Finally, here's the third (and last) chapter! I have been super busy, but I've managed to get it done. :)
Also, I went to a volleyball practice and saw an actual Rolling Thunder! It was the best thing ever!
Thank you all SO MUCH for the reviews!
QuestionablyCapableGhoul: You'll see soon enough if it does *wink*
Nowaki Kamijou: Well, this isn't exactly quick, but here you go!
Purpalz Miner: You make an excellent point. NOW YOU DON'T HAVE TO DIE HOORAY
Guest: Yeah, I didn't want them to be insensitive but they had to be caring :)
TheDeadOne28: Yes so many different possible endings haha. You're right on two of those…
GrumpyNerd: Thank you! I am glad you feel the same feels I felt when writing it :)))))))
RainbowGuardian13: Thanks, I try to keep it as realistic as possible
Kags: THANK YOU SO MUCH! YOU ARE THE BEST! Your many reviews are literally the main reason I wrote again like I'd lose interest in this and I'd turn around and THERE WOULD BE ANOTHER REVIEW! I have decided to dedicate this chapter to you. THANK YOU!
...
Takeda had been glad to see that the Haikyuu team had four new freshmen. He'd been worried that the club would slowly fall apart, being the flightless crows and all.
Then, even better, old Coach Ukai's grandson Keishin had agreed to be the new coach.
Takeda was growing more and more confident about Karasuno's future in volleyball.
There was one problem. One of the freshmen caught his eye during the many practices. Hinata Shoyou.
He was short and thin like Nishinoya, and he sometimes moved carefully, as if he was in pain.
When Hinata's shirt blew up during practice, revealing numerous injuries on his torso, Takeda was almost sure of it. Hinata wasn't being treated right at home.
Takeda decided to keep a close eye on him until he knew for sure.
The next morning, things were more or less back to normal.
After a hurried apology to Hinata for barging in on him the night before, Tsukki and Yamaguchi quickly bathed. Asahi and Noya were back to their usual demeanors, although they occasionally shot Hinata worried and curious glances. Kageyama was the regular prickly mother hen, encouraging Hinata to try to eat and shooting glares at anyone who made comments (no one did, but Kageyama glared anyway).
For his part, Hinata tried to move on from the previous night, but questions were swirling around his head. He had no idea what he should do, and he was absolutely terrified.
Kageyama seemed to notice, keeping up a stream of volleyball-related conversation as they prepared for the arrival of the other schools, which Hinata was grateful for.
Around midday, the other schools pulled up in separate buses, and the Karasuno team filed out to greet them.
Fukurodani was the first to show, with the captain Bokuto flying out of the bus the second it stopped. "Hey hey hey!" he crowed, putting his face right in front of Daichi's. "I hope you're ready to lose!"
Akaashi, exiting next with an exasperated expression, dragged Bokuto away with an apology.
Aoba-Johsai was second to pull up, Oikawa confidently stepping out with a smile on his face. "Iwa-chan, look!" he cried to his wing spiker. "The crows and the owls are already here!"
Iwaizumi rolled his eyes with a hint of a smile. "I can see that, idiot."
Finally, Nekoma made it. Like the other schools, the captain was the first out of the bus, pulling Kenma Kozume out behind him.
Hinata quickly looked to the ground, his heart beating wildly. His situation was difficult enough without yet another person discovering what was going on.
Kenma smacked Kuroo lightly, tugging his arm free. He walked over to where Hinata and Kageyama stood. "Hello, Shoyou," he said emotionlessly.
Hinata tried to grin. "Hi, Kenma!" His legs shook slightly, and he leaned into Kageyama, who pretended not to notice.
Kenma, observant as ever, stared at Hinata and frowned slightly. "Are you okay?"
Flustered, Hinata was about to respond, when Daichi called the team over to discuss the schedule.
The captain had never had such perfect timing.
Hinata's back twinged in pain as he turned to huddle with the team, but the pain was nothing compared to the days before. He felt immensely grateful to Kageyama for cleaning his scabs, even if he still didn't understand why the setter had been so kind.
"Okay," Daichi said to the team. "This is it. We'll be against Fukurodani first today, Aoba Johsai next, and finally Nekoma. The penalty for a lost game is to do dives all around the gym."
The team groaned.
Suga smiled. "Don't worry, even if we lose, we'll have lots more games this week to take back the title of victors."
"Well, let's go defeat them!" Tanaka growled, and Noya cheered.
Hinata grinned, hoping that they wouldn't lose. He wasn't sure how his injuries would take the dives, even if the worst ones were on his back.
Kageyama, thinking the same, shot his spiker a concerned glance.
Hinata tried to reassure Kageyama with his smile, but his eyes couldn't hide his fear.
Unbeknownst to them, Noya and Asahi also exchanged worried looks, their eyes sliding from each other to Hinata.
In that moment, all four of them decided silently to make sure Karasuno won.
….
As long as he could remember, in the middle of the night, Hinata often woke screaming from nightmares (or actually, flashbacks) about his dad. He would pant, terrified, in bed, hoping that his dad hadn't been woken up from his cries.
Luckily, his dad was a heavy sleeper. That coupled with the alcohol he drank kept him asleep during most instances.
Once, Hinata wasn't so lucky.
His dad barreled into his room, a pocket knife in his hands and raw fury in his eyes.
Hinata tried to apologize, but nothing he said made a difference.
"You better shut up!" Hinata's dad angrily yelled, slashing open his son's skin. "I'll give you something to scream about!"
Half an hour later, Hinata passed out from lack of blood.
Somehow, Karasuno managed to defeat Fukurodani in their first two games, effectively winning the match.
Bokuto was clearly shocked.
"Thought we'd be easier to beat?" Daichi asked him, smiling triumphantly.
Shaking his head, Bokuto laughed in astonishment. "You would have been easier to beat any other day! Something obviously came over your libero, ace, and freshman setter! I've never seen them play with such determination!"
Still laughing, Bokuto sauntered over to Akaashi, and the two had the team start their dives.
Daichi considered the other captain's point.
Turning to his team, he grinned. "Good job, everybody! We did it!" He shook his head. "Bokuto-san told me we won due to the extreme effort of Noya, Asahi, and Kageyama. Thanks, guys!"
When none of the mentioned people smiled, choosing instead to study other parts of the room, Suga spoke up. "What motivated you? Was it really because you didn't want to do the dives?"
Noya laughed. "I absolutely hate those!"
Asahi smiled sheepishly. "I didn't want to be the one who let the team down."
Kageyama frowned. "I wasn't about to let us lose, either."
Suga could tell that there was more to the story, but he let it drop.
Hinata smiled at the three. "T-thanks," he stuttered, blushing madly.
To the rest of the team, it seemed like he was thanking them for helping the whole team win. But Asahi, Noya, and Kageyama understood that Hinata was thanking them for their effort to keep him from having to do dives with his injuries.
"It was no problem, dumbass," Kageyama responded, embarrassed.
"Anything for my kouhai!" Noya grinned, and Asahi nodded in agreement.
The conversation was broken as Bokuto accidentally dove into the middle of their circle. With laughter and cries of alarm, the team scattered out of his way.
Akaashi paused his dives to pull Bokuto back over to his team.
In the chaos, Noya pulled Hinata aside. "If we lose to Aoba Johsai, and when we lose to Nekoma, it's cool to just make up an excuse to not do the dives."
Hinata shook his head. "I'll be fine!" He didn't want to think about his injuries, not when they'd just won the game and he had finally been able to forget about whether or not he should talk to the team about his dad.
Noya shot Hinata an incredulous glance before retreating to laugh with Tanaka about Bokuto's antics. (The captain had just faceplanted into the floor. It was increasingly clear that dives were not Bokuto's thing.)
Hinata blinked rapidly to keep the tears from falling out of his eyes. He promised himself that by the end of the day, he would tell Takeda and Ukai his situation.
Hinata could breathe much more easily after that.
Half an hour later, Karasuno faced Aoba Johsai with confidence and happiness.
With their extra effort, they knew they could win the match.
Things were definitely looking up.
Until they lost horrifically.
….
Ukai Keishin was a pretty cool guy. Sure, he tended to be unorganized and sometimes he didn't know how to take a hint, but overall, he was absolutely awesome.
When Ukai became Coach like his grandfather had been, he knew he was in the right place. Ukai found that his style of coaching actually helped the team do better. He was never too harsh; he didn't poke into the teenagers' business; he was fair and easy to talk to.
Add Takeda's unending optimism and determination, and the kids were in great hands.
Ukai only became worried after Takeda told him Nishinoya's situation. The way the kid acted, Ukai never would have guessed what was going on.
He hoped he wasn't oblivious to signs coming from anyone else on the team.
"We…we lost?" Hinata double checked with Kageyama as they lined up for dives.
Kageyama sighed, keeping himself from biting at Hinata. He understood how terrified the spiker must be.
Hinata wrung his hands together. He'd been hoping he wouldn't have to follow the libero's advice. "Noya said I could make up an excuse…" he mumbled, wanting to hear Kageyama's opinion.
"Then make one, dumbass," Kageyama instantly said, looking over at Takeda-sensei and Coach Ukai. "You shouldn't do the dives."
Hinata gulped, walking over to the coach and teacher supervisor. "I can't do the dives," he said, trying to sound regretful.
Takeda gave him a worried look. "What's wrong?"
"Ummmmm…I am super super sore!" Hinata knew his excuse was pretty bad, but he'd just made it up. "And the game tired me out! I need to rest."
Coach Ukai laughed and crossed his arms. "I know that's not actually true. You just don't want to do the dives," he said, and Hinata froze, hoping he hadn't figured out what was going on. Ukai continued. "But that was the agreed penalty for losing the games. Don't be a bad sport. Who knows, maybe this will be your incentive to win the next game."
Hinata gulped, trying to swallow back any oncoming tears. "Yes, sir." He ran back to Kageyama.
Takeda frowned. "Are you sure that Hinata was really making that up only to skip dives? It seemed like there was something else going on."
Coach Ukai looked startled. "Was there? I mean, I felt bad for the kid. I was thinking he just hated dives."
"He seemed really nervous," Takeda explained, watching Hinata start dives with a grimace on his face. "And when you told him no, he looked near tears."
"Well, that's my bad for not noticing." Ukai also trained his eyes on Hinata's dives. His fingers itched to light a cigarette. "It's too late now, though."
"Too late," Takeda repeated thoughtfully.
As Hinata dove to the floor for the third time, he felt almost as if the skin on his back was cracking. On second thought, that probably was actually happening, with his scabs and all.
The force of the dives pulled the skin apart, and he could feel the trickle of blood.
Hinata froze in fear as he dove again and more blood squeezed out of his back. He knew what it was like to lose enough blood to pass out.
"Dumbass," Kageyama turned his head as he dove in front of Hinata. "Are you okay?"
"Fine," Hinata choked out. He dove again.
By the end of the dives, Hinata felt like he could fill a tub with the blood beginning to seep into his shirt and run down his pants.
As Nekoma filed in, getting ready for the match, he made sure he stood with his back facing the wall.
…
Kenma Kozume had never been the best conversationalist. He didn't understand how people enjoyed talking back and forth, each having to keep up their side, both listening and adding their own thoughts.
Kenma always felt too self-conscious, and he never knew what to say back to people. He would feel put on the spot and judged, and would get quieter and draw into himself.
That changed when he met Kuroo, his first real friend. Kuroo never expected responses to his words—he would put a joke or thought out in the open, and Kenma could answer or not.
The lack of expectation put Kenma at ease. Sometimes he would drily remark that Kuroo would be the only one who he would ever really talk to.
Naturally, Kuroo became slightly jealous when Shoyou came along and Kenma found that he could talk to Shoyou without problems as well.
Shoyou was different, though. His enthusiasm and passion leaked into the air, and Kenma felt as if he could absorb it.
It wasn't like Kuroo, who didn't need a response. Shoyou needed a response. He just gave off vibes that made it easier to answer. Sometimes it felt like Kenma could physically feel Shoyou's emotions.
That was what made it so easy to tell when something was wrong.
Hinata was the last to walk out on the court. As he slowly dragged his feet, hoping the blood wouldn't soak fully through his shirt or drip onto the floor, he wished that he was like Yamaguchi and Ennoshita and could start on the bench.
Takeda immediately noticed his slow trudge, and nudged Ukai. "Look at the way he's walking. Should we start off with him on the bench?"
Ukai narrowed his eyes at the spiker and slowly nodded, but Daichi was already serving the ball over to Nekoma.
Takeda sighed. "I hope he's okay."
The volleyball game seemed to go normally for a bystander. Kenma set the ball to Kuroo, Kuroo spiked, Noya dug for it successfully, Daichi sent it to Kageyama, who set it exactly where he aimed…
There were little differences that only those on the court were aware of.
Kenma was staring at Hinata as he set. Kuroo was so focused on Kenma's change that his spike wasn't as hard as it could have been.
Noya was worriedly squinting at what seemed to be a dark splotch on Hinata's shirt, leading to the ball falling lower than it should have, so he had to dive for it. Daichi picked up Noya's slack, obviously curious what had happened to the libero's extra effort.
And Kageyama…Kageyama set to Tsukishima.
It wasn't against the rules to set to the middle blocker, but for Kageyama, giving up a chance to do the freak quick with Hinata was unheard of.
And what was even more strange, Hinata hadn't jumped for the ball. He hadn't even run across the court to dodge Kuroo's block.
Instead, Hinata had just watched the game play out around him.
The differences added up in the minds of the twelve players. Nobody understood quite what was going on, but they could all tell that something big was off. Therefore, when Tsukki badly spiked the ball over to Nekoma's side, nobody went for it.
The ball bounced on the floor three times before rolling away. Everybody's eyes followed it.
Their attention quickly shifted when Hinata began to sway, his face looking strangely pale. He turned to his setter with dazed eyes, and opened his mouth as if to say something before his eyes rolled up in his head.
Kageyama jumped forward just in time for Hinata to land, unconscious, in his arms.
…
The night before the training camp, Hinata could barely sleep, and this time it wasn't because he feared having nightmares.
Spending every minute of every day for a week with Karasuno sounded both terrifying and exciting.
Hinata couldn't wait to be away from his dad. He looked forward to hanging out with his friends and getting three full meals a day.
But the team might figure out about his dad. Hinata wasn't sure how he felt about that. He'd been keeping the secret for his whole life, and it made him feel exposed having even Kageyama know.
So what about the whole team?
At the same time, it was a comforting thought, Hinata letting the team know. The team could save him.
Hinata hoped that this would be the last night he would ever spend in the same house as his dad.
When Hinata regained consciousness, he was laying on his stomach on a cot in the makeshift infirmary.
Kageyama, Kenma, and Noya were sitting in chairs besides him.
"What happened?" Hinata asked slowly, and all three perked up.
"Good, you're awake!" Noya smiled in relief. "You've been out for the past three minutes!"
"You passed out and Kageyama caught you," Kenma spoke quietly, but his words traveled through the room. "Then he and Noya carried you over here. I followed them out."
Kageyama frowned. "We stopped the bleeding on your back and bandaged it up. You're not playing any more volleyball this week, dumbass."
Hinata gaped. "Do the other know?" He thought about trying to sit up, but decided against it when Kageyama narrowed his eyes at him.
Noya grimaced. "Asahi's talking to Takeda-sensei and Coach Ukai. He agreed to tell them about your injury, but the rest is up to you."
Three sets of footsteps could be heard coming down the hallway, and Noya laughed. "Speak of the devil."
Asahi entered first, looking concerned, and he visibly relaxed seeing Hinata awake.
When Takeda and Ukai entered, Hinata's cheeks began to burn bright red.
Noticing his discomfort, Kenma stood and left, Noya and Asahi following.
Kageyama stayed by Hinata's side.
"Asahi mentioned injuries on your back. Do you need to go to a doctor?" Ukai asked urgently. "Are you okay?"
Hinata looked at Kageyama and shook his head. "I don't need a doctor, but…"
Takeda sat next to Kageyama. "What is it? Remember, you can tell us anything."
Hinata began to draw in quick breaths, and tears formed in his eyes. One slid down his cheek. He wanted to tell them, but he didn't know if he could do it.
Hinata was surprised when Kageyama took his hand and squeezed it. "You can tell them, dumbass. They'll help you."
Drawing in a deep breath, Hinata told himself, Just say it. Get it over with. "My dad…he…" He drew another breath, squeezing Kageyama's hand as hard as he could. "He….hurts me." The last part was a whisper.
Takeda nodded solemnly. "Thank you for telling us. I know how hard that must have been."
"We can get your father locked up," Ukai added. "You'll never have to go back to him again."
Another tear slipped down Hinata's cheek. "I won't have to go back?" The realization flooded him, and he began to sob.
With some effort, Hinata sat up on the bed, and Kageyama immediately sat beside him, supporting him from the side.
When Hinata finished sobbing, he felt better than he ever had in a long time.
…...
The night after Hinata told Kageyama what was going on at his house, Kageyama approached his parents.
"Mom, Dad," he began, "what would you think about adopting?"
His parents exchanged glances. "Why?"
Kageyama shifted nervously. "Hypothetically, if I had a friend who wasn't being treated right, would you adopt them?"
"Does the friend go to Karasuno?" his dad asked.
"Hypothetically," Kageyama responded, "yes."
Kageyama's mom smiled. "Well, if your friend told the police what was going on, we would love to adopt them. We were actually considering adopting a second child anyway."
"So if my friend tells someone, he can live with us?" Kageyama asked, hope blooming inside of him. "Hypothetically," he hurriedly added.
His parents shared a bemused smile. "Yes. Hypothetically."
After about an hour sitting and talking with Kageyama, Hinata felt ready to face the team. His bandaged back had stopped bleeding and Kageyama had forced him to eat, so Hinata was feeling much better and not about to faint again.
"Remember, dumbass, it's okay if you don't want to tell the team," Kageyama said as they stood. "Either way, your dad is going to jail."
Hinata took a deep breath. "I know. But I feel like I have to do this."
"Let's go, then."
The whole team was waiting for them in the gym when they arrived. Hinata almost laughed when he saw Kenma had managed to sneak in as well.
"I have something to tell you guys," Hinata nervously said, sitting down in front of his seated teammates.
Kageyama sat next to him.
"We're here for you," Suga reassured, noticing Hinata's hesitance.
Hinata nodded. "I've been…abused at home my whole life," he said in a rush. Hinata had never said the words aloud, and it was both exhilarating and frightening. Once the words had come out, he felt like he couldn't stop. "I didn't know how to tell you guys but I wanted to and now here I am and nobody's ever known before, you guys are the first and—"
"It's okay," Kageyama stopped him before Hinata could get too worked up.
Daichi smiled a tight smile at Hinata. "Thank you for telling us. I'm sorry you've gone through that, and I'm proud that you decided to say something."
Suga gave a worried face that was just like Takeda's had been. "If you need, you can skip practice until your wounds heal. And remember to come to us if anything else happens."
Asahi smiled nervously. "I'm glad you found the nerve to share. Thank you."
"Remember, I'll kill anyone who hurts you! Just say the word!" Tanaka growled.
"I'm so happy for you, Hinata!" Noya grinned. "You're free now!"
Tsukishima looked to the ground. "I'm sorry."
"We're always here for you!" Yamaguchi smiled comfortingly.
Hinata felt ready to cry again. "Thank you guys," he choked out. "Thank you all so much."
Karasuno had yet to make it to nationals. They were still the flightless crows.
But right then, Hinata knew that Karasuno was the best volleyball team ever.
…
The next day, Coach Ukai kept the Karasuno team on its schedule, making them play once more against the three other schools, while Takeda took Hinata to the police station.
After answering many questions and having pictures taken of his numerous injuries, Hinata was quietly crying in Takeda's comforting arms.
The police assured him that his dad would be locked away for many years, and then they told Hinata that he wouldn't have to enter the foster system.
"Why not?" Hinata asked in surprise. He didn't know whether to be worried or happy.
The police explained that a family had talked extensively with them and after some background checks, had been cleared to adopt him.
Hinata's jaw dropped when Kageyama and his parents entered the room. "Really?" he asked in excitement.
"You're my brother now, dumbass," Kageyama told him.
Kageyama's parents introduced themselves and told him a bed was already set up for him in Kageyama's room, since they'd been planning to adopt another child anyway.
Hinata couldn't stop thanking them.
Then, since Hinata was too injured to play volleyball and Kageyama refused to leave his side, they decided to return home and get Hinata set up in his room.
In the afternoon, Kageyama and Hinata discussed volleyball strategies at their house and even found a volleyball movie, which turned out to be hilarious.
When it got dark and he and Kageyama crawled into their beds, Hinata felt safe and content.
He didn't have a single nightmare that night.
THE END
...
I'd love to hear what you guys think! Please review! :D
Also, if you like the Devil is a Part-Timer, you should go check out my story where Urushihara gets de-aged!
…