To Fly Free: Resolve

Chapter 1 - Secrets

"Am I the only one wondering what's up with Hinata lately?" Noya asked. The volleyball team sat on the school's roof for their lunch break, wondering what kind of reason the little ginger could possibly have for not coming to the team's usual spot. It had been every Monday and Friday for the last few weeks.

Suga lowered his chopsticks, "No, I've noticed him acting a bit weird recently too," he creased his brow, looking thoughtful and concerned.

"Maybe he's keeping secrets from us?" Tanaka chimed in with a mischievous grin that tried to hide the hint of worry in his eyes. Kageyama scowled at the notion, upset with the idea that his good friend was hiding something from him.

Tsukishima glanced up from his lunch with suspiciously knowing eyes, "I don't think the Shrimp is capable of keeping secrets," he said, hoping the conversation will be dropped before someone comes up with a stupid idea to try and figure out what is going on with the team's tiny middle blocker.

Tsukishima and Hinata had become close friends recently, the taller having accidentally found out one the smaller's secrets. After Hinata swore Tsukishima to secrecy they started texting and even hanging out outside of school. Tsukishima made Hinata's problems his, and in return, Hintata broke down Tsuki's walls and got to know what he was like without his salty remarks to hide behind. The team was none the wiser to the fact that they had gotten close. The two friends did their best to act the same as before around the others. Tsuki knew many of Hinata's secrets by now, and was doing his best to keep all the information he had attained away from their nosey teammates.

His silent plea however, went unanswered as the mother crow began to worry even more with just the idea of not knowing everything about his baby crow. "But what if he is capable? I mean, we just assume that he isn't because of his personality. I don't think any of us have actually told him a secret before, so how would we know if he could keep one or not?" Suga had some very good points, much to Tsuki's dismay.

"That's true..." Daichi trails off, falling deep into thought. Everyone paused to think about it for a minute, looking into their memories to try and recall a time that they had possibly shared a secret with Hinata. Tsukishima just kept eating knowing full well that Hinata knew plenty about him that most others didn't. A lot of things not even Yamaguchi knew about. It wasn't like he was going to speak up about it though. With that thought in mind, Tsukishima grabbed his things, got up, and left, leaving the rest of the team in deep concentration.

"Maybe..." Daichi hesitated. "Maybe we should test it," he finished, looking a little unsure about himself.

"Test it?" asked Asahi, who until then had remained quiet. Yachi nodded her head, also curious.

"Well, maybe one of us should tell him something, something that doesn't really matter if other people knew, and ask him not to tell anyone else and just see what happens." the team captain explained. "It's a little bit deceitful, which is why I hate to suggest it. But I know we're all worried about him so it could be one of the only ways to figure out if he is keeping secrets without pushing him for answers and making him uncomfortable."

The team thought about it for a minute. Suga looked up with determination in his eyes, "Let's do it."

---

Evan Cortman, the newest Karasuno first year who just last month moved to Japan from Canada has wavy dark brown hair, bright green eyes, and freckles. He's tall, but not too tall. Just about an average height for a teenage boy. He spends every Monday and Friday lunch hour with his good friend Hinata Shoyo. They have kept their friendship a secret, with the exception of Tsukishima, because it runs much deeper than the connection you have with an ordinary friend, classmate, or team member. They have shared trauma.