When the Sun Stops Shining

Chapter Five: Milk's on the Menu

Hinata was relieved when he finally made it down to lunch. He was thinking that he'd be able to get himself some protein-filled meals. Because, while he knew he wouldn't be able to play volleyball, he at least wanted to keep his physique. He'd built up lean muscle over the years and he was not about to lose that physique because of prison. No way.

He stood in line, waiting alongside Kuroo and Yaku. Kenma was there too, trying not to draw attention to himself. However, his unusual hair colour drew quite a bit of attention from the other inmates.

"H—Here." A tall guy with a slight goatee scooped some slop into a tray, some bread, some dry-looking rice and a pot of what appeared to be yoghurt. Hinata could feel the tips of his ears flushing bright red when he realised that this was the guy he'd seen naked just hours ago, the one with the long hair. He didn't seem to recognise Hinata, much to his relief. The food itself was all squished together in a way which made it look more unappetising than anything he'd ever eaten.

"Wait, what is this?" Hinata had a disgusted look on his face as he regarded the tray.

"Hinata, shut up." Kuroo grabbed the tray from the goatee guy and forced it into Hinata's hands before dragging him away from the food line. Once they were a reasonable distance away, Kuroo spoke once again. "Don't speak bad about the food, otherwise you won't get any at all."

"Eh?"

"Yamamoto hates it when people talk smack about his cooking. There's not much he can do, since the prison doesn't give him much to work with. He uses the best ingredients for Karasuno and Nekoma. You guys get the standard shit."

"But I need protein! Where's the protein in this? Fish? Eggs? Nuts?"

"Now, nuts aren't hard to find. You're surrounded by them. Might as well find a pair that suit your fancy," Kuroo said, wiggling his eyebrows in jest. Hinata simply blinked at him, not understanding what the dark-haired man was talking about.

"Eh?"

Kuroo rolled his eyes. "Hey, you should come sit with us. Don't worry, those Wakuwankers aren't here. They all got transferred to max since they were plotting to murder a whole load of C.Os and start a riot. It was all Guess Monster's fault. He—"

"Inmates! Sit down or you'll get shots!" The same blonde-haired Ukai from earlier was glaring at the two inmates, who were now scrambling over to their tables. For the first time since walking into the cafeteria, Hinata looked around himself. Everyone seemed to be sitting in gang groups, since each table had a distinct aura about them. Although he didn't know who any of them were, he expected that Kuroo would explain each table to him. Well, hopefully.

When they reached the table, Kuroo pushed Hinata down into a random seat and plopped himself right next to Hinata, much to the annoyance of everyone else.

"Hey. You can't just invite new fish to our table," one rowdy-looking male roared. "He's not one of us."

"He is now. Hinata Shouyou, guys."

"Wasn't he with Wakunan?" A dark-skinned man raised his eyebrow at Kuroo. Hinata was wishing that he knew their names, but he didn't.

"Not anymore. Come on guys, didn't we leave all that gang shit behind?"

"You did," the rowdy male pointed out. "We're still Nekoma. We put our blood into this gang, so we're not pulling out. Our blood runs red, not pink," he added, sneering at Hinata.

"I—I'll go!" Hinata hopped up, forgetting to take the tray with him. Although, he didn't want the tray anymore. He'd rather starve.

"Wait, Hinata—" The volleyball ace sprinted away from the table before Kuroo could make a physical attempt to stop him. Hinata could hear Kuroo scolding his table for being rude to Hinata, but he didn't care. All he was focused on was getting out.