Rainbow in The Night▪︎HQxKNB▪︎

Chapter 1 - |Back again|

"Look at the rainbow, it is made up of different colors, yet they do not split, because they know how beautiful they are when they stick together." — Michael Bassey Johnson.

It is considered an unspoken rule as to what roles are to be played within the sport world. A common agreement. There's always been the graced and the damned. The one who is born to play, the one who works hard to do so. Gifted, and punished, poor survivors ; users of the bad means.

Hinata comes from neither category.

"Sho-kun."

The time stops.

He listens very carefully to this tone. This voice. The peculiar way it is said in a respectful edge, while also possessing an unmistakable fondness within.

The small red-head stops himself, as he takes time to understand who was actually right behind him, calling him by the beginning of his first name, wondering if it would maybe be Kenma, coming to him to congratulate him on the win he just had with his teammates. He immediately erases the idea. Kenma only calls him by his full first name after all, and he knows this voice, no matter how much he wishes he had no idea who was behind him at this exact moment.

Suddenly, for the first time this day, all traces of a smile slowly disappear from Hinata Shouyou's face.

He hears some steps nearing him, and a shaky breath following, but his feet stay on the very ground he decided to stand at, no amount of glare achieving to make them move in any way.

Traitors.

Was the time really slow, or was it just him? Did everything stop just because of this voice, or was he hallucinating? He had the impression that yes, it was the time, who came to a stop.

Then Hinata wonders if everyone could feel the sudden heat taking over the area. Sweat drops start to trace down his face, and he doesn't feel this good anymore, as he lets a breath out, feeling something blocking the depth of his throat.

It's been a very long time since he felt that way.

Kageyama gives him a weird look, above his shoulder, when he hears none of the excited, fired-up cheers Hinata usually exclaims after successful confrontations, only to find out that the latter has brutally stopped all movements, and was now frozen on the floor, his two hand firmly gripped on his black sport bag, eyes slightly more open than usual.

The black-haired setter raises one of his eyebrows, wondering what the hell his rival was up to, and nonchalantly glances behind Hinata.

Tobio now stopping in his tracks as well, it was then time for Tsukishima to ask himself why these idiots had to stop halfway towards the team cloakrooms. Aoba-Josai surely gave them some struggles even though they won, so they all went together to the bathroom, and in such moments of euphoria, everyone knew that the duo could be really dangerous, if left alone. That is why Suga assigned Tsukishima to watch them, so that no one of these fools went and buried the stadium with one of their stupid challenges.