Shouyou didn't bother to look back as he ran downstairs. His task was to draw the enemy away, while the weaker members escaped. A decoy, as what he had always been.

The troubling part was how there's someone who could always outrun him.

Kageyama Tobio. His partner, teammate, his bestfriend.

"Oi! Dumbass!"

Ouch. He hated being called dumb.

But at the same time, Shouyou decided not to respond and focus on his job. If he messed up just a little bit, he'll be risking the lives of many, including his own.

And heck, he doesn't want to die.

He had all the rights to, honestly. His father left his family, his mother worked so hard as a single mother until she fell ill and passed away. Shoyou was left to take care of his little sister, Natsu.

And there's no way he's leaving Natsu as the last Hinata alive.

"Dumbass! Stop running and explain everything!"

Shouyou gasped, as he felt a hand grabbed his shoulder, and pushed him onto the ground, pinning him down.

"Get off me, Kageyama!"

"No." Kageyama's voice was firm, amd Shouyou couldn't help but flinch, "At least tell me. Why the heck did you join a gang like this?!"

"Because I've always wanted to do this."

"Liar."

The shorter male gulped. Too late now, isn't it?

"Just tell me," the setter growled, "If I don't know a thing, I can't help you. Please."

"... I owe him..."

"Who?"

"Kenma-san. And this is the only way I can pay him back. I don't hate it, but I never want it to turn out this way."

It was the truth. Once he finished high school, Shouyou went straight working, making sure that Natsu can have a normal teenage life. Going to school, shopping, and most importantly, food everyday and a roof to live under.

Not an easy task. Looking for a well-paid job wasn't easy, since he never went to college, but Shouyou needed to do it. He hardly ever stayed home, he was away all day long just to get money.

Until one day, he returned to their apartment, to find Natsu gone.

Shouyou remembered it clearly. The fear, the panic, the despair as he realized he had lost the last family he had, the only reason he decided to stay alive.

The apartment was empty, no one saw his sister since she left the school, even her friends didn't know a thing about Natsu's disappearance. Shouyou was about to call the police, when he found a stranger in his living room, staring at him as if he was waiting for him to finish his business.

And that stranger was Kenma. He explained, so calmly, that Natsu was attacked by a group of criminals who wanted to kidnap her. Kenma's 'friends' was able to stop them, turn the men in to the police, and saved Natsu, but the girl suffered from a head injury and was sent to the hospital.

For the first time ever, Shouyou felt the world isn't that cruel.

Those strangers, Kenma, along with three other who introduced themselves as Iwa, Lev, and Kiyoko, paid the hospital bills, escorted Natsu and Shouyou back home, and even bought food supplies, which lasted for a month.

Nothing was really out of place, just a couple of strangers helping a pair of siblings in need, that's all. But the weird things started when Lev began to visit the apartment every so often.

The tall, childish man had no evil intentions, really. He told Shouyou himself that he took morning shifts so he had lots of free time to spend. It became a regular thing, the half-Russian playing with Natsu, helping her with her tests and homeworks, watching over her while Shouyou went to do his night shifts. But of course, they were strangers, and Shou couldn't help but to feel curious.

"Why do you always come here? It's not that I don't like it, it's helpful, but it's just... strange..." the question was given when one day he found the taller man washing the dishes in his kitchen, while Natsu was asleep on the couch, her favorite movie still playing from the DVD player.

"Oh, hello, Hinata-san!"

"Haiba-san, please answer me."

The taller man nodded, putting away the dishes and washed the soap off his hands. "Simply, my leader has taken interest in you."

"Leader?"

"Yeah. You remember Kenma-san? He's the leader of an organization I'm a part of."

"And what do you mean by interested in me?" Shouyou asked once again, turning off the TV and fixed the blanket on Natsu's small figure.

"You're a great person." How easy for him to say that. "You are strong-willed, independent, selfless, you care a lot about your sister. Most importantly, you worked all day long and you still have the energy to do all the house work and-..."

"Can you please just get to the point?"

"We want to recruit you. We want you to be a part of us."

Shouyou's eyes narrowed in suspicion. "What 'us'?"

"... I can't tell you yet, not until you agree. If you do, we'll give you a job. Easy, well-paid, and you have no obligations to do it at a certain time. Meaning, you can keep an eye on your sister. If you want, we can pay for your rent as well, or even we wouldn't mind protecting your sister all the time. We also have health and education insurances, if requested, and we'll listen to your demands."

That's quite a deal, but Shouyou wasn't satisfied yet. "That sounded too good to be real. What's the catch?"

Lev smirked, "You will tell no one about us, and you will put your life at risk. We will teach you how to survive in our line of work, but before you can get a hang of it, your death will not be our fault."

Ah, that would still be worth it.

"I guess I'm in."

"Welcome to The Golden Cats." Lev grinned as he offered his hand, and the shaking-hands part was done awkwardly, but even so, Shouyou found himself feeling relieved for who-knows-what, "I'll take my leave now, we will contact you later. Good night, Shouyou-san. And you can call me Lev."

Shouyou let out a sigh, and looked up, his gaze landed on Kageyama's eyes. "You wouldn't understand. I have been living a hell for years. Since high school, I have to take care of my sister. I have to work and I was never by her side."

"You-..."

"They almost kidnapped her." Shouyou's eyes were getting teary, but he didn't stop, "I almost lost Natsu if the gang didn't save her! They protected her, and she is the only reason I live. Tell me, Kageyama, how much of a debt is that?! Kenma-san went so far into giving me a better job, he paid for Natsu's medical studies, and it was all thanks to him that the two of us can live this far!"

Kageyama shook his head, releasing the shorter male, before he punched the decoy's face.

"Fucking idiot! Are you dumb?! You could have asked for help, dumbass!!"

"You think I would-..."

"No one is fucking alone in this world. You heard me?! You're not struggling alone! You shouldn't have taken the wrong path like this, I could have helped you! You just have to ask, Shouyou!"

Shouyou's eyes widened at the sound of his given name, and even the one who said it was shocked as well.

"I..." Kageyama stopped himself. It was... an inappropriate action, to say at least. He gulped, and decided to continue, "Sorry. That was unintentional."

"Mhmm." Sounds like Shouyou was still surprised.

Suddenly, another voice rang from his earpiece, startling Kageyama.

'This is Bokuto Koutarou speaking. The Neko is dead. Mission complete, do not continue the chase. I repeat, do not continue the chase. Retreat back to the base ASAP. Bokuto, out.'

Kageyama's breath hitched. The Neko... is dead? What-... What the hell happened?

The ravenette turned to look at the orange-haired man, who already had tears falling from his eyes, his whole body shaking in frustration as he clenched his fists. Most probably he also heard the news from his superior.

He suddenly snapped his attention back to Kageyama, and the younger male flinched. Something... about Hinata's gaze... is off... Somehow, Kageyama felt like he was being watched by a flock of crows, waiting for his death.

"Uh... I'm sorry... about your leader...." the military agent finally muttered, "D-Does this mean we're good? Hinata?"

Shouyou nodded slightly, pulling up his hood. "... Yeah, we are. At least for now." He sighed, and shoved his hands in his pockets, now staring off into the sky. "You know why didn't I tell you? Because I don't want you to think of me as someone who needed help. I want you to respect me as an equal. That is how much you actually mean to me."

"... Are you-..." Kageyama huffed, chuckling slightly as he shook his head, "Dumbass."

Shouyou grinned. "Until next time, Kageyama."

Before he knew it, Shouyou had already disappeared.

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Extra #1 is done! Finally!