TRAGEDY | Shouyou Hinata (Murder of Crows) ✓

CHAPTER FOUR

Three weeks after the tragic loss of Hinata's little sister, her memorial service was held. It had taken some time to get all the family together, but you and the rest of the volleyball team had been invited to pay your respects to the girl who barely had a chance at life.

As you walked up the drive of Hinata's house, you felt someone's gaze on you from the uppermost windows and lifted your head. You met a pair of watery brown eyes before the curtain fluttered closed and concealed the pale, ghostly face behind it.

Plastering a warm smile on your face, you knocked on the door. But when Hinata's mother answered, your smile faltered. You'd seen her a few times in the past three weeks, seen how she'd slowly withered, withdrawn into herself. She'd lost a lot of weight, lost her colour, lost the light in her eyes, just like Hinata. But today she looked ill. Her skin was so pale it was almost lucid, transparent, and her eyes were red and hollow. When she tried to smile, her cheeks sank so low it made her look skeletal.

"Come in," she said quietly, not bothering with the introductions and stepping aside to let you in.

"T-thank you."

You'd gone past the apologises and the regrets now. There was no need to say how sorry you were, because it brought no comfort, no gain. The pain was still raw, but you were all trying your hardest to smile.

"Hinata's upstairs. You can bring him down and we'll go," she said, speaking in the same tone, the same solemn whisper, as Hinata often did.

Climbing the stairs slowly, you struggled to find a reason to be positive in the heavy, oppressive house. The sadness here seemed to be tangible, coating every surface like dust. It was always the survivors that suffered the most, left to wallow in their grief while the dead found respite in their silence, all sins forgiven and forgotten.

You knocked on Hinata's door and slowly pushed it open, finding the boy sitting on his bed and looking at an album of photographs.

"Hinata?"

"Hmm," he mumbled, shuffling across the bed to make room beside him. You left the door slightly ajar and went to sit down. He immediately leaned his head on your shoulder, his fingers moving across the pictures, as if touching them would help him remember. Most of them were of him and his little sister, but there were some of you too; you and Hinata playing in the garden, him giving you a piggy back ride, building a snowman, sitting behind a birthday cake with seven candles, grinning lopsidedly with gaps where your teeth had fallen out.

Then he turned a page and there was one of all three of you, taken only a couple of years ago. Hinata was carrying Natsu on his hip and you had your arm slung around his neck, leaning in close. Your eyes were closed, but you looked so happy. You all did.

Seeing his eyes welling up again, you gently reached over and closed the photo album, moving it aside, and stood up, pulling him to his feet after you. "Come on. Your mum's waiting for us," you told him softly, leading him downstairs.

~

The service was being held at the local cemetery, in a small area sheltered by trees blooming with delicate white flowers. It had been decided that everyone would wear the traditional mourning colours, but with an item of Natsu's favourite colour - orange. Both you and Hinata were wearing orange roses, his in the pocket of his blouse, yours tucked in your hair.

The car ride there had been quiet, too quiet, with you and Hinata sat in the back, his mum driving. The radio spat black static and the hum of the tyres didn't seem as loud as usual. Everything was subdued. You'd attempted conversation, but the answers you'd received had been polite and brief, general courtesy, lacking depth, so you'd given up and spent the rest of the journey in silence.

When you arrived at the cemetery, the other volleyball players were already there; apparently they'd all come together in the school's coach. The third years came over to say a few words and give their respects in a more formal fashion, while the others kept their distance and gave you sad smiles and waves. Even Tsukishima seemed sombre, his eyes downcast and his hands clasped respectfully in front of him, nodding quietly to something Yamaguchi was saying. Nishinoya and Tanaka looked slightly out of place in their formal wear and bright orange ties, but they'd toned down their attitudes too and only gave you a brief wave when you arrived. You supposed Tanaka might be reluctant to approach Hinata just yet after the outburst in the gym only last week. You'd managed to persuade Hinata to apologise, but there'd been tension between them ever since.

"Let's stand over there," you suggested when Hinata's mum went to talk to the rest of her family. Hinata had made it clear that he wanted to stay with you the whole time. His clingy attitude might have seemed slightly childish, but you knew how important comfort and stability was when faced with grief.

Hinata held your hand throughout the whole service, keeping his eyes straight ahead as the priest delivered his readings and prayers, then letting Hinata's mum say a few words. You felt a pressure building behind your eyes when she started crying, and you felt Hinata squeeze your hand even tighter, as if scared that letting go would mean he'd lose you too.

"I miss her so much," Hinata whispered to you as you dug a tissue out of your pocket and started to dab the corners of your eyes, his voice breaking with a sob. "I want her to come back."

"I know. I know, Hinata. But... she's not completely gone, Hinata. She's always in our memories."

"It's not... it's not enough."

"Of course it isn't. It never will be," you said truthfully, hating the bitterness of it. "But there's nothing we can do now. The world plays a cruel game. We just have to find a way to keep it from winning completely, and that means not giving up."

Hinata was struggling to keep the pain out of his voice. Tears were strung from his eyelids like spider web, gossamer silk as they reflected the sunlight. "You won't give up on me, will you [Y/N]?" He sobbed as you held him close, letting him bury his face in your hair. You could feel people staring but at the moment you didn't care, at the moment you just wanted to comfort your best friend. "We'll always have each other."

"Of course, Hinata. You have this silly idea in your head that I'm going to leave you," you said gently, running your fingers through his hair, "but I won't, not if I can help it."

"No, you won't leave me. Of course you won't," Hinata mumbled to himself, his tone changing somewhat, becoming harder, more serious. "I could never let that happen."

A chill stole over you when he said that, sudden and cold against your skin. You eased Hinata off you and held him at arms length, stuttering a short murmur of surprise when you saw his eyes, heavy-lidded and dark, not with grief but with anger.

He was mumbling to himself but the words were strung too tightly together that you couldn't distinguish them.

"Your mother has finished talking. Maybe you should go and stand with her for a bit," you said gently, your eyes flickering down to the ground so that you didn't have to see the distorted look in his. "I'll be over here if you need me, okay?"

The boy wiped a hand over his face, smudging tears along his cheek, and walked away without another word.

Swallowing past the lump in your throat, you went over to stand by Sugawara. The boy immediately noticed your unsettled attitude.

"Everything okay?"

You forced out a smile and nodded. "Fine. It just hurts seeing Hinata so upset."

"I know. It hurts all of us. We're so used to him being bright and bubbly all the time. It's a shock."

"Hm."

The boy reached over and patted your hand, his skin warm to the touch. You let out a long, pent-up breath.

"Thank you, Suga. You've all been amazing these past few days."

He gave you a closed-eye smile. "That's what friends are for."

"Yeah," you agreed, turning your head to seek him out amongst the crowd of black and orange. Your eyes landed right on his, and you were struck with the realisation that he was already staring at you. He looked away quickly. "I just hope my friendship is enough for Hinata."