Red Winter - /Haikyuu/

19. One After Another

(Thank you guys for 1k reads!!! It means a lot to me! Red Winter is currently at 35,000 words, or around 100 pages. That's the most I've ever written for a single story! So thanks for getting me to a thousand reads!)

Nobody said a word as they walked along the road. Everybody was on edge, both at the looming threat of reds and the way Hinata was acting.

It was almost as if he hadn't just brutally killed tons of reds without a second thought.

Kageyama was completely confused. Back when they had just escaped from Sergeant, and Hinata had a close scare with a red in the bathroom, the boy was completely ashamed of killing it. So what had changed? Why would he just kill so many of them without even so much as a hint of remorse?

Frankly, it was frightening to see such a major and sudden change in the short boy.

"I'm going to have to get new clothes." Hinata muttered to himself, peeling his blood soaked shirt off his skin.

"How about we hit that store over there and loot it? It looks like it hasn't been looted yet." Tanaka pointed towards a relatively clean gas station. Tsukishima nodded, and led them to it before entering with a weapon drawn. Hinata didn't miss the bandage on Tsukishima's arm, and he remembered that Tsukishima had hurt himself before they joined them at the school.

He quickly lowered the weapon once he realized they were alone in the gas station.

"Take as much food as you can fit in your bags." Tsukishima said, his face unreadable as he began to shovel bags of chips and other food into his bag. Hinata's shoulders lowered slightly as he hunched forward, making his way around the store.

He stared up at the drinks in front of him, eyes wondering over bottles of soda, iced coffee, and... Alcohol. He gulped, looking away. They had no use for that.

But would it really matter if he drank it? He was probably going to die soon, so what did just a little bit of alcohol matter?

"Hinata?" Kageyama's voice made him snap his gaze of the drinks in front of him.

"I wasn't- I mean, yeah?" Hinata cringed internally, shoving his hands in his pocket. Kageyama narrowed his eyes.

"You're not fooling anyone, dumbass. What the hell is up with you?" Kageyama growled as he put a chocolate bar into the bag.

"Nothing's up." Hinata retorted defensively, wishing the stupid boy would just leave him alone.

"So you're gonna pretend you didn't kill a bunch of those things even though you whined about killing a single one before? What changed?" Kageyama sounded utterly puzzled. Hinata sucked in a deep breath shaking his head slightly as he glared at Kageyama.

"Can't you just leave me alone? I don't see why you have to pester me. Just go away." Hinata mumbled angrily, and Kageyama rolled his eyes in annoyance before leaving him in silence.

Finally.

Hinata glanced around at the others, but they were all preoccupied. He opened the drink fridge, his fingers wrapping around a can of alcohol. Just a sip. Just one.

Maybe if he got drunk enough... He wouldn't have to think about her anymore. About Natsu. His eyes stung as he snatched it off the shelf, opening it with a loud popping sound. He winced, sighing as he realized sneaking around about it was futile as everyone stared at him in shock.

"What are you doing?" Tanaka furrowed his brows. Hinata swallowed a wad of spit, and just ignored his question.

"Is that... Alcohol?" Tsukishima's eyes widened, his expression changing ever so slightly as he read the label on the can. Hinata narrowed his eyes at the sweat gleaming on the blond boy, and the paleness of his skin. Something was off about him.