Crows Like Shiny Things (Hinakage)

A New Village

Staring into the bear's eyes felt like an eternity for Asahi. He couldn't move away and the worst thing of all, he had food in his hands. Could he just throw it? No, that would probably make it aggressive.

More sniffing, then growling.

Asahi did not dare to move.

Finally, after an eternity, the bear slowly began to shuffle away, deeper into the forest. Asahi released a breath he did not remember holding in and his knees gave in- he sat on the soft moss, trying to calm his breath, desperately hoping to suppress that panic attack.

"W-well that's enough monster hunting for today..."

A few minutes later, Asahi wobbly picked himself off of the ground. That just robbed all his enthusiasm to finally find out what that thing was- and to get some closure and understanding about Kageyama's situation.
Slowly, the boy shuffled back into the direction of the village. He was angry with himself- Asahi could have caught up to that spirit prior if it wasn't for his annoying fear of everything.
What was he supposed to do now?

Asahi had skipped school today. There was no telling what his parents would do to him if they found out- and they were going to find out, as close-knitted as this village was.

Goddammit.

When he stepped back onto the sandy path at the village's edge, he breathed out a sigh he did not remember holding in. Asahi felt some sort of relief- he was back on known territory again, and soon about to be home with his mom's delicious cooking and his dad rambling off on his plans for college.
On his way home, Asahi turned around a few times, eying the forest. It was almost menacing, lurking at its back, void of light and safety and yet, it only made him more curious. Was that the same pull Kageyama experienced? The same undying curiosity that got him hooked on with the spirits?

Asahi forced himself to turn away. No.

He was not going to be exiled because of this.

***

The momemt Kageyama felt solid ground under his feet, his knees gave in and the boy let out a quiet whimper. Nishinoya and Hinata landed a few meters further, letting out excited thrills. They did it again.
"Let's go~!" Nishinoya cheered and Hinara highfived him.

Kageyama took a curious look around. Where were they? That did look nothing different than the other parts of the forest he had been exploring.
"Look up, idiot" Nishinoya teased and promptly got a handful of grass thrown his way. Kageyama turned his head to look up into the trees and his jaw went slack.

Tree houses, an entire village meticulously crafted by chopped wood and branches; small obviously selfmade ropes leading from house to house- clearly an assist for the birds, as the tree crowns were too thick at times to simply fly on/away from.
"Look, look! That's our village! Looks cool, eh? Whatcha say, Kageyama?"
Hinata was excitedly bouncing up and down with his heels, clearly looking forward to Kageyama's thoughts while Nishinoya was already taking off to fly onto one of the platforms- disappearing into the house.

Kageyama gave a quiet nod.
"Looks... different. I'm used to houses being... well... on the ground."
Hinata let out a soft laugh.
"Other cultures I guess! C'mon, c'mon, let's go say hi. Natsu is going to love you! Ah, that's my sister, by the way."
And Hinata grabbed Kageyama's arm and pulled him up one of the trees, landing with a few messy flaps on a platform.
"We use the ropes to get from house to house- those human bridges are too heavy to build and our wings would be in the way. That way we can hold onto the upper rope and walk on the lower rope to get around."

Kageyama was not expecting to be yanked off of the ground so soon again and was positively clawing into Hinata's arm until he finally felt the wooden platform under his feet.
"Warn me boke!!
"Aw don't be so sour Kageyama!"
Hinata elbowed his friend who let out a huff in return. Couldn't be mad for too long at that orange haired nuisance.

Only hesitant, Kageyama followed Hinata into the small tree house. It wasn't anything fancy- it was round and small, a single level. They all seemed to be sleeping in one large nest on the opposite side of the entrance; while a few wooden containers on the left side seemed to contain some food. Kageyama assumed it was probably mushrooms, fruit and nuts, things that Hinata told him he ate usually.

"Where is everyone?" Kageyama finally blurted out, awkwardly sitting down next to the nest. Now that he was closer, he could see it was made from dried grass, cushioned with moss and held together by branches and twigs. It didn't look all to comfortable for Kageyama, who was used to his soft bed and blanket at home.
"Dad's out getting dinner, and mom's probably still working over at Nishinoya's with his father at that candy."
Hinata licked his lips in unison with his last words- the honey-candy Nishinoya's father could make was worth getting stung by bees when getting said honey.
"And your... sister?"
"No idea. But she likes playing with the elders in their house!"

Kageyama was a bit confused. What did he mean by 'no idea'? He couldn't even imagine at home that anybody could leave a small child alone and not care for where they are.
All hell would break lose if one of the little ones went out without telling anybody.

"So..." Kageyama finally said, breaking his trail of thought, "What should we do now?"
"Hmmm..."
Hinata pondered for a moment, then set up a grin.
"I think building you a place to sleep! Dad won't like you in the nest, you smell like human and he probably won't be able to sleep with that. How does your nest look like? At home?"
"N-nest?" Kageyama sputtered, trying to hide a laugh. Oh dear.

"It's not a nest, I'm not a bird, boke. It's a bed."
"A... bed."
"Why are you saying it like that?!"
"It sounds made up! And weird! Why would you not sleep in a nest?!"
"Because nest are for birds!! And for annoying humans with wings!"
Hinata let out a sharp gasp and pushed Kageyama, getting himself pushed back in return.

It didn't last long until both were laying on the floor, rolling around trying to grab at each other to get the upper hand, loud curses being flung around the air.
"Hinata-boke!!"
"Don't call me boke you Bakageyama!!"
"Will you stop?!"
"Shut up!!"
Finally, Hinata couldn't help but start laughing. That was so ridiculous- and enough to startle Kageyama, who promptly lost his focus and allowed Hinata to gain the upper hand.

With a triumphant grin, Hinata sat on Kageyama's stomach, crossing his arms.
"Winner winner~!" he chanted in a teasing voice and Kageyama growled some not nice sounding words.
"Aw, don't pout, Bakageyama."
"I AM NOT POUTING!!"
And once more, Kageyama gave him a hard push to get Hinata off of him- the poor lad let out a yelp and was prompty pushed onto his back by Kageyama, whose turn it was to let out a proud huff.
"You ain't winning this Hinata-boke!"
"Watch me!"

And Kageyama's vision turned black as both wings darted up, around Kageyama to engulf both of them in a feathery mess.
"How are you gonna win if you can't see, eh~?"
"You're cheating!!"
"I would never~!"
Kageyama could feel his face heating up. He did miss Hinata's hugs.