Hinata blinked as they left the changing rooms, making sure to close up behind them, neither willing to risk being benched for something like that. It was later than he'd thought, and it was already pitch-black outside, although thankfully it was clear out, the stars bright above them. It was chilly, especially after the exertion of running around the gym and he shivered a little, shrinking back into his jacket. At least he would warm up by cycling he thought, although he wrinkled his nose at the thought of cycling back in the dark. It wouldn't be the first time he'd done it, and the road was quiet enough, there was just something a little bit eerie about cycling there in the dark, perhaps because the world seemed to end at the railings that framed the curving road, everything blending to shadows just a short distance beyond them.

Shaking his head, he glanced at Kageyama out of the corner of his eye. If he was honest, he had been a little bit surprised when the taller teen had agreed to practice with him, having expected the setter to be one of those who was a stickler for resting before a match. Then again Kageyama had been right there, the two of them facing Oikawa together, so maybe it made sense that he had been just as exhilarated and wound up as Hinata. That and he was as volleyball mad as Hinata, although he tended to be more intense than expressive about it. Still, he was glad, a smile on his lips as he glanced away as dark eyes slid towards him. It had settled the nerves he hadn't been willing to show earlier and reminded him that together they were strong.

With Kageyama, he could fly, possibly even higher than a great eagle…

"I wonder how the Little Giant felt the day before the finals…" Hinata asked, suddenly needing to break the silence as they stepped up to the edge and looked out across the town. It was quiet, the only sound Kageyama's steady breathing, and that seemed to make the moment more intense somehow, and he shivered again as he admitted softly. "I'm super nervous, but…" I have you, and the team and I can fight on my own too now, he thought, but he wasn't going to say that as there was no need to bring up that old fear, or the fight that had stemmed from it. That was in the past, and now the future was stretching out in front of them, vast and terrifying and… "Isn't it even more exciting now?" He asked, eyes bright as he turned to look at Kageyama.

The smile that met his words made Kageyama look younger and less terrifying than usual, and Hinata couldn't help but grin, especially as the setter held out his fist to him.

"We're going to win tomorrow." There was no doubt in Kageyama's expression or voice, and Hinata knew that he was right, practically vibrating with the certainty of it as he reached out and bumped his fist against Kageyama's.

"Yeah."

Tomorrow, we're going to fly even higher.

They'd walked part of the way together, not speaking until it was time to say goodbye, but the quiet had been comfortable. There had been no need for more words, they both knew what was coming, and that they were going to win. As long as I'm here, you're invincible, what had been a wild, spur of the moment agreement had become something more.

"I'll see you in the morning," Hinata chirped as he clambered onto his bike, already turning it away when Kageyama replied.

"Take care, dumbass."

Hinata stuck his tongue out at the setter, before taking off, lifting an arm in the air and waving until he swerved slightly and he had to grab the handlebar, pretending not to hear Kageyama's shouting at him to be more careful.

Cycling was similar to flying, and despite his brief trepidation about cycling in the dark, he lost himself in the rhythm of it. It was still chilly, especially as he picked up speed, the breeze cutting into his cheeks and bare legs, but it was exhilarating more than anything else. The burn in his legs as he reached the base of the hill, and started the familiar climb was like the burn after a long match – worse today after the intensity of their games – but welcome. That burn meant that he was moving forward, that he was growing stronger.

That he could fly.

He tilted his head up to the sky. Out here on the hill away from all the lights of the town, the stars were even brighter, stretching out never-ending above him. How often had he stood at his bedroom window staring up at those same stars over the years, wishing, praying that one day he would get to play Volleyball properly? That he would find a team? That he would get to fly, and see that vision from the top even though he was short, and had minimal experience? There had been other nights. Longer, darker nights when he had cursed those same stars, feeling lonely and small, and as though his dreams were further away than ever. The worst had been the night after he'd lost to Kageyama in middle school when it seemed as though he would never get to reach his dream.

Tonight, it seemed to him as though the stars shone brighter, as though they were celebrating his victory along with him, and he laughed, elated by the fact that he could stand tall over them and know that his dream was within reach.

"SEE!" He shouted up at them, letting himself be as loud as possible. He was still vibrating with the same energy that had gripped him during his conversation with Kageyama, and he knew that his parents wouldn't appreciate having to deal with it. Although he doubted that even that would be able to keep him quiet when he got home because while he'd texted them about their victory, he wanted to tell them. To scream and shout it to the world. Still, he knew that Natsu would either be in bed or nearly there, and he knew better to completely forget that, and so he tilted his head back further and shouted at the top of his lungs. "I'M GETTING THERE!" Out here, he could be as loud as he liked, there was no one to hear him but the creatures in the trees.

"WE'RE GOING TO WIN!"

"WE'RE GOING TO GO TO NATIONALS!"

"I'M GOING TO FLY HIGHER THAN THE LIT - ."

He didn't know what it was, whether his wheel had caught a rock or a gap in the road, or if something had darted from the bushes. All he knew that he was swerving to the side, the railing looming ahead of him, and the darkness beyond it reaching for him.

It felt like that moment he had in the air when time seemed to stretch on forever even though it was over in a matter of seconds, and he could see everything. This time there was no block to get past, no point to chase. There was just the realisation that he couldn't stop this, even as he slammed on the brakes in a last desperate attempt to stop the inevitable, but it was just as hopeless as the first time he had faced off against the Great King. The impact when it came was as shocking as it had been expected, jerking him forward and then he was in the air.

Hinata loved being able to fly.

That moment when the ground faded away beneath him, and his height and strength no longer mattered, because he could fly higher than anyone else.

This wasn't flying.

The air wasn't his friend, and there was no one there to raise him up. He was alone, caught for a terrifying moment in mid-air, and a void far deeper and more dangerous than the one the wall of the net had offered him when he had been alone.

And then he was falling, or maybe he had been falling all along, and his mind was only just catching up to the fact.

There was a roaring in his ears, and he wasn't sure if it was him screaming, the wind his ears, or the sound of that dark void rushing up to meet him. Not that it mattered. It didn't change the fact that he was falling, open space opening up beneath him, and shapes looming up out of the darkness. The first impact was a shock, and he felt skin break as he ripped through branches. It hurt, but the pain cut through the white noise as the reality of what was happening settled in, shock giving way to panicked terror and he flung his arms out. Blindly searching for something, anything that would at least slow if not stop his fall.

Please.

His fingers caught leaves, and twigs, but nothing that could give him purchase.

The second impact spun him around, driving a strangled cry out as he felt something in his left arm break and shift. After that, he lost all sense of direction, head reeling from the sensation of falling and the sickening burn spreading up his arm. I won't be able to spike, it was ridiculous how that thought managed to cut through everything else, a moment of calm in the chaos.

The third impact drove the air out of his lungs, and something else broke…

The fourth, sent him earthwards, but there was no relief in being grounded, as mud and scree gave way beneath him and he continued to move, rolling downhill in a tangle of flailing limbs, broken branches and shifting rock.

His entire body was ablaze now, each hurt blending into one until he didn't know where it started or ended. He could taste blood, or at least that was what he thought it was as his cheek rattled off a sharp rock, a pain echoed by a dozen others across his body, bright fireworks of hurt against the general agony.

The fifth impact was the last, as a dark shape loomed out of the darkness. He saw it coming, as sharp and inevitable as he had seen where to hit hat last spike today…or had that been yesterday… he had no idea any more, he just knew that he could stop the inevitable, not this time. All he could do was close his eyes and fling up his one good arm in a last attempt to protect himself as he slammed into the tree at full speed.

He had no idea if the collision had done more damage, everything spiralling into one as he struck it and then rebounded, his head rattling off the ground with a deafening crack. He knew it must've hurt, but he was beyond processing it as his body finally rolled to a halt, the world continuing to fall away from him, and as the darkness rushed in to embrace him, tears pricked the corners of his eyes.

I just wanted to fly…

Above him the stars shone on in the never-ending sky, silence taking the woods once more, broken only by his ragged breathing. Minutes later, or maybe a lifetime, nestled in the roots of a nearby tree where it had landed, Hinata's phone lit up with a soft chime that went unheard by its unconscious owner as a new message flashed up on the now cracked screen.

Good luck for the finals Shoyou – Kenma.