Level Horizon (Haikyuu!! WingedAU)

Year Three 4/9; Deviation

Obstacles don't have to stop you. If you run into a wall, don't turn around and give up. Figure out how to climb it, go through it, or work around it. ~Michael Jordan

A raven comes for Kuroo the following morning bearing two words.

"Tavern and Nightfall? What's that mean?" Ryuunosuke Tanaka grumbles with a scowl.

"An informant. His information is reliable and will be invaluable if we want to get a clear picture of what we might be up against."

Somehow, Ryuu isn't surprised that the black cat has such connections or that he's been contacting them. Actually, he's grateful for the cat's networking skills; the bald crow has become more and more invested in rescuing Hinata's sister from whatever mess she's caught up in. The kid was, frankly, adorable. If you could get her over her initial misgivings and nervousness, the girl turned into this bubbly, happy child on the border of adolescence with expressive almond eyes that light up with excitement and fire.

Ryuu couldn't help but think she was even more colorful than Hinata with how she could get aggressively stubborn, and could go on a full offensive where his former unit mate was usually more confrontation averse. If Hinata was the sun, warm and shining, Natsu was fire itself, blazing and brilliant. Being around Hinata felt like coming home; being around Natsu felt like the journey there.

So many of her antics were hilarious and cute at the same time that Ryuu sorely wishes Noya were here; they'd have had so much fun with this kid.

She'd woken last night after a good half hour in Kuroo's arms and launched herself out of his lap and tackled Hinata across the table. He distinctly remembers Daichi swiftly snatching up his and Suga's cups out of her way in her rush to get to her brother, where she sat for several moments attempting a conspiracy with him in their goofy foreign language that sounded like they had honey in their mouths. Hinata had had to try several different words, much to her amusement, before they had both turned and vaulted back over the table and set upon Ryuu with enough force that he was knocked to the floor.

"Oi, what the—"

"Language, Tanaka." Suga had said with a grin even as he'd allowed himself to be manhandled by Hinata just to be sure that he wouldn't accidently whack the other child who'd attacked him.

When Hinata had him pinned to the floor on his stomach, Natsu had sprawled across his shoulders and reached for his head. When he'd felt little hands run over the fuzz that was starting to grow back in followed by a shrill giggle, he'd scowled.

"Oi. This ain't a petting zoo, you brats." He'd groused and everyone had laughed— even Kageyama's deep chuckle had joined Hinata's chiming cackle.

The tittering coming from the little girl on his back had tugged his grimace into a grin and he'd rolled to the side and promptly reversed the power standing and snagged both Hinata's arms in one of his so he could grab at the wiry little girl. She'd squealed and leapt out of range only to run right into Kageyama who'd caught her up and promptly suspended her upside down by one foot with a devious smirk.

The normally reserved crow joining in had been a pleasant surprise, and Ryuu had grinned wolfishly as the black-haired setter had held her out within easy reach, her little wings beating madly and her hysterical screeches filling the room. Ryuu had deftly evaded her thrashing wings and arms to run fingers across her belly, laughing as she'd scrunched herself up and squirmed helplessly.

"Oi, Sawamura." Kageyama had murmured drawing Daichi's attention where he was just standing with a drink in hand.

The black-haired crow had adeptly tossed the girl toward him and he'd scrambled to get rid of the glass and stretch his arms out to catch a very discombobulated little redhead who still laughed nonstop, earning a sharp gasp from Suga.