crow in the blue castle

chapter four

At school, he keeps to himself. His classmates tried to be friendly and welcoming at first, but when they realised how distant and brooding, how sad and draining the new kid was, they left him alone.

It was a stark contrast to his former self and he almost wishes he could become that person again. He doubts he could.

If his former self saw someone like current him was, he would've worked his hardest to break down the layers upon layers of walls that'd been put up just so he'd see that person smile.

A part of him wishes he had someone like that now. The rest of him just wants to curl up in his bed and cry some more.

He had no way of contacting his friends either, since his phone was destroyed in the car crash. And like hell would he have actually remembered any of their phone numbers.

He wonders if they've noticed his absence. Who was he kidding, of course they did! It's been a month since he disappeared off the face of the earth, his teammates must be worried sick about him!

....Right?

Of course they do, they're his family.

Right?

He groans, burying his face in his arms. He misses them so badly.

When lunch time finally arrives, he finds himself too tired to bother going to lunch. He, Kunimi and Kindaichi have been eating lunch with eachother since that fateful first meeting (mainly so they could make sure he had something to eat, but he pretended not to notice that).

I'm sure they won't mind. He thinks, closing his eyes and attempting to take a short nap before class starts again.

He doesn't get to, though, because a familiar voice cuts through his isolation with a start.

"Ah, Chibi-chan! You've decided to switch to the bright side, hm?" A smooth voice says. Hinata jumps, whirling his head towards the person he dreaded meeting most since his father decided he was to attend Aoba Johsai.

"Great King!" Hinata gasps as The Great King, or Oikawa Tooru, strides up to him with a practiced smile plastered onto his face.

His classmates whisper to eachother, gossiping.

"How does Oikawa-senpai know him?" "Great King?" "Oikawa-senpai is so cool!" "What's Oikawa-san doing on the first year's floor?"

He's asking himself the last question too as he watches the setter lean on his desk, his back facing the rest of his classmates. (It really is unfortunate that he was placed at the back of the class cause now he couldn't see the whiteboard atleast 80% of the time).

"So, how are you liking Aoba Johsai? I bet it's nicer than Karasuno was, atleast." Oikawa asks, offhandedly. Hinata scowls at the insult he just casually threw at his former school.

"Karasuno is a nice school." He states. Oikawa laughs, ruffling his unruly hair. He ignores the feeling in his chest when he heard the senior's laugh.

He pouts, but makes no move to stop Oikawa. Oikawa leaves his hand on Hinata's hair and well, he can't say he doesn't appreciate the comfort of it.

"Still, I hope your classmates are treating you well," The setter glances over his shoulder to look at his classmates that were in the room. The girls blushed, some of the guys too. He flashes them a smile before turning back to face the redhead.

Hinata shrugs. "They're treating me well." Oikawa hums.

Hinata is very confused on where this conversation is going. And why the Great King is even here right now, speaking to him. Did he have business and decide to drop by his class? How did he even know he'd moved to Seijoh?

Oikawa seemed to have read his mind, somehow.

"Kindaichi mentioned that he'd accidentally emptied half of his wallet buying food for a 'friend'," Oikawa strokes Hinata's hair when the redhead flushes, gut heavy with guilt. He really needs to find a way to pay his spiky haired friend back.

"After a bit of interrogation, Sleepy-chan just told us it was you. No clue why Kindai-chan wanted to keep that hidden though." Oikawa shrugged. Ah, that explained it. Kunimi didn't really care for secrecy unless it really needed to be.

"I see." Hinata says, unsure of what else to say. He's starting to grow wary of the setter's intentions. Just what the heck does he want?

Oikawa laughs.

Oh crud, he said that out loud.

Damn.

"Don't worry, Chibi-chan. I'm not here to run you out the school or something," Oikawa states, his voice calmer than before.

Genuine, Hinata realises.

"What kind of senpai would I be not to welcome such a cute kouhai into his new school?" The setter grins, ruffling his hair one last time before pulling away.

Hinata can't help the smile that appears on his face as warmth grows in his chest. Maybe The Great King wasn't that bad after all.

He doesn't seem to notice the small gasp Oikawa lets out, a blush dusting his cheeks. Nor does he notice the skipping of his heartbeat.

Hinata does however notice Oikawa stare though and quirks a brow at him. "What? Is there something on my face?" He worries.

Oikawa gulps, before flashing him his signature close eyed smile. "No, no, it's nothing."

Hinata is still confused but waves him off. Whatever, Kageyama did mention that The Great King was a bit weird at times anyway.

"Hinata! Come on, wha- Oikawa-san!?" Kindaichi shouts from where he's standing at the back door with Kunimi at his side, both staring wide eyed at the two.

Oikawa pouts, disappointed his conversation's been cut short. "Ahh, looks like this is my cue to head out." He reaches to pat Hinata's hair, before standing upright.

He smiles at his two underclassmen, waving. "Kindai-chan, Sleepy-chan!" He greets, then nods at Hinata, as if he's decided something.

"Well then, bye-bye! See you kids at practice!"

As the three first years watch their upperclassman retreat, they can't help but have one thing on their minds.

'Just what the hell was he even doing here?'