The night was peaceful, with stars glittering in the sky and the sound of chirping crickets traveling through the gentle breeze.

The gentle silence was suddenly broken as the gym doors of Karasuno High School were slammed open. Practically galloping out of the building were two teenagers, Hinata Shoyo and Kageyama Toboi.

They sped off of their school's campus side by side, their faces red and sweaty with the effort as they both tried to outrun the other. Time to time their eyes would glance at the other, narrowing with challenge before they returned their focus to the street.

Near the halfway point of their race, Hinata began to lag behind. As soon as he did, Kageyama started to run even faster. The orange haired teen's eyes widened in surprise as the distance between them grew.

Stupid Kageyama! He was holding back until I wore myself out! Hinata realized. He took several huge breaths, the blood pounding in his veins with the effort. You're not gonna win this time!

Determination fueled Hinata and sent a new burst of energy through his body. Lean legs pounding against the dirt path as he caught up and passed Kageyama with a victorious grin on his sweaty face.

The black hair teen's eyes widened, not expecting his shorter companion to overtake him. He narrowed his eyes and sped up, but found that he was unable to pass Hinata again, he was running out of energy.

Kageyama wasn't exactly sure what caused the sudden anger inside of him. Maybe it was because he and Hinata had argued more than usual during practice, maybe it was because he failed that test he had actually tried to study for, or maybe it was because he didn't sleep well.

Whatever caused it, that anger fueled his next actions. He ran as fast as he could and reached out, grabbing the back of Hinata's shirt and threw him backwards with all the strength he could muster. Then, without looking back he sped off to win the race.

Hinata was not prepared for such a move, so he fell and tumbled ungracefully on the dirt path. When he finally landed on his back, it took him a few seconds to realize what had just happened. He quickly leapt to his feet, just in time to see Kageyama's retreating form.

Raising his hands, Hinata cupped them around his mouth. "Dirty cheater!" He yelled after his friend and rival. Kageyama didn't turn back, so Hinata loudly added,"Bakageyama!"

Still, Kageyama did not turn back and eventually he was out of sight. Hinata grumbled angrily under his breath and kicked at the dirt, sending up small clouds of dust. Part of him wanted to chase after the taller teen and yell at him for what he did, but his own anger stopped him from doing so.

He decided to just go home, he could yell at Kageyama on Monday before class started… or maybe he could wait until practice, and then the young man would have nowhere to run and avoid the very true accusations!

With a satisfied smirk, Hinata caught his breath and started walking down the dirt path again, his mouth watering as he imagined the delicious food that his mother made for dinner. It almost made him want to start running again so he could work up even more of an appetite and get there sooner.

But he never had a chance to even pick up his pace. From around the corner of the trees, a large black van suddenly screeched to a halt just feet from where he was walking. Hinata cried out in surprise and stumbled backwards. "H-hey!"

The door to the van was slammed open, and several men in suits hopped out of the vehicle. Two of the much larger men advanced towards Hinata quickly, which caused a spike of adrenaline to hit the teen.

He turned and tried to run, but a pair of strong arms grabbed his own and yanked them behind his back. Hinata cried out in pain, thrashing in the tight hold. "Let me go! Let me go, you bastard!" He yelled.

The man didn't even seem to notice Hinata's struggling as he dragged him back towards the van. Hinata desperately tried to kick at the man's legs, or dig his heels in the ground but none of that stopped the man from getting closer to the car.

Panic overtook Hinata, as he quickly threw his head back. "HELP! SOMEBODY HELP Mff-" His cries were cut off as the second man slammed a large hand over Hinata's mouth and used his other to grab his shoulder.

Hinata yelled into the hand and lifted his legs, kicking furiously at the second man's stomach. The man barely reacted, except to look behind Hinata and declared,"He's going to fight the whole way, just give it to him now."

What?! Give me what?! The teen thought and, sadly, didn't have to wait long for an answer. He felt a small sting on the side of his neck, and the feeling of something cold in the same area.

Seconds later, his vision began to swim and his body stopped listening to him. He slumped in the grip of his attackers, too weak to fight back as the darkness took over his vision and he fell into unconsciousness.

At the Hinata household, the table had been set for three. The mother, Kiyomi, and the daughter, Natsu, were already seated and eating. The third seat, reserved for her son, Shoyo, was empty and the food was untouched.

Kiyomi tried to be patient, it wouldn't be the first time her son had come home late. Sometimes practice ran late, or he went to stay with a friend and forgot to tell her. She was used to events like that.

But for some reason, there was a gnawing feeling in her gut. She felt like something was wrong, even though she had no real reason to feel that way.

She shook her leg impatiently as they ate, barely listening to her daughter's chatter as she looked at the window, the clock, her food, and then repeated the process over and over again.

Her worry continued the rest of the meal, but she didn't want to scare Natsu. She waited until dinner was finished and dishes were in the sink to usher the little girl off to bed.

She found her phone on the counter and quickly tried to call her son. It rang, and rang, and rang but she never got an answer. She frowned, and tried several more times only to be disappointed by the same result.

Kiyomi let out a worried noise, quickly scrolling through her contacts until she found the name of her son's coach: Ukai Keishin. She thanked her past self for making Hinata share it with her for emergencies.

It rang on twice before it clicked, and a voice asked,"Hello?"

"Hello Ukai-san, it's Hinata Kiyomi," The woman quickly replied,"I'm sorry to bother you so late but Shoyo hasn't come home yet. I was wondering if you might know where he is? He hasn't answered my calls and I'm starting to get worried…"

She heard the shuffle of movement on the other side. "Oh, Hinata-san! Don't worry, I don't mind the call. I don't know where Hinata is at the moment, but I know he and Kageyama left together and that he left his bag here again."

Kiyomi hummed thoughtfully, and then gave an amused chuckle. "Oh! He must be spending the night with Kageyama again! He always forgets to let me know! Thank you, Ukai-san! Have a good night!"

"You too, Hinata-san," The younger man politely said before hanging up.

She put her phone away and headed to the kitchen, feeling lighter now that she knew her son was with Kageyama. Despite their constant arguments, she knew how close the two boys were to each other.

When Shoyo did get home, she would make sure to give him a good, long lecture about not worrying his mother and keeping his phone on him at all times. She would also make him get Kageyama's home phone number too, for the next time he inevitably forgot to remind her he was spending the night with the other teen.

Kiyomi chuckled to herself at the thought, but found herself trailing off as she scrubbed one of the bowls vigorously. She spoke to Ukai, she knew her son had left with his friend. Shoyo had spent the night there before, and had forgotten to tell her before. It wasn't bizarre that it would happen again, and yet…

Something felt very wrong...