A/n: I won't leave any spoilers as to what would've happened, had I finished this chapter. ;) I'll leave that for when I rewrite the new TLLoM <3
But this is the chapter that I had INSANE writers block with!! Which is why I went on a pretty (read EXTREMELY) long hiatus. I struggled a lot because I tend to write on whim, so nothing I write is actually planned. I mainly start with a small concept, and bs my way from there....
Anywho, this chapter is the main reason I decided to rewrite the whole book. I actually took the time to create a rough outline of what I'll write in the new version, so I hope you all will like it :)

The following morning, Shouyou woke up in his futon. His eyes strained to see anything properly against the morning light. He sat up, rubbing his eyes. 'How did I get back here?' Shouyou couldn't recall coming back to his team's room the previous night. The first year remembered leaving to the bathroom. He remembered the pain, anger, and sadness that resurfaced. That had led him to accidentally cut himself. It wasn't intentional. Shouyou had thought of doing it himself, but the cut that stretched across his palm and fingers was not what he'd wanted. Shouyou remembered his panic when Kenma walked in, then ran out. He remembered that Kuroo was there too. The third year had stopped his panic attack, when Asahi usually did. But after all that, Shouyou could not remember how he'd gotten back to his room.

"Shouyou! Your hand!" Nishinoya practically screeched, fluttering worriedly around the redhead. Shouyou blinked down at his hand, which was encased in a thin layer of gauze. He looked back up at the libero, quietly wondering how he was so energetic this morning. "What happened!? You didn't have that yesterday!" Nishinoya continued to fret. Sugawara had appeared at Shouyou's side in two seconds flat, taking the latter's hand.

"Calm down." Tsukishima snapped, glaring down at the fretting libero. "He's fine. It was an accident." Tsukishima eyed the second and third year that sat by Shouyou. The mentioned ginger slowly looked in between his teammates.

"Do you know what happened, Tsukishima?" Sugawara questioner, watching the tall first year as he turned away from the group.

The former glanced at Shouyou, whom was still struggling to wake up. The blonde huffed, turning his eyes to look at Sugawara. "No." He stated, turning to walk past the two upperclassman and out of the room.

"Hinata, are you okay?" Daichi kneeled in front of Shouyou. "Can I see your hand?" Shouyou blinked blearily at his captain, before frowning.

Shouyou sat up straighter, turning his eyes down to his hand. "I'm fine, Daichi-san." The first year grinned widely, eyes bright and nose crinkled. "Really. It was just an accident from last night. Kenma and Kuroo-san were there to help me." Shouyou reassure the third year, before looking to Nishinoya and Sugawara. "Don't worry." That blinding smile reappeared.

Sugawara and Daichi exchanged a worrisome glance with one another, as they watched their small middle blocker dress for practice in the corner of the room. Both were glad that the bruises littering Shouyou's body had begun to fade, leaving only dark, oddly shaped shadows along the teen's pale skin. Sugawara couldn't help the small chuckle that escaped him, as Nishinoya bounced besides Shouyou. Daichi laughed a bit too. "Iwaizumi and Oikawa are going to give us hell when they see that cut." Sugawara said absentmindedly.

Daichi nodded his head in agreement. "I know." The two third years sighed in unison. "If everyone is done changing, head down and get something to eat before practice." Daichi ordered, as he walked out and closed the door behind him and Sugawara.

Shouyou came into the cafeteria with his head down. Tsukishima didn't fail to notice and neither did two pairs of cat-like eyes. Tsukishima turned to meet steely grey orbs. The owner smirked warily back, making the blonde scowl but he didn't turn away. A silent conversation flowing through them. 'Don't force him.' Tsukishima vibrated, eyes narrowing.

'We won't.' Kuroo nodded, turning to look at Kenma. The two started up a pointless conversation, probably about Kenma and his video games. Tsukishima thought that that was fine, as long as the two cats didn't stress out Shouyou more than he already was.

To the left of Karasuno's tallest member, Yamaguchi coughed. The blonde glanced at his best friend, whose evergreen eyes motioned him to look to his right. Tsukishima saw a tuft of orange, and knew who was sitting on the other side of him. He didn't say anything, allowing Shouyou the comfort of sitting beside him.

As breakfast continued normally, Shouyou finally pushed his food away. He had only taken a few bites, before the food had begun to taste awful. "Oi, eat more dumbass." Kageyama pried. The raven, thankfully, had not mentioned anything about the mysterious cut on Shouyou's hand. He continued to act relatively normal toward Shouyou. "You can't get better at volleyball if you don't eat properly." The setter reprimanded.

"I'll get better just fine BaKageyama." Shouyou muttered quietly, staring at his hands on his lap. The raven scoffed, lightly nudging the shorter with his shoulder. "I know." Shouyou groaned. "I'll eat more during lunch, I swear." The middle blocker smiled ever so slightly. From the corner of Shouyou's eyes, he saw Kenma and Kuroo get up to leave. Shouyou did too. "I'll wait in the gym." He announced to his teammates and further excused himself from the table.

Shouyou thought that he owed it to Kuroo and Kenma. He should at least give them a brief summary on what's been happening. The young high schooler scurried down the hall. He made sure that he was a decent distance away from the cafeteria. Shouyou didn't want more people than necessary to hear his conversation with the best friend duo from Nekoma. Once Shouyou came into an empty hall, he paused and waited for Kenma and Kuroo. "Shouyou." Kenma quietly called out to the younger teen. Shouyou turned around to see that the two members from Nekoma were watching him expectedly. The first year smiled slightly.

The younger male bit at his bottom lip, hesitating to say anything. He knew he would though. But before Shouyou could say anything, Kuroo spoke. "You really don't have to feel obligated to tell us anything, Hinata." The third year eased. Shouyou appreciated that.

"It's okay." The boy shook his head. "To be honest, I'm not really comfortable with telling you guys everything." Shouyou paused, before adding. "Not that I don't trust you guys." The first year looked down at his feet, shuffling slightly back and forth. "It's just, I don't trust myself." Shouyou shook his head to get himself back on track. "But, um...long story short, my mom was in the hospital. It hit my younger sister and I really hard." Kuroo and Kenma listened carefully, not minding the sudden pauses that Shouyou had to take to gather his thoughts. "We moved in with my dad. He...he wasn't a good person." Shouyou chuckled darkly. "I'm sure you could guess that already because of the bruises and with what happened last night."

"Oh Shouyou." Kenma hummed, reaching out slowly toward the young middle blocker. The second year waited to see if Shouyou would flinch away. But the latter didn't. Kenma took his friend into a hug, and Shouyou leaned into the embrace.

"B-but it's over." Shouyou whispered into Kenma's shoulder. "He's gone and my sister and I are away from him."

"That's good Hinata." Kuroo stated, carefully tousling the ginger's messy hair. "I'm proud that you were even able to gather the courage to tell us this."

The two-toned haired male nodded in agreement. "You're so strong Shouyou."

When the three students finished their short discussion, the trio headed to the gym. Inside the coaches were already standing around, speaking to one another. Shouyou assumed that the adults were making some last minute changes to the team matchups for today's practice. Upon entering though, the coaches looked up. "Start your stretches." Nekoma's coach ordered.

Slowly over the next few minutes, more students began to filter into the gym. Tsukishima came inside nearly ten minutes after Shouyou did. The blonde was followed in by Yamaguchi and Kageyama. The three Karasuno first years walked directly toward Shouyou, who was chattering quietly with Kiyoko and Yachi. "Hey." Tsukishima called for Shouyou's attention. The latter turned away from Karasuno's two managers, making eye contact with the tallest member on their team.

Shouyou pursed his lips together. "It should be illegal for the three of you to walk together." The first year stated quietly, turning fully toward his three teammates. "It's seriously terrifying."

Kiyoko and Yachi laughed at that. Yamaguchi cracked a small smile too. Though Kageyama and Tsukishima didn't show it, the two first years were relieved at Shouyou's lame attempt at a joke. It meant that the male was okay. Well as okay as he could get. The slight jab meant that Shouyou hadn't had a breakdown and he was okay for the most part. "Sorry Hinata." Yamaguchi chuckled, offering an apologetic smile. The shorter teen waved his hand, and shrugged his shoulders.

"You guys need something?" Shouyou questioned, looking in between his classmates.

"Just making sure you're okay, dumbass Hinata." Kageyama stated bluntly. Blue eyes scanned over his best friend's face one more time. Shouyou stared right back at him, no other emotion in his eyes except curiosity. It was something that Kageyama didn't realize he missed seeing in his partner's golden brown eyes. The young setter relaxed ever so slightly.

Shouyou rolled his eyes and smiled thinly. "I'm fine, idiot." He stuck his tongue out at the setter, who growled in mock warning. "Seriously, you guys all hover too much." Shouyou laughed shortly. "If you guys keep treating me like this, I'll never get better. So stop tiptoeing around me." The first year said. He wasn't just speaking to Kageyama, Tsukishima, and Yamaguchi anymore. His voice was just loud enough for his surrounding teammates to hear. "You guys being all worried and depressed is going to make me have an episode, so cut it out." Shouyou joked.

"Shouyou!" Nishinoya was the first person to jump onto Shouyou, arms wrapping around the first year's shoulders. Sugawara and Daichi were quick to join in. Soon enough, the whole Karasuno team was forced into a group hug. Shouyou laughed happily.

A/n: For now, feel free to make any predictions on what might happen based off of this unfinished chapter. Thank you :)