When the Sun Stops Shining

Chapter Twenty-Two: Mountain Boy

For the rest of the day, Oikawa was walking around the prison strangely. Iwaizumi was wearing a proud smirk on his face when he walked into the cafeteria. It was dinnertime, so he had to retrieve Hinata's dinner. His eyes set upon the Karasuno table, raising one eyebrow when he saw that Nekoma was also at the table.

"Iwaizumi," Nishinoya said, drawing the counsellor's attention. "Here's the tray! I made it myself," he added, slapping his own chest. Nishinoya always got so proud whenever it came to his cooking.

"Thank you, Nishinoya." He took the tray and offered the energetic cook a smile before slipping out of the cafeteria and heading straight over to medical. While Hinata still didn't look the way he had when Iwaizumi had first met him outside of Oikawa's office, he was beginning to look better. Iwaizumi was willing to do whatever it took to help the man get better. He would've preferred to pummel Tendou into the ground, but the redhead had already gathered up his few possessions and left the prison. So, he had to settle for helping Hinata regain his health somehow.

Meanwhile, Kindaichi and Kunimi were walking Kageyama down to dinner. Weirdly enough, Kageyama hadn't tried to avoid going to dinner. He seemed excited about going. While the two bodyguards found it strange, they didn't question it. They were just glad that Kageyama was finally beginning to seem like his normal self.

When Kageyama slipped into the lunch line, Nishinoya noticed him instantly.

"Ka-ga-ya-ma! Ka-ga-ya! Ka-ga-ya! Kaa!"

Tanaka joined in with the song, having noticed the dark-haired sniper standing in the line. "Kage Kage Kage, Kage Kage Kage..."

Then, Yamamoto followed up with his own little addition. "Kaga-da Kaga-da, oh Kaga Kaga Kaga!"

"Ka-ga-ya-ma! Ka-ga-ya! Ka-ga-ya! Kaa!" It seemed like the three of them were going to be singing that song for a while. Kageyama rolled his eyes, but he didn't complain. He was just overjoyed that his team really didn't hate him for what had happened. He wasn't sure if Daichi and Suga had lied about nobody caring to save his feelings, but he knew that Tsukishima wasn't lying. Tsukishima had no reason to lie to him, after all.

"Hey, guys... the line's getting pretty long," Asahi pointed out.

"Oh. Well, alright then." Nishinoya slapped his chest and grinned at Kageyama, who was regarding the cook with a shred of humour in his eyes. "What will it be for you today, Boss?"

"Nabemono."

"Sure thing!" Nishinoya grabbed the ladle and began to spoon an unusually large portion into a blue bowl, making sure it was filled to the brim. Then, he placed it onto a tray and handed it to Kageyama. There was also a pot of Gun Gun yoghurt on the tray and a small carton of milk. "Here you go. Make sure you finish it all!"

"But this is too much—"

"What will it be for you today, Kindaichi?"

Kageyama knew there was no point trying to argue the point. He went down the line, grabbed himself a paper cup full of water and went towards the table. There was the usual space left for him in the middle of the table — although, now that Nekoma had officially joined their table, it wasn't really the middle anymore. Nevertheless, Kageyama was still pleased to see that they hadn't forgotten about him.

"Hey, it's Mountain Boy! How ya doin'?" Kuroo had that same scheming grin on his face.

"He's not the only mountain boy," Yamaguchi muttered. "I have the kanji for mountain too."