to avenge the sun (haikyuu)

to see your strength

Atsumu thought Hinata liked meat buns, having bought multiple after practice.

It was the end of their third practice with the whole national team. Atsumu had kept a keen eye on the man that was so repulsive, he was really close to socking him right up the nose. He and Kageyama were subtly by Hinata's side as much as they could be, which made sense as they were his setters. Or, he thought it was subtle until Hinata privately snapped at them by the end of their first practice.

"Quit it," Hinata intensely looked at both of them, making them feel like deers caught in headlights, "I'm not going to suddenly combust. I'm good. I'm fine. Thank you for looking out for me. But you're both starting to make others suspicious."

"We were jus-" Atsumu started.

"Nobody kno-" Kageyama protested.

"Which setter just sticks to their hitter throughout the whole game?" Hinata tried to put some sense in them, "and Atsumu, you're not on the starting line, so what are you doing on the sidelines by the referee? I swear I thought you'd climb up his stand and throw him down just by how intense you were being. The coach almost kicked you out."

"Nah, I was jus' lookin' out for the whole team, I promise I wasn't doing anythin'," Atsumu tried to convince him. A very poor attempt at that.

"And Kageyama, I almost tripped over you just because of how stuck you were to me," Hinata glared at him, "do you want to get one of your starters injured by second practice?"

"Uh, no, I was just..." Kageyama mumbled, trailing off. A slight blush was forming on his cheeks.

Hinata huffed out a heavy sigh and gave them a soft smile, "thanks guys, for being there for me and making sure I'm safe. But I think I'll be okay, just knowing you guys are around is enough for me."

The two of them stood there, with their mouths slightly open, unsure what to say. Hinata's smile turned even brighter.

"Come on," he nudged both of them towards the exit, "let's eat dinner. Bokuto-san must be grumpy by now."

As they trudged on to dinner, Atsumu couldn't stop staring at Hinata. The way his smile never stopped short of being genuine. The way he placed his warm hands on Bokuto-san's arms to assure him that they were arriving at the restaurant soon. The way he carried himself in a way that exuded kindness, confidence, strength. He couldn't help and admire his friend that somehow kept it together, even as he was dealt with a blow that would have knocked Atsumu off his feet.

When he had found out about Fujiwara's sins, Kageyama had left him out by the cold to process the news. When he finally comprehended the situation, Atsumu had tried to barge into Hinata's room to comfort him. But he stopped short outside his door when he heard the soft whispers from Kageyama and felt a little out of place. Kageyama was by him many years ago, it's only fair that Kageyama had the right to be by his side now.

Atsumu felt completely useless.

That same night after dinner with just the four of them (Atsumu had graciously cooked for them, after hounding his brother for an easy recipe), Atsumu pulled Hinata aside. He wanted to say the many things that ran in his head: how he was sorry that he never realized, how he should have looked out for signs, how he wanted to kill Fujiwara in his sleep. But somehow no words came out. He just dumbly looked at Hinata's expectant face, which was still slightly flushed and red from crying, and was at a loss on what to say.

How do you comfort someone who had unforgivingly been the devil's plaything?

Instead, it was Hinata who just pulled him into a hug and whispered, "I know, Kageyama told me... thank you."