The Sun with A False Eternity

What Happened to Hinata?

 "What do you mean he's gone?!" Kageyama stared at Takeda the next morning in disbelief.

"He had to leave last night, something came up at home and his mom came and got him," Takeda wouldn't meet his gaze. "I'm sure everything is fine, let's not worry about it okay? Just focus on camp and you'll see him again before you know it." Kageyama turned away, trying to hide his concern.

Should I tell them about the phone call? The thought popped into his head but he quickly dismissed it. No Hinata said he was going to tell Coach Ukai, so whatever is going on the adults must already know. As much as he didn't want to admit it, the thought made Kageyama bitter. After all, Hinata was his friend. He wanted to know what was going on. It wasn't right that they weren't telling him anything. Everything is probably fine, I'm just overreacting.

----

Practice that day was long and hard, and Kageyama was easily distracted. He kept messing up his serves, and he knew he was disappointing the team and Nekoma as well. He lost his temper a few times too many, and some people were still in a bad mood when they all boarded the bus that evening after saying goodbye to the rival team.

Kageyama ran a hand through his hair in frustration. The weekend was supposed to be an intense training camp, and instead, it became plagued with confusion and misfortune. He still couldn't figure out why Hinata had left. Maybe something had happened to his sister?

He didn't want to go. The thought both reassured and scared Kageyama. It meant that Hinata didn't abandon him and the team on purpose, but it also meant that something serious must have gone on. Kageyama leaned against the window of the bus, trying to sort through his thoughts. He had never been good at it though, and his emotions confused him more than he'd like to admit.

The sounds of snoring distracted Kageyama from his musings, and he looked around at his teammates. Moonlight dimly lit the bus in phases, flashing in and out as they passed under bridges and trees. Kageyama saw Sugawara and Daichi asleep in the back, with the former gently resting on the latter's shoulder. Tsukishima sat awake near the front of the bus with his headphones on, and Yamaguchi sat next to him with his forehead resting on the seat in front of him. As far as Kageyama could tell he was asleep.

Ennoshita was asleep with his chin in his hand, leaning against the window in the row across from Sugawara and Daichi. Asahi sat by himself in a middle row, looking out the window. In the row behind him sat Kinoshita, Tanaka, and Nishinoya, who were all asleep, leaning on each other in a pile. Kageyama had to squint to find Kiyoko, who sat by the very front of the bus. Her black hair blended in with the darkness, but he could still see her leaning against the window daintily.

From their postures, Kageyama could tell that Takeda and Coach Ukai were exhausted. They were making casual conversation in whispers, probably trying to not wake the team.

We must nearly be back now , Kageyama checked his phone again. It was nearly ten at night now, and they had left Nekoma High School at around five. He returned to looking out the window, impatient. He wanted to see how Hinata was doing, and he wanted to be home so that he could go to sleep. Once he was asleep time would hopefully pass by quickly, and he could talk to Hinata on the way to school the next day.

Except things didn't exactly go as Kageyama had planned. He didn't run into the ginger teen in the place he usually did at the front of the school, and by the time he arrived at the gym, there was still no sign of him. He peered into the practice room anxiously, looking for any sign of his friend.

"He's not here," someone put a hand on Kageyama's shoulder, making him jump. He spun around to see Daichi standing there, voice lower than it usually was. His eyes bore an expression that Kageyama couldn't quite make out. It made Kageyama feel unsettled, and he couldn't figure out why.