crow in the blue castle

chapter one

Walking through the halls of Seijoh was weird to say the least. The new people and new surroundings were overwhelming.

And the worst part was that he knew no one here- well, except for the people from the volleyball team, but he doesn't know them personally. Quite the opposite actually, they're technically his enemies.

Point was that he was alone. Everyone else seemed to know eachother since they were kids, mainly since most of them went to middle school together. So that left him an outcast.

And so, he walks aimlessly through the school's corridors- he barely had enough money to survive the week, so he just has to settle with being hungry til he can find a part time job somewhere.

Lost in his thoughts, he finds himself colliding with a wall. Only it isn't a wall, but a very tall person.

Hinata trips backwards but is able to catch himself before he falls on his butt, thank his fast reflexes for that one. He quickly bows, muttering some quick apologies.

But before he can run off, the person stops him with a shout.

"It's you!" The tall person says. Wait a minute, he sounds familiar-

"Karasuno's number 10!" At that moment, Hinata does look up. He freezes when he locks eyes with the person standing in front of him.

"Turniphead!" He yells back in shock, though his words are softer than the other's.

"Who are you calling turniphead?!" 'Turniphead' scowls. Whoops, he sounds pretty mad. Great going, Hinata.

Beside him, his friend covers his mouth to stifle a laugh. Oh, the other one is here too.

"Er, I don't really know your name, so..." Hinata mutters while awkwardly rubbing the back of his neck.

'Turniphead' seems to calm down when he sees the apprehensive look on the redheads face.

"Ah, right. Sorry." He mutters, flushing. He quickly shakes it away, placing a hand to his hip.

"Well, I'm Kindaichi Yuutarou," Kindaichi points to himself, looking like he's attempting to intimidate the other first year. Hinata can't tell if he's actually trying or if it's just for show.

"Oh, and this is Kunimi Akira." "Yo." Kunimi waves his hand in greeting, face indifferent as always.

Hinata stares at them, kind of shocked. If he's being honest, he thought they were going to drive him away from Seijoh or something.

"I'm... Hinata Shouyou..." Hinata says. He's hunched into himself, really not wanting to be here- in this situation or this school.

Still, he stands there with the two, none of them saying anything. Kindaichi looks awkward and like he wants to say something, but is comtemplating whether he should or not while Kunimi is looking back and forth between the two as if he wants to see how this will play out.

"So, Hinata, what are you doing at Seijoh?" He doesn't say it with any malice or anger, yet Hinata feels his veins turn to ice.

At that moment, he remembers everything.

Himself and his sister bickering in the car as their mother laughs at their typical antics. The car being flung across the road. The pain. The doctor's telling him of his mother's fate. Moving in with his dad. His dad-

Suddenly, he feels a white hot anger overcome him. He ducks his head, fists clenching tightly.

"...ne of your busine..."

"What?"

"IT'S NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS!"

Kindaichi's eyes widen at the redheads outburst. Around them, people whisper to their friends, staring at them. Hinata's anger quickly deflates, replaced by shame at the scene he's caused.

"So, uh, bye." He says simply, cringing a bit at how rude his words sounded but turns around and walks away, ready to let the earth swallow him whole.

Kindaichi and Kunimi turn to eachother, silently communicating their next move. Kindaichi really feels bad for making Hinata run off, he must have touched a nerve somehow, and really doesn't want to leave their interaction like that. And Kunimi seems to agree.

Hinata, on the other hand, is lost in his thoughts- in his anger at himself for causing a scene on the first day. His anger at himself for losing his one chance at making any friends now that he'll be known as the explosive kid with anger issues. His embarrassment at freaking out when Kindaichi was just curious.

While mentally berating himself, he doesn't seem to notice the footsteps running up to him.

"Wait!" Kindaichi shouts, stopping Hinata in his tracks. "Er, we were just about to head to lunch, so," Kunimi nods in support at his friend.

He quirks a brow at the two.

"We were wondering if you wanted to join us?" Kindaichi finishes, cringing. Wow, that sounded lame.

But slowly, Hinata's shocked face morphs into a smile, so he can't beat himself up about it.

Together, the three make their way to the bench in the school courtyard that Kunimi and Kindaichi usually have their lunch at.

Unbeknownst to them, that was the first time Hinata was able to genuinely smile in a long, long time.