crow in the blue castle

chapter two

The three sit down at the bench with their lunches. Well, Kindaichi with his yakisoba and Kunimi with his bento. Hinata is fiddling with his hands, looking around the courtyard. In front of them, other people are sitting with their friends on the grass as they joke and eat lunch. Y'know, normal friend things.

Kunimi turns to Hinata, noticing he isn't eating anything. "Hey,"

Hinata jolts and turns to the other first year. "Yeah?"

"Aren't you gonna eat anything?" Kunimi asks. Hinata feels his heart sink. He had been trying not to think of his empty stomache. And his empty wallet.

His lack of an answer seems to worry the two, so he quickly covers it up with a laugh that was way too forced as he waved off their questioning looks.

"I forgot my wallet at home," He lies, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly as if to say 'oh silly me, forgetful as always'. "Plus, I'm not even that hungry, so it's okay!"

It was then that his stomach decided it had enough of his bullshit and growled. Loudly.

Goddamn you, stomach.

Hinata flushes as Kindaichi snorts, he and Kunimi casting the redhead knowing looks.

Seconds later, he finds himself with a lap full of random foods from the cafeteria, alongside a few drinks.

"Okay, this is way too much!" Hinata says, overwhelmed by the amount of food in his possession and worried for Kindaichi's wallet since he was the one who'd paid for it all.

He turns to the other first year, who's unbothered by Hinata's current predicament. "You really didn't have to."

Kindaichi shrugs awkwardly, waving him off. "Nah, count it as a apology for being rude to you earlier." He says, looking down in shame.

Hinata frowns. "You weren't being rude, it's just..." A shadow crosses over his face as he remembers why he's even here. Seeing this, Kindaichi quickly interrupts him.

"It's okay, you don't need to tell us! It's none of our business," He cringes at his poor choice of words but chooses to ignore it.

"Yeah, you don't need to tell us if it makes you uncomfortable." Kunimi chips in. Hinata casts them both a grateful look.

He fiddles with the plastic wrap of one of the snacks he'd been given as he speaks. "It's fine, it's just... My mom," He smiles at the memory of his mother. Of her warm smiles and her warmer hugs.

"She passed away recently, so I had to move in with my dad." He explains, his expression turning bitter when he mentions his dad.

When he lifts his head to see the other two's reaction, he's met with two shocked faces looking at him.

Kunimi is the first to shake off the surprise. "I'm sorry for your loss." He says, his usual stoic facade breaking away to gaze sadly at him.

"I'm so sorry, Hinata. Your mother sounded like a wonderful person." Kindaichi says, voice laced with pity.

All Hinata can feel is hollow at their words. Still, he waves them off, plastering a smile on his face.

"It's alright," He says. "It's been a while since then, I've been coping just fine!" As if to prove his point, he rips open that breadroll he was fiddling with earlier, taking a large bite out of it and grinning.

Despite his words, as his earlier outburst and lack of lunch had shown, he was fully aware that he wasn't coping well. Neither Kunimi nor Kindaichi believed him either.

Yet seeing Hinata's eagerness to drop the subject, they begin eating again in silence.

Eventually, the bell rings and they part ways, bidding eachother farewell as they walk to their respective classes.