, and Kageyama thought: but we're not just friends, as he followed Hinata up the stairs into his bedroom. The room had a poster of the small giant on the wall, and it's contents were surprisingly orderly.

'So... I've been thinking...' Hinata twisted his hands as he sat on the bed with Kageyama next to him. 'I want to give you a blow job.'

For a moment, Kageyama stared, unsure what to say, other than:

'Why?'

'I just... want to,' Hinata broke away. 'Kageyama, do you want it or not?!'

The idea sounded good, Kageyama admitted and suddenly his mind surfaced images of Hinata's soft lips wrapping around him, sliding up and down as Hinata's big, brown eyes peered at him innocently, his precum sticky on Hinata's lips as Hinata's small, pink tongue circled the head of his arousal. The nerves in his innermost thigh twitched. Still, Kageyama frowned.

'What made you suggest it?'

'I-it's not a recent thought, or anything...' Hinata said, looking embarrassed. 'B-but I... I've been thinking that it can't be that hard to do, a-and then when you saved me I decided that I wanted to do something for you, too...' he stared making gestures with his hands. 'I mean, I've never done it before, but all I have to do is suck on it until it gets hard enough for you to put it inside of me and I figured you'll do the rest... if you want to...'

Hinata was cute and Kageyama wanted him, yet he didn't know if it was too early for that in their relationship... they'd had sex before and kissed a lot, but letting Hinata take him into his mouth seemed to be different, somehow-it was something they hadn't done before, so it seemed like a higher boundary. Kageyama was considering how to reply when Hinata reached out and touched his hand.

He kissed Hinata on the cheek-softly, without thinking-and in response Hinata plunged his tongue into Kageyama's mouth, sliding it around in delicious strokes. Enthusiastically, Hinata's tongue twirled against his own and he felt one of Hinata's hands rub his dick through the fabric of his pants, around in slow circles.

'Is... is that okay?'

Hinata stared at him eagerly, but shyly, too. Kageyama nodded.

'G-good...' Hinata replied, lowering himself down to the floor and crouching between Kageyama's legs. He undid the zip on Kageyama's pants and helped the taller boy to slide them away; Kageyama's throat was dry as he watched.

'I... Hinata-'

The words died on his tongue and Kageyama shuddered instead of speaking as Hinata licked at his balls, pressing his mouth against them at first to feel the texture before taking one into his mouth and sucking it, to cover it in hot saliva. Kageyama groaned-the sound low and throaty-as Hinata licked around his shaft, his rough tongue sliding along the length in slick movements.

'This is easy!' Hinata beamed. Kageyama just groaned again, feeling a flare in his groin as Hinata took him completely into his mouth.

Hinata's tongue stroked the underside of Kageyama's dick as his palms spread Kageyama's hips, keeping them from twitching. Hinata was obviously anxious but had no problem taking control, coughing when he went down on the arousal completely and the head of Kageyama's cock hit the back of his throat. Kageyama's eyes slid shut and he concentrated on fisting the bedsheets instead of Hinata's hair, but it was difficult when he couldn't think with clarity. All he knew was that Hinata's tongue was flicking at the head of his cock, that his dick was covered in his precum and Hinata's saliva, that Hinata was lapping at his shaft-the feelings were overwhelming.

Suddenly, he grabbed Hinata and pulled the other boy ontop of himself, dragging them both back onto the bed as he met Hinata with more kisses, running both his hands through the smaller boys' orange hair and along the crevices in his back. Hinata sat directly on top of his crotch as they kissed-the friction unbearable when Hinata rutted into him-and Kageyama managed to pull away Hinata's clothes, stroking his cock a few times and hearing Hinata moan in response. Hinata pulled himself away, naked on all fours, waiting.

'Kageyama...' he whispered, arching into the bed. 'Y-you have to fuck me, so that every time I sleep here... I'll remember...'

Kageyama could see Hinata's back rising and falling in front of him, the smaller boy's shoulders lifting then dropping with each of his breaths. Hinata's skin had a pink flush to it, his whole body so slender and soft that Kageyama wanted to kiss every inch of him, Hinata's full lips looking edible, his pink nipples succulent, erect and perky. Kageyama's dick slid against the curve of Hinata's ass and he heard Hinata give a little moan, back arching into their grinds.

Not yet.

A finger went into Kageyama's mouth and he slicked it with saliva, pressing it against the ring of Hinata's muscles. It circled around Hinata's entrance, then slid in with a forceful push; Hinata gasped at the stimulation-even hissed-but didn't ask Kageyama to stop, moaning as he dug his nose into his pillow. Kageyama added a second finger and scissored them.

'Feels... good...' Hinata writhed. 'Kageyama, I r-really like it...'

Both digits were lubed with as much saliva as Kageyama could cover them in but there was still a degree of friction, still an intense burn which caused Hinata to writhe. Anxiously, Kageyama removed the fingers and gripped Hinata's lower stomach, blowing cool breaths over the nape of his neck. He snaked a hand down to feel that the slit of Hinata's erection was leaking.

'Calm down,' he murmured, but instead of the snarky reply he expected, or 'you calm down, asshole!' what he got instead was:

'I need you.'

When Kageyama entered him, the combination of heat and pressure made Hinata cry out, and for a moment Kageyama feared he'd hurt the smaller boy until one of Hinata's hands slid backwards to grip Kageyama's thigh, begging in whispers for him to keep going, that he needed to feel him more. Kageyama growled in frustration and need as he kept to a slow, sluggish rhythm of pushing his dick in and pulling out, feeling the warm walls of Hinata's muscles clench around him. Hinata's palms ran down his arms, eventually stopping to grip Kageyama's forearms as sweat pooled beneath them into the bedsheets. Hinata's dick felt hot in Kageyama's palm- the arousal curved slightly into his fingers-and when he squeezed Hinata's erection, moans fell from the other boy's lips. Kageyama kept working Hinata with his hand as his oen thrusts because rougher, the movements causing him to breathe out in heavy, pleasured pants, unable to control it anymore.

Unbelievable pleasure enveloped him and Kageyama was completely absorbed in the sounds that Hinata made, the way that Hinata's chocolate eyes stared into him through heavy lids, then Kageyama felt Hinata shudder as the smaller boy's muscles spasmed and he orgasmed. Then, Kageyama's dick was thrumming into him in stabs containing more power than Kageyama had known he had, applying more weight and pressure now that he was confident that Hinata could take it, now that he knew Hinata needed it.

The world dissolved into orgasmic pleasure. Then they were laying side by side.

'That. Was. Amazing,' Hinata breathed, eyes sparkling in awe when they were done. With a stab of guilt, Kageyama realised he probably should have pulled out before orgasming but Hinata had felt so good that the thought hadn't occurred to him at the time; he made a mental note to do that next time.

They lay together on Hinata's bed, staring at the ceiling.

'Y-you know...' Hinata mumbled. 'Kageyama... you're not so scary when I get to know you.'

Kageyama glowered, then realised Hinata was complimenting him. He tried to do the same.

'And... I suppose... Hinata, you're not so annoying and frustrating when I get to know you.'

'I'm not?'

'I said you're not as annoying or frustrating,' Kageyama stressed, seriously. 'But you're still pretty annoying and frustrating.'

Hinata puffed his cheeks blowfish-style and huddled into the bedcovers.

'...dickasaurus rex.'

'What was that?' Kageyama growled.

'Nothing!' Hinata replied quickly. 'I said I LOVE YOU! Kageyama, don't start arguments!'