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i.
Atsumu was one of the first to the gym, like normal. He liked to arrive early to get a little more warm-up and practice in, something some of his teammates didn’t get.
There was one teammate who felt the same way he did: Hinata Shouyou. When Atsumu learned he was going to join the team, his mind was filled with memories of the last time he had seen him, the thought One day I’ll set for him ringing in his head. Now that thought was a reality, six days a week.
Juvenilely, Atsumu had a moment of satisfaction, thinking of Kageyama Tobio, whose sour face made for a bit of amusement.
“Atsumu-san!” Hinata called, walking into the gym, already in practice gear. “Good morning!”
“How many times do I gotta tell ya to drop the ‘-san’, Shouyou-kun?” Atsumu whined, bouncing the ball he had against the floor, the echoing smack loud in the almost silent gym.
“Sorry,” Hinata shrugged. “Doesn’t feel very proper, but if it means that much to you, I guess I can try.” He set his bag on the bench next to Atsumu’s things, brushing his hair back with his hand, skin still holding some of the sun from his time on the beach.
“Whoa,” Atsumu examined Hinata, noting the new shoes that shined under the gym lights. “New kicks, huh?”
“Oh.” Hinata looked down like he had forgotten he was wearing the newest ActivePro Lightweight Max Performance shoes, one of the most expensive pair of volleyball shoes out there. Atsumu had considered getting them just the other week, but had eventually accepted that shoes costing nearly a thousand were out of his budget. “Yeah. They’re pretty nice,” Hinata continued, sounding so blasé about the fact that he was wearing shoes that cost more than a month’s rent on the apartment Atsumu, Bokuto, and an unwilling Sakusa shared.
Initially, Hinata was expected to move into the empty room they had but declined, claiming he had a living situation already set up. Atsumu wondered how Hinata, who had been in Brazil for the past few years, already had a place to stay, but hey, it wasn’t his business.
“Well, they should be nice, considering how expensive they are,” Atsumu muttered, mostly to himself.
“How much do they cost?” Hinata asked innocently, and Atsumu paused. Shouldn’t Hinata already know the price, considering he bought them?
Atsumu told him after a moment of hesitation, watching Hinata frown upon hearing the price.
“Really?”
“Uh, yeah? Ya bought them not knowing the price?”
Hinata ducked his head. “Well, they were a gift. I didn’t realize how nice these shoes were.”
A gift? Who the hell did Hinata know that gave gifts like that? He needed to hook Atsumu up with them asap.
“Hey, hey, hey!” Bokuto cheered, striding into the gym, cutting off all further conversation. “Usually the two of you’d be practicing right now! What’s going on?”
Hinata laughed, eagerly matching Bokuto’s energy. “Just got caught up in a conversation, that’s all! Let’s get to it!”
The three of them began stretching, Atsumu’s head whirling the whole time. Hinata didn’t seem to regard the shoes with any special care, even after knowing how much they were worth, something that seemed insane to Atsumu. If he had those shoes, he’d only pull them out for games and other special occasions, not wanting to wear the shoes out, even if that was the point of owning them. But Hinata had no such reservations, racing around like he normally did.
What was going on in Hinata’s private life?
Despite being a seemingly open person, Hinata was surprisingly good at avoiding the topic of his life away from volleyball. Rarely did he mention anything that gave the team a look into the Hinata away from the court, and whether that was purposeful or Hinata was just that obsessed with volleyball, Atsumu didn’t know.
ii.
“Guys,” Hinata announced at the end of an afternoon cool-down, setting his water bottle down. “I’m not going to be able to attend practice for about a week. I already talked to Meian and the coaches, but I wanted the rest of you to know too.”
“What?” Bokuto gasped. “But you never miss practice!”
“I know, I know, but I’m going on a trip. Ken- My friend invited me along on vacation, so we’re going to be out of the country for a few days. Don’t worry, I’ll keep up with practice, but not with you guys.” Hinata packed his bag nonchalantly, as if leaving on week-long vacations was normal for him.
“Where are ya going?” Atsumu asked, exchanging disbelieved looks with Inunaki.
“I think on a cruise? I’m not really sure. But we are stopping in Brazil so I can see my old friends.”
“You aren’t sure,” Sakusa echoed faintly, barely audible to Atsumu.
“That sounds awesome!” Tomas cheered, slapping Hinata on the back. “Have fun!”
“Thanks!” Hinata beamed, checking his phone as it chirped. “I got to go, my driver’s waiting for me.
With that, Hinata bounced out of the gym, not even showered. The silence he left in his wake was almost scary. Rarely were the MSBY Black Jackals quiet.
“I think Shouyou-kun’s got a sugar daddy,” Atsumu said blankly, accidentally speaking aloud. Everyone turned to look at him, a wide array of emotions on their face. “What?” Atsumu defended. “I’m just saying what everyone’s thinking!”
“I was not thinking that,” Sakusa denied. “I don’t know what’s going on in your head, but that’s not at all what I was thinking.”
“Oh, come on.” Atsumu laid his case. “Just think about it! He’s always got expensive things, claiming they were a gift or something, never tells us about his private life, and just said his driver was waiting for him. His driver! It all adds up to me.”
“You might be on to something,” Bokuto acknowledged, easily convinced.
“No way,” Barnes scoffed. “Maybe he’s secretly rich or something?”
“If he were rich, the media would be all over that,” Tomas pointed out slowly, making a good point.
“Guys,” Meian commanded. “What Hinata’s life is like outside of this team is none of our business. We shouldn’t pry or make assumptions. It’s rude and invasive.”
“Fine,” Atsumu agreed. “But wait and watch. Soon enough you’ll see I’m right.”
iii.
In the locker room, after yet another practice, Atsumu was minding his own business, changing out of his dirty clothes when a bit of a ruckus caught his attention.
“Whoa! Hinata is that the newest phone?” Inunaki asked, quite loudly, drawing the attention of most of the team. “I thought those weren’t out to the general public yet?”
Hinata turned his phone over in his hands, and even Atsumu, who wasn’t too familiar with the leading technology, knew the phone he had wasn’t his old one.
“How’d you get your hands on one of those?” Barnes asked, sidling up to Hinata, who shrugged.
“My friend has connections in the tech world and wanted to know what I thought of it.”
Atsumu caught Tomas’ gaze and mouthed ‘sugar daddy', deadly serious.
“So another gift?” Atsumu asked, not at all subtle, but Hinata just nodded, pulling on his pants.
“Yep!”
Atsumu raised his brow at Sakusa, who was looking a little unsure. Like Atsumu had said, they were starting to see.
“What’s it like?” Bokuto asked excitably, leaning over Hinata to see the phone.
“It’s not that different from my old phone, you can look through it if you want, see for yourself,” Hinata offered, unlocking his phone and handing it to Bokuto who eagerly began swiping.
Atsumu idly eyed Bokuto for a moment, watching as his eyes widened. Bokuto’s mouth hung open as he looked between Hinata and the phone several times before he began furiously typing. Hinata, oblivious to Bokuto, continued dressing. Atsumu noted the freckles that dotted his bare shoulders, undoubtedly from all of the sun he had received while on vacation.
Bokuto’s phone buzzed from where it sat on top of his bag, next to Atsumu.
Handing back Hinata’s phone, Bokuto grabbed his, showing Atsumu the screen. He had sent himself a screenshot of Hinata’s phone of some text notifications.
[K: You look hot. (2 minutes ago)
K: I just transferred $100 to your account. (1 minute ago)]
Atsumu read the messages, eyes widening. “Holy shit,” he whispered to Bokuto, who nodded vigorously.
“I know!” Bokuto tried (keyword: tried) whispering back. “I can’t believe it.”
“What?” Sakusa asked, moving a bit closer to them than he normally would. When Bokuto showed him the screenshot he blanched, looking a bit sick. “Hinata, of all people?”
“I know!” Bokuto cried again. “Is this the world we live in?”
iv.
“Hinata-san, what do you have to say about your recent donation?” an interviewer asked, catching the team after a game.
“Donation?” Hinata asked, confusion clear on his face.
“To the Global Children’s Sports Foundation? There was a donation for nearly fifty thousand dollars made under your name?”
“Oh,” Hinata laughed, and to the untrained eye, it would appear he had just forgotten about it (if one could forget such a donation) but Atsumu could see the surprise lingering in his eyes. “That one. I think it’s super important for kids to go out and play! I know sports aren’t for everyone, but so many kids never get the chance to even try to play, and as someone whose youth was directly and greatly impacted by sports, I thought it important the next generation gets to have that feeling too.”
“That’s so sweet,” the interviewer cooed. “I’m sure your donation was greatly appreciated.”
She switched topics, talking about the game for a bit before the interview was over and they were getting on the bus.
Atsumu, whose unofficial-official seat was across from Hinata, watched him open his phone, clicking a contact.
Whoever it was picked up right away. Atsumu had his suspicions it was this ‘K’ person.
“You actually made the donation?” Hinata asked. “I wasn’t serious!”
Whatever K responded with made Hinata’s brows furrow.
“Of course I’m not mad, you gave money to kids in need. But you could have told me! An interviewer asked me about it and I had no idea what she was talking about! You’re lucky I’m a quick thinker.”
Hinata listened for a moment and Atsumu desperately wished he could hear K’s response.
“Next time? Nuh-uh. How about we sit and talk about it instead of you just throwing your money at whatever I made an off-hand comment about, alright? You spent a ton of money just because I said kids should have resources for sports. A little overboard, don’t you think?”
K’s next words made Hinata laugh.
“Ok, ok. Are you picking me up from the MSBY facility or am I to order a taxi?”
Their conversation ended after a few more minutes. Hinata put his phone in his lap with a fond sigh, shaking his head. When he noticed Atsumu staring at him, he quirked his brow as if to say ‘what?’
Atsumu was speechless. The hell did he just listen to? “Ya know,” he said after a moment. “Yer really something else, Shouyou-kun.”
v.
It was Atsumu’s turn to hold the team dinner, and since he didn’t want to hold it at his cramped apartment (and since Bokuto hadn’t cleaned) he decided to reserve a table at a nearby restaurant. Problem was, he couldn’t get reservations at the place he wanted.
“What’s up, Atsumu-san?” Hinata asked, noting his worried face. Atsumu had given up on trying to get him to drop the honorifics.
“I can’t get a reservation at this place I want to have the team dinner at,” Atsumu grumbled, running his hand through his hair in frustration. He was still on hold with the host. “I even name-dropped!”
“What place?” Hinata asked. “I’m still not all too familiar with the restaurants here.”
“La Belle Dame. It’s a real nice French place.” The hold music was starting to become grating.
“I think I can help, actually. Let me have the phone when you get off hold.” The offer surprised Atsumu so much he gave the phone over without any complaints. Less than a minute later, Hinata was speaking smoothly into the phone, putting it on speaker.
“Sorry, Miya-sama, but there’s still no opening,” the host updated, not sounding very sorry at all.
“This isn’t Miya,” Hinata said brightly. “My name is Hinata Shouyou. I was at your venue last Friday for a meal. I was with-”
“I remember you,” the host interrupted, and Atsumu wanted to yell. Who had Hinata gone with? Would he never get the answers he so desired?
“Good! Saves us a lot of time, then. So you remember who I was with, I presume. I’m on the MSBY Black Jackals team too, and Miya-san was trying to get a table for a team dinner. Do you think you could make that happen?” Hinata asked sweetly, winking at Atsumu playfully.
Atsumu’s jaw dropped when the host almost stumbled over his words, hurrying to affirm Hinata’s request. “Of course, right away. Consider it done. How does Thursday at seven sound?”
Hinata looked up to Atsumu for confirmation. He could only nod dumbly in response.
“Sounds great! What’s your name, by the way? I’d like to let one of your managers know how kind you were.”
The host’s answer was missed by Atsumu, who was still staring at Hinata with disbelief. After a few more minutes, Hinata ended the call and handed Atsumu back his phone.
“You’ve been to La Belle Dame?” Atsumu asked, shoving his phone in his pocket.
“Yeah, and the food was really good! Great choice on dinner places!” Hinata clapped Atsumu on the back, grinning. “Man, I’m excited!”
Thursday rolled around, and Atsumu was one of the first to arrive at the restaurant, letting the valet take his car. The restaurant was pretty fancy, so he was in a suit, something he didn’t wear too often. Deciding to wait for some of the other guys, Atsumu waited outside.
It didn’t take too long for the others to arrive until Hinata was all that was left, the tardiness unlike him.
However, he did take his seat at the table, taking the dress code to a whole new level.
“Whoa, Hinata, is that Armani?” Barnes asked appreciatively, making meaningful eye contact with the rest of the team. By now, everyone had seen the screenshot Bokuto had gotten of K’s messages and were all on board with the sugar daddy theory, save Meian, who still thought it better if he stayed out of Hinata’s business. Boring.
“Is it that bad? A thing went long and I didn’t have time to change.” Hinata self-consciously adjusted his sleeve, biting his lip.
“A thing?” Sakusa pressed, pulling his mask down to take a drink of water.
“My friend had an event and wanted me there. It wasn’t supposed to take so long, sorry.” Hinata deftly flipped open the wine menu, scanning it with more recognition than someone like him should have.
“You’re here now, and that’s all that matters,” Meian said firmly, a silent shut down.
Their orders were taken, and the dinner was nice. They didn’t do team dinners before, but there had been an effort made by the higher-ups for team bonding. At least they were only monthly, unlike the Shweiden Adlers, who had to do theirs weekly.
“Whose turn is it next to host?” Atsumu asked, and Meian hummed, flipping through his calendar app.
“Hinata, I think. His first time, too.”
Atsumu felt a thrill ran through him. Finally, he’d learn a little more about Hinata! Hopefully, he wouldn’t do a restaurant like Atsumu had. Atsumu really wanted to see where he lived.
When it was time for the bill, Atsumu handed over his card, waving away the rest, who tried to offer theirs. It really wasn’t too bad on his bank account, not with the extra money coming in from the magazine spread he did recently.
“Mine’s been taken care of already,” Hinata informed Atsumu, teeth gleaming in the dim lighting the restaurant had.
“What?”
“My bill. It’s been handled,” Hinata said again. “So don’t worry about it.”
And really, what could Atsumu say to that?
+i.
The address Hinata texted them was unfamiliar to Atsumu. It was sort of on the outskirts of the city, somewhere he never really went. The drive wasn’t too long, though, and so he, Bokuto, and Sakusa piled into Atsumu’s car to head on over.
The days leading up to this had been some of the slowest days of Atsumu’s life. Hinata hadn’t mentioned anything besides it was going to be at his place, making the curiosity that much worse.
“Do you think he lives in an apartment? A suburb?” Bokuto inhaled sharply. “What if it’s a shack and he just hasn’t said anything?”
“I doubt it’s a shack.” Sakusa flatly stopped Bokuto. “And we’ll find out in like ten minutes so there’s no need to get all worked up about it.”
Ignoring Sakusa, Atsumu and Bokuto bounced ideas off of one another, only stopping when they rolled up to an ornate gate.
“Are you sure this is the right address?” Bokuto asked, double-checking the text Hinata had sent.
“Yep,” Atsumu said, craning his head to try to see the house. There was a curve in the drive that prevented that, unfortunately. Rolling down his window, Atsumu pulled up to the intercom.
“Name?”
The three of them shared hesitant looks, and Atsumu carefully listed their names.
“Permission to enter granted.”
The gates slid open almost silently, and slowly, Atsumu accelerated forward, passing through them. When they rounded the curve, none of them were prepared to see a mansion.
“What the fuck,” Sakusa whispered, and honestly, Atsumu couldn’t agree more.
Pulling into an empty space, Atsumu parked. Hinata met them at the door.
“Hey, guys! Come on in!” He waved them through the door, seemingly oblivious to their awe. The entryway was huge and open, marble floors shining brightly. Atsumu almost couldn’t believe his eyes. “You guys were the last ones here. Everyone else is already in the living room.”
Effortlessly leading them through a maze of rooms, Hinata babbled on.
“You live in a mansion?” Bokuto asked, breathlessly, and Hinata cocked his head.
“This is my friend’s summer home.”
Before their conversation could continue, they walked into the apparent living room where the rest of the team was. Atsumu thought he had already seen like five living rooms.
“Everyone made it!” Hinata beamed, gesturing to the empty couches for them to sit. “I’ll be right back with drinks.”
Once Hinata left the room, Atsumu turned to Tomas, who looked a little sick. “The hell? How much is this guy givin’ Shouyou-kun?”
Tomas just shook his head.
A moment later, Hinata returned with drinks, a short guy following him, hands full of drinks too. Well, not shorter than Hinata. But shorter than the majority of their team.
“This is Kozume Kenma,” Hinata introduced, setting the drinks down with a smile. Atsumu froze. No way. This was K? “He owns this house.”
Kozume, who was in a baggy sweatshirt and skinny jeans, waved awkwardly. “Hi.”
“Kenma?” Bokuto exclaimed. “Dude, what?”
“It’s nice to meet you,” Meian cut through the awkwardness, leaning forward to shake Kozume’s hand. “How long have you known Hinata-san, Kozume-san?”
“Please, just call me Kenma. And since my second year of high school. I’m a year older than Shouyou.”
Hinata laughed. “He was Nekoma’s setter. Pretty cool, right?”
That at least explained how Bokuto knew him.
“What do you do now?” Barnes asked politely.
“He’s a pro gamer and CEO of Bouncing Ball LTD.,” Hinata answered proudly, throwing his arm around Kozume’s shoulder. “Ever hear of Kodzuken?”
“That’s you?” Inunaki asked incredulously. “Don’t you have like, a billion Twitter followers?”
“Not that many,” Kozume shrugged, looking a little uncomfortable.
Hinata’s phone chimed. “That’ll be the pizza! I’ll be right back!” And with that, he was out of the room, leaving Kozume behind.
“Kenma, how’s it been?” Bokuto asked sincerely, sipping at his drink, which seemed to be water. Atsumu wondered if it was that rich people mineral water.
“Good. Kuro says hello, by the way. He wants to get together soon.” Kozume took a seat on one of the empty couches, slouching into himself.
“Awesome! I didn’t know you were sponsoring Hinata,” Bokuto continued, catching up. Atsumu had to assume this ‘Kuro’ was a mutual friend.
“Oh, I’m not exactly,” Kozume shifted. “Not through my company. It’d be unprofessional, considering our relationship.”
“Relationship?” Atsumu asked before he could stop himself. Cat-like eyes fixed on him.
“We’re close. Don’t really put a label on it. But too close for my board of directors.”
Atsumu nodded, a tad nervously. There was something about those eyes that was a little unnerving.
“Your company was the one who donated money to get the third gym renovated, right? Thanks for that,” Meian said, and Kozume finally looked away.
“Yes. Shouyou mentioned it wasn’t quite as modern as the others.”
“I suppose you’re also responsible for the donation to the Global Children’s Sports Foundation, right?” Sakusa asked, his first words all evening.
“Ah, that. Yes, that was me.”
“And the shoes and phone too?” Atsumu began putting the pieces together.
"What about Atsumu's team dinner? He said his friend, who I'm assuming is you, had an event." Tomas chugged the rest of his water.
"Mmm. It was a game release. I needed Shouyou there to network. I'm not the greatest at that."
Atsumu was willing to bet an arm and a leg Kozume was the one to have taken Hinata to La Belle Dame. And paid off the tab when Atsumu was going to pay for him.
“We were all convinced Hinata had a sugar daddy,” Bokuto laughed, and Kozume didn’t respond at first, lifting his mouth into a half-smirk.
“I like spending money on Shouyou,” he finally said.
“Pizza’s in the kitchen,” Hinata called through the rooms, and Kozume stood, brushing non-existent crumbs off of his pants. The kitchen was large, enough to make Osamu drool had he seen it, and the industrial-sized fridge was covered in pictures and scraps of paper.
Looking closer, Atsumu saw one of Hinata, caught mid-laugh, half hugging Kozume, who was absolutely slathered in sunscreen. He was even skinnier than Atsumu had thought. They were on the deck of a ship, so he had to assume it was from the vacation Hinata had taken earlier that year.
“Sorry for the smell,” Kozume apologized, and what smell? Atsumu thought. “Shouyou was going to make dinner but got distracted, burning it. I told him the staff could have handled it, but he insisted.”
Staff? This guy was something else.
“Hey!” Hinata protested. “You were the one who distracted me, anyway! Don’t leave that out!” Turning to the team, he rolled his eyes fondly. “Kenma challenged me to a Mario Kart Tournament.”
“Who won?” Barnes asked, and Hinata scowled.
“Well, he did, but only because he’s a dirty cheater.”
“Shouyou, hitting you with turtle shells is not cheating,” Kozume stated, pulling a stack of plates from the cabinet.
“But you hit me with the green ones every time. Every time!” Hinata poked Kozume in the shoulder. “It’s cheating, I tell you!”
The dinner turned out to be pretty informal, with them eating off their laps in the living room. It was a nice meal, with more laughter than Atsumu had expected, and finally, he felt like he was learning more about Hinata.
Well, that’s one mystery down, he thought wryly. Now I just need to figure out what the hell is going on with my socks and why they keep going missing.