Final Straw [Depressed Hinata]

Returning Home

The bus ride home was quiet... Even the slightest pin could be heard if it were dropped, but there was a high chance no one would pay attention to it. They lost. An opportunity to finally go to the finals and get to go to nationals, right in their grasp - gone...

Feeling the depressing and guilty atmosphere, Coah Ukai knew he needed to find a way to let his team know that this failure could be a blessing in disguise - so he decided to treat them to a meal. It may not be much, but they're bound to be exhausted and low on energy. He looked across at his team, seeing a majority of them still awake, and surprisingly Hinata. Seriously, how much energy did this kid have?

After what felt like a non-stop drive, they made it to the restaurant and sat down for their meal. It may have been past closing hours, but hey, Ukai still found a way. After the team thanked the nice old lady for the food, most of them began eating. Hinata, on the other hand, just stared at his meal; not bothering to pay attention to his surroundings and thinking back to the game.

'It's my fault we lost that game... I've let everyone down; all that training on the new quick gone to waste.. If only my eyes weren't shut and if I trained harder, I could've made that shot! Who knows how much lectures I'm going to get from Daichi, or maybe even-'

"HINATA!" Hinata jumped, startled by the sudden shout Sugawara gave. He's rarely ever risen his voice - on second thought, Hinata doesn't even think he's heard his upper-classmen raise his voice like that. 'Oh no... Suga's mad at me...'
Hinata turned to look at Suga, now seeing the worry on his face, or was it an act? Who knows - either way, he responded the best way he could to sound like his usual self, trying to not to let his nerves from his startled state show, "Ah, sorry! Did you need something, Sugawara?"

"Hinata, I've been trying to get your attention for the past while. Are you okay? You haven't even touched your food..." Now looking round, Hinata could see the teams worried expressions. Well, all beside one individual, who just stared at Hinata unfazed.

"Oh, sorry. I'm just not feeling the best right now." He said sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head with one of his hands.

"Well you need to eat something, you had two long games today. You need to restore your energy."

"I'll maybe get something when I get home. Don't worry, I'll be fine. If I get a little bit of sleep later, I should be good as new!"

"Alright, then..." Hinata sighed with relief internally, thankful that Suga dropped the subject. Although, that relief quickly left as soon as it arrived when he felt a pair of eyes on him that felt like they were staring right into his soul - his guilt eventually taking over how he was feeling again. It wasn't his fault that they lost the game, but his imagination got the better of him and he thought someone was blaming Hinata for not making the shot to get to the finals.

After they got back to the gym, Ukai went over the usual - how they played great, where and how they could improve, what skills some people are going to work on, and the next strategy to beat Aoba Johsai. Throughout this, Sugawara shared worried glances at Hinata; who was still paying attention to Coach Ukai, but refusing to look up from the floor. Sugawara was like the team's mom, he couldn't help but be worried for his baby crow. 'I'll just have to keep a close eye on him... Please don't do anything that'll cause you harm, Hinata...'

After cleaning up the gym, they all had decided to go home. The only ones left where Hinata and another. Hinata tried his best not to show his discomfort, but of course, anyone who saw him knew he was shaking like a leaf. He didn't really feel comfortable around him alone, not because of his height but because of the insults he gives Hinata; and who knows what he'll come up with now that the rest of the team aren't there. The individual had walked up to Karasuno's number 10; making Hinata pray internally that he wouldn't get beat up like he used to in his previous school. It had happened quite a few times in his first and second year of middle school, and it was mostly due to his height and his strong spirit to become the next tiny giant.

Hinata turned around, deciding to face the terror that was awaiting for him. What could go wrong?
"H-hey, Tsukishima! Aren't you going home yet?" Curse him and his stuttering mess; he couldnt help it when his nerves got the better of him.

"Tell me, Hinata."

"Huh? Tell you what?" What was he talking about? It's odd for Tsukishima to ask something from Hinata - let alone speak to him when the rest of the group had gone. That is, until Tsukishima looked Hinata dead in the eye. Trust me, if looks could kill, Hinata doubts he'd still be standing or even breathing for that matter.

"You had the opportunity, you had the chance, so why? Why did you let that last play go to waste?"

Hinata stood there stunned, not believing what he had just heard. 'Huh..? Why's Tsukishima lecturing me about this? I mean, I'm not surprised, but why now?' He stared at the ground as he thought, his fists clenched and revealed his white knuckles. Hopefully he'll drop the situation like last time with Sugawara.

"It wasn't my fault... I fought my hardest to stay on the court! I didn't waste anything!" That was a lie, deep down, he knew he that was a lie. He blamed himself for that spike, even if there was nothing he could do about it.

"Well if you actually practiced what you need to improve on like your receives, you wouldn't have wasted all your energy jumping around like an idiot." He exclaimed, eventually leaving Hinata to his own thoughts.

As soon as Hinata reached his home, he had to quietly sneak in. It may have been where he lived, but he certainly did not feel welcome or at home. His father often works abroad and his mother is working almost everyday trying to provide for her family, however she would often stay at a friend's home close by since she would finish late at night; so Hinata's aunt looks after both him and Natsu. His aunt is a beautiful young lady, often talking with the neighbours when she could; she was like the aunt who could provide comfort to anyone - the Hinata family were lucky to have her look after them. Except, that's not how she was perceived, not in Shoyo's eyes anyway.

He was not lucky. She did not provide him with comfort. She was not as caring as all those around her had imagined her. At home, she would often drink and abuse Hinata whenever he made a mistake - this wouldn't have happened if he hadn't caught her that one evening...

Once Hinata was inside his house, he stayed quiet for a moment, waiting to hear any noise. After a minute or two of silence, he sighed in relief; she wasn't home at the moment. He took that opportunity to run upstairs into his room. He already knew Natsu would be in bed at this hour, so he finally had some time to himself.

He sat beside his pillow, elbows on his knees so he could bury his face in his hands. "Breathe, Shoyo... Breathe..." He thought out loud to himself as he sighed. So much had happened to him, he couldn't remember the last time he had a moment to himself. He did his best to stay calm, knowing what was about to happen. But he couldn't contain his bottle that he'd been holding inside anymore. Tears began to stream down his face as he quietly sobbed to himself. "I can't take this anymore..!" All Shoyo wanted, no, all he needed right now was a friend; a shoulder to cry on. Unfortunately, all he had was himself, all alone, once again...

After a few minutes, he managed to calm down and gather up his thoughts. Now that he's gotten away some of his negative emotions, he realised just how tired and how hungry he was. I mean, who wouldn't be with the amount of energy he burnt throughout the day without food for fuel? He looked off to the side and stared at his bedside drawer, contemplating about what he should do...

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A/N:
Sorry about the cliffhanger 👀 I won't give spoilers about what's gonna happen next chapter but if its anything serious, I'll add trigger warnings before and after it's finished

Also, should I write a chapter about what happened 'that evening'?

Word count: 1500+