Wings of Steel

Prologue~The Change

Hinata never really had anything important to do. He would go to school, forget everything he had learnt and cycle home. It was repetitive and boring, and nothing exciting ever happened.

That was until that fateful day when everything changed.

It could have been any other day, a one-in-a-million chance, but it was enough. The Tiny Giant had jumped up to hit the ball. Hinata could have felt the power even though it was just on a screen. He fell in love with volleyball and would never let it go.

Turning around, Hinata started his cycle home. If only that's when the life-altering stuff ended.

Screech! Crash! Snap!

Pain. That is all Hinata could think about. The pain surged, flared, and twisted, making it impossible to think of everything else.

Lights. Blinding lights that hurt his eyes. He could hear people talking to him. Asking him questions. Demanding he stayed awake. He was tired. He was in pain. He wanted to sleep. He couldn't sleep.

A mask over his face. Weight on his eyelids. Black around his vision. Dull. His senses got duller until it was nothing.

Drifting. Waking up. Thumping in his head. He did not want to wake up. Why was that beeping so loud?

Blinding lights, hurting his eyes and making it hard to see.

"Shoyo? Sweetie, how are you feeling?" A hand stroked his hair, soothing the pounding.

"Mum?" Hinata tried to move and sit up, but something was stopping him. Something was wrong.

"I'm sorry, sweetie. They were able to save you... but at the cost of your leg."

"But... but that means I'll never get to play volleyball."

"Volleyball? You've never talked about volleyball before."

"I know, but I was watching it. It was amazing. Every part of it, I wanted to be a part of that world, but now I can't."

Before his mother could say any more, the door swung open, a plastic hand leaning on the frame. "Well, I wouldn't say that."