When the Sun Stops Shining

Chapter Two: The First Flashback

      "You... you killed a man?" Hinata was stuttering, backing away from the scowling boy. "The only thing you should kill is a volley...volleyball!"

The other male clicked his tongue. "Volleyball. Heh."

"What? You don't like volleyball?"

"So... you come across a guy who's just killed someone, and your concern is that I don't like volleyball." He blinked at the orange-haired boy, who was blinking right back at him. "Wow. Well, you're too cute to kill."

"Ehh?" Hinata wasn't sure if he'd heard the boy right. Hell, he wasn't even sure if he'd heard the boy at all. His thoughts were beginning to drown out reality. He was trying to fathom why someone wouldn't like volleyball.

"Tell me your name." The boy grinned. It was then that Hinata lost his bearings. The boy was cute, so cute. There was a sort of danger about him when he scowled with that sharp vampire tooth of his, but when he smiled... he looked his age. He looked innocent, despite the blood on his clothes. He looked like someone Hinata could easily fall for.

"Hinata... Hinata Shouyou."

"Hmm. Well, I'll call you Shou-chan. Only I can call you that, okay?"

"Shou-chan..." Hinata might as well have had stars in his eyes. The way it rolled off the boy's tongue made it sound near-erotic. Hinata might have missed a lot of things at that age, but he didn't miss that.

"I'm Takeru. The leader of Wakunan."

"Ooh, Wakunan! So cool!" Hinata's eyes were glistening. But then, the young boy tilted his head in confusion. "Wait, what is Wakunan?"

Takeru rolled his eyes. "Wakunan is one of the best gangs out there. We all wear pink." He pointed to the pink wrapping on his wrist, which was slightly torn and tatty. "We all carry guns. And we all shoot to kill."

"You look young though. You're not that much taller than me—" At the mention of his height, Takeru grabbed Hinata and pushed him up against the wall. His one hand had Hinata firmly anchored to the brick wall. Hinata should've been scared, but all he could focus on was the heat coming off Takeru's hand. It was so warm. And even though he was strong, he could tell that Takeru had soft hands. Hinata's hands had hardened up after spiking so many times.

"Do you want to know what happened last time someone mentioned my height?"

"Ah... uh... hmm..."

"I shot him in the knees and said, 'Look who the shorty is now'. Then, I killed him. That was fun." Hinata couldn't look past his apparent sadism anymore. Sure, Takeru was cute, but... he's a killer.

"You killed him for something like that?" Hinata was trying to escape, now realising that this boy could be out to kill him. However, escape was the one thing that Takeru wouldn't allow to happen.

"Well, that's kind of obvious. You don't disrespect a gang leader." Takeru lifted his free hand and poked Hinata on the nose, smearing the dead man's blood on him. Hinata's eyes widened in horror as the smell of the blood reached his nose; bitter; metallic. It was rustic, dark. It was still pooling on the floor, bright red and glistening. However, it was so dark that he could barely see. "Now, you're an accomplice. Won't you be a darling and drive me over to the hideout?"

"But I... But I..."

"Takeru, stop toying around with the pedestrians." A blonde-haired man appeared in the alleyway, tilting his head over at the smirking Takeru. "The ride's here. Tsuyoshi's driving. You got the guy's shit, right?"

"Yup. We're stinking rich now, hmm?" Takeru pulled out a whole load of credit and debit cards from his pockets, smiling at the sight of them. He let Hinata go in the process. The orange-haired boy sank to his knees, shaking as he realised the seriousness of the situation.

"I... I need to go to the police!" He hopped up to his feet and tried to sprint away, but the blonde-haired man stepped in front of him and punched him before Hinata could even react. He'd gotten used to taking balls to the face on the court, but getting punched by a man with virtually no muscles was a lot more painful than Hinata had expected.

"Oi! Teppei! Don't punch him!" Hinata staggered back, holding his bleeding nose. But, he was shocked when he noticed that Takeru was advancing towards the blonde-haired man. Takeru had a predatory air about him. It was clear in the way his footsteps were quick yet silent, the way he moved so swiftly. Then, Takeru lifted his gun, causing Hinata's eyes to widen in horror. Just how crazy is he?

"Don't shoot him!" The words left Hinata's lips before he could even think. He didn't think about the possibility that Takeru might shoot him to shut him up, nor did he think about the possibility of some pedestrian overhearing and calling the police on all three of them. The only thing on his mind was stopping Takeru from shooting yet another man.

Takeru slammed the barrel of the gun against Teppei's head, causing the blonde to fall to the ground. He let out a yell, but he wasn't dead. Just a little hurt. Takeru tucked the gun back into his waistband before advancing towards Hinata, who looked like death personified at this point.

"I'm not going to shoot my own team." He held out his hand to Hinata. "And I'm not going to shoot you either, so you can stop looking at me like that. Hey, you were going to the volleyball shop nearby, right? Come on. Let's go get cleaned up and then I'll buy you whatever to make up for dragging you into this. Because, I can't let you drag yourself back out now."

Hinata looked down at his clothes. He'd been wearing volleyball kit, which was a dark black. Thankfully, it was dark enough that it hid all the blood stains he'd gotten from Takeru touching him. But, just the thought of that rustic blood on his clothes made him sick.

"I don't want to join a gang," Hinata whispered. "I just want to spike."

"Shou-chan," Takeru whispered, getting down onto his knees. "You don't have a choice."

***

After some aimless running, he realised that he hadn't seen Takeru. He was drunk, after all. He'd probably just imagined it. Sighing, he swayed back over to Sakanoshita, determined to see the night through. Although, at this rate, he'd probably end up passing out on the streets. He was sick of thinking. After all, he'd lost volleyball. He knew what the team's celebration was for. Bokuto was going to become the team's new ace, the one with the height and the power. The one who can do things Hinata can't. Hinata had lost his volleyball. Hinata knew just as well as everyone else that without volleyball, he was nothing but another eccentric male with a couple of funny stories.