A/n: Sorry I never mentioned this before in the story, but it never occurred to me until now. So I'm pretty sure that somewhere in the previous chapters, I mentioned that Shouyou's dad spent all his money on drugs and alcohol. Or maybe I put it as the shelves in the fridge were stocked with beers. Something like that. Yeah, so that means that there wasn't a lot of food in the house. And that's why Shouyou is often being described as "skinny" (or of the sorts). Shouyou didn't eat, instead he always scrounged whatever money he could in order to feed Natsu, since everything up until now (in Shouyou's perspective) was to protect Natsu. Just wanted to clear that up! Thanks!! <3

"Shou-chan." A voice called gently through a wooden door. "It's time to wake up." A knock followed soon after the voice, waking up a young teen with messy orange locks. Shouyou blearily blinked his eyes open. The first thing that came into focus was the blank, white ceiling above him. It was another day. Shouyou groaned, closing his eyes again. He didn't want to get up from the warmth that the bed beneath him was providing. He was too comfortable right now. "Shou-chan, if you don't get up and eat breakfast with us, I'll go get Iwa-chan~. He's here again today." The voice of Oikawa became more distinct to Shouyou's ears, especially when he heard the name of a raven haired third year.

"You wouldn't.." Shouyou tried, eyes squinting open and watching the door of the room carefully.

"You and I both know that I would." Oikawa dared. "You have until the count of five, Shou-chan." The older teen began counting upward, very slowly. Shouyou frowned, testing to see if Oikawa would seriously sell him out to the latter's best friend. But Oikawa continued to count, "Four and a half.." The setter drew out, long and slow. Shouyou could practically hear the smirk on the brunette's face. The ginger haired boy shot up from his bed in Oikawa's guest room.

"I'm up! I'm up!" Shouyou called, "Asshole." He muttered as an afterthought.

Oikawa clicked his tongue. "You've been hanging around Iwa-chan too much." The comment made Shouyou smile ever so slightly. He was glad that Oikawa couldn't see it, or the setter would scream in glee and hug Shouyou way too tightly. "Well, come downstairs in five minutes, Shou-chan, or I'll really send Iwa-chan up here to get you." Oikawa threatened half-heartedly. Soon, loud footsteps faded down the hall and down the stairs.

Shouyou sighed, throwing his legs over the side of the bed and stared emotionlessly at the carpeted floor. Him and Natsu were now temporarily living with Oikawa and his mom. After everything that happened in the hospital, the two Hinata siblings were immediately put into the foster care system. All too quickly, there were many families that offered to take in Shouyou and Natsu. Though none of those families were willing to take the both of them. Oikawa's mother was very hesitant about stranger's housing the two children, especially after what Shouyou's dad's friends did. She was even more hesitant after hearing that none of the families were financially stable enough to take in both of the Hinata children. So Oikawa's mother had applied herself into the foster care system. She was accepted almost immediately because of her job at the hospital, which paid well. After a few more confirmations, the two ginger children were moving into the Oikawa residence.

It's been two weeks since Shouyou was discharged from the hospital.

And one week since Shouyou and Natsu moved in with the Oikawas.

Since a week ago, Iwaizumi had also been showing up at Oikawa's house, nearly every day, as per Sugawara's request. The constant visits were to--obviously--check up on Shouyou and to see how the sun child was doing.

With a shallow sigh, Shouyou pushed himself up and off the bed. He stretched his back, which resulted in a few pops up and down his spine. Without exerting any unnecessary energy, Shouyou made his way to the bathroom. Golden brown eyes refused to look into the bathroom's mirror. Oikawa's mom and Shouyou's doctor suspected the Shouyou had developed spectrophobia, which was a fear of mirrors or the fear of his own reflection. Shouyou didn't care about the name they gave it. He shook his head and continued to do what needed to be done. First he used the bathroom. The teen turned on the sink and made sure that the water was warm. Shouyou quickly washed his hands and his face, brushed his teeth, and patted his face dry. All done without glancing in the mirror once.

Once that was done, Shouyou ducked his head and pulled the bathroom door open. He exited out into the hallway in order to make his way downstairs. Soon, Shouyou entered the dining room, where the smell of food made Shouyou want to gag. Still, the auburned haired boy still sat at the dining room table. "Nii-chan!" Natsu shouted, when her older brother sat down. On the table, in the space in front of Natsu, was a large drawing pad. Colored pencils, crayons, and markers were scattered around her. A purple marker was clutched in her right hand and a grin was on her face.

"Natsu-chan, manners please." Mrs. Oikawa reminded softly. There was a smile on her lips and the woman's eyes crinkled at the corners. Natsu smiled sheepishly back, uttering a small apology. "Good morning Shouyou." The older woman turned her head to Shouyou, and gently ran her thin fingers through his hair. "Sleep well?"

Shouyou gave a nod. "Better." He assured. Natsu took that opportunity to wrap her big brother into a tight hug. Her arms stretching around her brother's neck and squeezing tightly. Once the smaller ginger pulled away, Shouyou smiled genuinely at his little sister. Everyone had noticed that Natsu was the only person that could make Shouyou smile still. Everyone else had failed at that. But the smile wasn't as wide as it used to be; wasn't as bright.

A hand reached over Shouyou's head and placed two small pills on the table in front of the boy. One pill was white and the other was a dark blue--an antidepressant and a vitamin, respectively. A glass of water followed after. Shouyou glanced back at the person who had set down the pill. Oikawa. "It's time to take them." The brunette smiled carefully.

"Thank you." Shouyou whispered, taking the small pills into the palm of his hand and the water in his other hand. He tilted his head back and let his pills drop into his mouth. The pills were quickly chased with water. Shouyou hated taking the medicine.

"Hinata." A fourth person entered the dining room. Shouyou already knew who it was though. Iwaizumi's expression was stern, but his brown eyes were narrowed with worry and pity. It was an expression that Shouyou was quickly getting used to seeing in people's eyes when they looked at him. He hated it. The ace stopped beside Shouyou's seat and held his right hand out, palm up. Shouyou stared at the hand for a minute, before looking up to meet Iwaizumi's gaze. He knew what the third year was implying. "Hinata. Please." The words came out more needy than Iwaizumi probably wanted them to.

"Natsu, come here." Mrs. Oikawa called the young girl. "It's time to get ready for school."

"You mean daycare! Silly!" Natsu giggled and slipped out of her seat. She rushed to Mrs. Oikawa's side and the two left the room. Natsu didn't know about Shouyou hurting himself. She was too young to understand anyway. So whenever it was time for the daily check, Mrs. Oikawa would leave with Natsu. Shouyou was grateful for that.

Shoyou let out a tired sigh, and placed his right hand into Iwaizumi's right hand. The older teen flipped over the younger's arm to get a look at Shouyou's wrist. He was checking for any new cuts. Once Iwaizumi was sure that no new ones had appeared, he silently asked for Shouyou's other arm. "Why do I have to get checked everyday?" Shouyou pouted, but it wasn't in the whiny way that Oikawa and Iwaizumi would have usually expected Shouyou to speak in. His tone sounded more exasperated than anything. "I've been clean for just over two weeks." The boy's eyes were trained to the ground, dull and uncaring.

"We just want to make sure, Shou-chan." Oikawa tried to smile, ruffling the first year's hair. "It was..." The setter paused, trying to think of the right words to say. "It was horrifying..that day. All of us thought.."

"All of us thought that we were going to lose you, Hinata." Iwaizumi finished. "We just want to take precautions."

Shouyou looked up at the two third years. "Why bother? Why does it matter to you guys anyways?" Oikawa and Iwaizumi froze. "Before all this. Before you two got tangled up in this mess, we weren't even rivals. More or less friends. I only knew you by your association to Kageyama. You two aren't obligated to do this for me." Shouyou turned his eyes back to the ground, and pulled his arm away from Iwaizumi.

"W-we do this because of what happened." Oikawa emphasized. "Because of what happened, we became friends. And now that we're friends, Iwa-chan and I aren't going to let you suffer through this alone. We're here to support you and you have to understand that Shou-chan." The setter pleaded, as he rested both of his hands on Shouyou's shoulders. He tried to meet the younger's eyes, but Shouyou refused to make eye contact.

"Don't you two have practice, or something?" Shouyou rerouted the conversation.

Iwaizumi and Oikawa shared a short glance, before they backed away from the first year. "You need to eat something Hinata." Iwaizumi stated. It wasn't a statement. It was an order.

"Not hungry." Shouyou curtly responded. The boy got up from his seat at the dining room table. The wooden legs of the chair created a loud screech against wood floors. Shouyou moved past the two third years, crossing the hall and into the living room. Neither Iwaizumi nor Oikawa had the courage to go after Shouyou. It was clear that he didn't want to talk anymore. With a quiet sigh, the two gathered their things to head to school.

Shouyou heard the front door open. "We're leaving now, mom. Shou-chan." Oikawa declared, letting his best friend out the door first. Oikawa, then, followed. The door clicked shut and Shouyou was left in the living room in silence. Shouyou reveled in the brief moment of quiet. There were soft thumps coming from upstairs, where Natsu was undoubtedly jumping around as she got ready for daycare. She was a lot happier now that she was out of their old house, and away from that man. Shouyou saw that much. The thumping grew louder, as the noise moved down the stairs.

"Nii-chan." Natsu called, all the while bouncing into the living room. She jumped around the couch, before climbing onto her brother's lap. Shouyou tightly wrapped his arms around his little sister and pressed a firm kiss at the crown of her head. The girl giggled into his neck, before pulling away and looking up at the older teen. "Where's Tooru-nii and Haji-nii?" Natsu's brown looked around the room, then back to her brother.

"They left for school already." Shouyou responded. Natsu pouted and crossed her arms over her chest, mumbling something about the two third years not saying bye to her. "Hey, Natsu?" Shouyou caught the child's attention, tilting her head in reply. "Are you..Do you like it here? I mean being away from dad?" Natsu was silent for a minute. A frown made it's way to her lips.

The girl shook her head. "I miss dad. But I know he was mean to you, Nii-chan." Natsu's response took Shouyou by surprise. "I miss how dad was before he was mean. When he took us to dinner, and bought us things. Dad used to be nice right?"

Shouyou smiled slightly. "Yeah."

"But I like being here, with auntie, Tooru-nii, and Haji-nii." Natsu continued, intertwining her small fingers with Shouyou's. "And meeting nii-chan's friends, like Tobi-nii and Suga-nii. They're all super nice." She grinned. The smile on his sister's face made Shouyou's heart warm. He reached out and took the girl into his arms, hugging her tightly. Natsu squealed in response, small hands pressing against her older brother's face to push him away. Shouyou resisted, burying his nose into her neck and blowing a raspberry.

Mrs. Oikawa came downstairs after changing into her work clothes. She heard laughs and squeals coming from her living room. As quietly as possible, the brunette haired woman worked her way towards the entrance and peeked her head inside. Twisting and turning on her couch was Natsu, eyes clenched closed and mouth open in a wide smile. Shouyou was leaning above her, pressing his hands into the girl's stomach and grinning just as wide. The two sibling playing with one another was a beautiful sight, especially after everything that was going on. It was nice to see the two children smiling.

As much as Mrs. Oikawa didn't want to ruin the moment between the brother and sister, she coughed into her hand, effectively stopping the two gingers. They both looked up with tear filled eyes and smiles fading ever so slightly. "Sorry to interrupt." The woman giggled at Shouyou's ever reddening face. "Natsu, honey. It's time to leave. Go get your school bag and shoes." The small girl pouted, but slid off the couch and ran out of the living room anyway.

Shouyou stood up from his spot as well. His brown eyes trailed to the floor, while his fingers twisted together in a nervous habit. "Thank you..." He muttered quietly, instantly reverting to the broken child that Mrs. Oikawa met the first time. "..for doing all of this." He looked up and met eyes with the mother of his rival. "Housing us. Taking Natsu to school and picking her up. Just..everything. Nothing I do could ever repay you for what you've done for my sister and I."

"Oh, dear." Mrs. Oikawa swooned, hugging Shouyou to her. "You don't need to thank me, or repay me in anyway. All I want is to give you and Natsu the childhood you deserve." Shouyou hiccuped, beginning to mumble incoherent words that could only be interpreted as 'thank you's. "Now, are you sure you'll be okay here on your own?" The woman tilted Shouyou's head up.

"Yes ma'am." Shouyou nodded, giving his best smile.

The older woman sighed unsurely. "I can take another few days at work if you're not comfortable yet, Shou-chan."

Shouyou rapidly shook his head at that. "No no no! You don't have to worry about me. Promis!"

"Well, if you're sure." Mrs. Oikawa said hesitantly. "If you need anything, call me right away. You have my number. And if you're hungry, there is food in the fridge that you can warm up. Or if you don't want left overs, there is some simple foods you can prepare in the cabinet and fridge, like sandwiches or ramen. Help yourself, okay?" Shouyou gave a nod to reassure the older woman that he'd be fine.

"Ready!" Natsu called from the hallway, both Shouyou and Mrs. Oikawa turning at the sound of the girl's voice.

"We'll be leaving then, okay?" The brunette haired woman turned back to Shouyou. "Call if you need anything. I'll pick up right away." Another nod from the auburn haired teen. Mrs. Oikawa exited the living room and headed toward the front door, where Natsu bounced impatiently. Shouyou followed, stopping a few feet away and leaned against the wall to his left.

"Bye nii-chan!" Natsu waved enthusiastically, and rushed out the door toward the car out in the driveway. Shouyou waved back, receiving another smile from Oikawa's mother before the door shut and clicked locked.

-----

Shouyou was completely alone now that everyone had left for work and school After his sister and Mrs. Oikawa had left, Shouyou had migrated back to the living room. There was nothing to do. Well, nothing that interested Shouyou. The tv was turned off and the blinds were shut, leaving Shouyou in the darkened room. The teen sighed, patting at the pants he was wearing in order to search for his phone. Find that he had left the object in his room, Shouyou pushed himself up from the couch again to get it from his room.

In no time at all, Shouyou made it to the second floor and down the hall to one of two guest room that he and Natsu were occupying. Shouyou opened the door to the room that he was staying in and slipped inside the darkened space. With a few steps forward, the teen reached the bedside table, where is light orange phone rested. Shouyou picked it up and opened it. He tapped at the keys, opening the messaging application, finding that he has two new messages. Both of them were from the same person, Kageyama. Shouyou opened the message that was sent in first at six o'clock this morning.

To: Dumbass Shouyou

From: BaKageyama

Subject: none

Morning Dumbass.

Shouyou snorted at the context of the first message from his partner. The corner of his lips quirked up in the smallest of smiles. Next, Shouyou opened up the second message that he received at seven ten.

To: Dumbass Shouyou

From: BaKageyama

Subject: Are you even awake yet?

Just got to school. About to start practice. The team says they miss you. Reply to their texts too idiot.

The last two sentense made Shouyou frown. He's opened and read everyone of the texts that his other teammates have been sending him. He's read them dozens of times, over and over. So much that he could reiterate perfectly what each of his friends had sent. But even so, he never replied to any of them. Hell, Shouyou didn't even reply to Kageyama's texts. Shouyou felt like he couldn't. There was nothing for him to say to them, at least, over text. Everything that the ginger wanted to say had to be said in person.

Shouyou snapped his phone shut, with a sigh leaving his lips. The boy sat upon the bed that he had just gotten out of roughly twenty minutes ago. Once he sat down, Shouyou couldn't help but to fall back into the soft blankets and wrap himself in the comfort. He twisted and turned, finally finding himself comfortable on his back. He stared up at the white ceiling again, before slowly closing his eyes.

The sun child tried to clear his head, but his thought only pooled together again. With nothing else to do, Shouyou thought that he might as well try to sort himself out--his feelings, his thoughts, just everything that was going on. And a lot has been going on.

Shouyou sort of felt like he was a prisoner, trapped within this house. As if he was trapped by people that constantly watched over him. He knew though, that everyone was just trying to help him, and he truly appreciates their concern. Really, Shouyou did. But it was all so suffocating, being watched over and checked on so frequently. There was no longer that feeling of being all alone. Being alone was something that Shouyou had grown accustomed to; grown to expect it. And now there were just so many people that cared. Shouyou missed the lonely and the quiet. He was grateful that the fear had been factored out of the equation now.

Now, Shouyou didn't have to constantly fear that his pathetic excuse of a father would barge into his room in the middle of the night to beat him. Shouyou didn't have to worry about Natsu being targeted or subject to cruel abuse like he had. She was finally out of harm's way. No more did Shouyou have to keep looking over his shoulder for the man that made his life hell.

Even so, Shouyou wasn't used to being cared for anymore. It felt like it's been forever since he's felt such love and compassion. He was honestly grateful to his friends, and rivals alike. They've helped him all so much. And Shouyou didn't know how to ever repay them for taking him and his sister away from a dark household.

Slowly, the teen was startled from his thoughts by his phone vibrating on his lap. He frowned, grabbing his phone again and holding it above his face. The screen lights up, revealing another message from Kageyama, sent at seven fifty-two. Just how long was Shouyou stuck in thought? Shouyou didn't hesitate to open the message.

To: Dumbass Shouyou

From: BaKageyama

Subject: News 1/2

Ukai just finished practice with an announcement. I think you'll be excited to hear.

Not even a second after Shouyou finished reading the message, his phone vibrated again with another new message.

To: Dumbass Shouyou

From: BaKageyama

Subject: News 2/2

There's going to be a training camp in Tokyo in a week. So hurry up and come back to school dumbass.

A familiar flutter of excitement bloomed in Shouyou's chest. He wanted to go too. He wanted to play volleyball again. To feel the stinging in his palm after successfully spiking a toss from Kageyama. To hear his teammates shout words of encouragement like, 'God job Shouyou!' or 'Nice spike!' and 'Give us another Hinata!' Shouyou missed it all. Hell, he even missed Tsukishima's constant uttering of 'damn shrimp.' Shouyou missed his teammates. His friends. His family.

The excitement in Shouyou's chest quickly turned into a painful burning sensation. Shouyou took a fistful of his shirt and curled himself to a ball underneath his covers. He clenched his eyes tight and panted. He wanted to scream, but he choked on the sounds. Shouyou gasped for air. Tears began to pool at the edge of his eyes. And Shouyou couldn't breathe. The loneliness was tearing at the insides of Shouyou's chest. He missed the sense of normalcy that he no longer had. SHouyou would now always be pitied; looked down on and seen as the 'abused kid.' His friends and teachers would all treat him differently.

Kageyama treats him differently now. The setter is nicer, calmer, more patient.

Even Tsukishima for Christ's sake, getting all worked up and yelling at Shouyou in the hospital. The blonde actually expressed emotions in front of others that wasn't Yamaguchi.

Shouyou didn't want any of that. He wanted everything to be normal again, back to the way things were before all of this shit happened. He wanted Kageyama to keep calling him 'dumbass' and meaning it. For Tsukishima to ignore him. For his teachers to scold him for falling asleep in class. For his classmates to tease him about being the volleyball team's 'bag boy.' For his teammates to laugh at him when he messed up and then correct him.

To have his family again. His mother to be okay and happy. Natsu to be worry free.

His dad to have never showed up.

The screams finally broke past Shouyou's lips, coming out in a painful shriek. Through that one scream, Shouyou released all of his anguish and dread. The screech fell onto deaf ears, as the Oikawa residence was still unoccupied by everyone except Shouyou.

For the first time since everything began to change, Shouyou allowed himself to cry for himself, and only himself.

A/n: This is sort of a filler chapter for all the shit that may or may not go down in the next chapter, so that's why this is a pretty short chapter. Sorry it took so long to write this! I had so much on my plate for the past month. My friend just turned 18 on Nov 25, and I was apart of her debut (It's like a quincenera, but in my culture we do it at 18). I was apart of her court and twice a week we had practice to learn the routine for the waltz and swing dances. THEN I was also working on a solo that I'd be dancing at her party. AND THEN I had hula practice (the Hawaiian dancing) cuz we have a big performance coming up in Feb. And yeah. It's been hectic. Hell, I don't even know if any of you are reading this note lmao. Oh well.