Chapter Text
Whenever Kageyama thought about it afterwards, he really should have seen it coming.
Hinata's propensity of getting hit in the face with volleyballs during practices and matches, had always been a guaranteed event. It was almost as if the 5 feet 4 inch middle blocker had some sort of magnet on his face that drew balls automatically to it. Yet every time he got up and laughed it off, and continued playing as if he was fine. His liveliness had fooled the reticent setter into believing that he was invincible and he would never be seriously hurt.
How wrong he had been!
It had happened during an evening practice match with one of the local high-schools in the prefecture. Just a little relaxing side-game to keep everyone on their toes and sharpen their skills, Daichi had insisted. Kageyama had been fired up surprisingly by it, Hinata's own boundless energy starting to rub off on him a little as their rivalry had begun softening and they began spending more and more time casually in each others company. Nothing had been said yet to address the shrinking distance between them or that odd feeling of being not enemies and not friends but something else they couldn't quite put a name to. Both boys had shared a look at the beginning of the match that wordlessly communicated that they would be using the game to work on their setter/spiker relationship and skills of combo moves. It had been going fine, but then one of the other team's players had gotten a little too excited and hit the ball a bit too hard over the net. And as usual it had smacked right into Hinata's face.
Kageyama turned to berate the small orange haired boy for not paying better attention, expecting him to be picking himself up sheepishly and rubbing his nose with apologies to the rest of his team, maybe a little bit of a pout and complaint at Kageyama giving him such a hard time. Honestly he was good at playing the cute kid role and that was why his senpai usually forgave him for almost anything. It was because of that cuteness that Kageyama himself had started softening around the smaller first year, although he would probably never confess to that.
But when his eyes fell on Hinata, he immediately realised something was wrong. Horribly wrong. Hinata was on the linoleum floor, just stretched out, unconscious and not moving, and there was blood on his face. So much blood. Kageyama's body froze and everything else in the room suddenly seemed to fade away into nothingness. Hinata was hurt. How? How could he be hurt? He was always fine following these sorts of accidents. Always!
He snapped back into reality when Suga started directing someone to go and fetch a teacher, the silver haired boy looking at Hinata with hints of worry in his eyes as he lightly shook the boy's shoulders "Hinata... Hinata... wake up.... answer us.... Hinata...." his voice became echoey and distant and Kageyama's mind faded back out of awareness again. It didn't really focus again after that until after Takeda-sensei had arrived and an ambulance had been called. He felt Dachi's hand on his shoulder telling him the game was over and to pack up and go home, their team's leader sounding shaken and bearing the same worried-parent tones of Suga. Kageyama managed a slow nod as if he were a puppet on a string being controlled by someone else. But he couldn't find his tongue to verbally respond.
In the changing room Kageyama's movements were zombie-like, and the others were eerily quiet too. The usual banter silent, everyone shocked by what had happened. Even Nishinoya the life of the team next to Hinata was silent. Dachi seemed to notice his team's anxiety and made a move as a good leader to try and reassure them, speaking up clearly "Hinata will probably be fine guys, he's proven to be quite durable during our previous matches. He just needs a bit of rest is all. I'm sure we'll see his smiling face again in no time" he told them, and some of the others seemed to calm down at these words, nodding gratefully to their senpai for his words.
But Kageyama couldn't hear them. All he could focus on was Hinata lying so still. Covered in blood. He felt his stomach suddenly rebel and almost dropped his shirt, suddenly aware that his fingers were shaking. Why? His long slender skilled setter's fingers were flawless. Perfect instruments for crafting his masterful moves that dominated the court during their matches. They had never once trembled. But now he couldn't seem to stop them quivering. He clenched the rebellious hand to his chest as if to hide it from the others, continuing to change with difficulty between the churning in his stomach and the shaking of his limbs. As soon as he was done he just up and left without even bothering to collect his things. His head was spinning and he could feel a sort of hot pressure behind his eyes. What was happening to him? Was he getting sick or something?
It wasn't until he made it to the guys' bathroom, just in time to reach a stall and bring his lunch up violently, that he was aware that his eyes were leaking fluid. Clear and kinda salty to the taste. Tears? Why was he crying?! He hadn't cried since he was a child, and his parents' long working hours meant he was often home alone, unable to bond properly with other children due to lack of human interaction, so instead he lashed out and was hated even more for being a 'bully'. All he'd ever really wanted was someone who understood him and didn't leave him alone. And then Hinata had come into his life. The feisty fireball had shaken up his world, he had to admit. At first he'd convinced himself it was because he finally had a rival who gave a crap about the game. But gradually he had begun to realised that what he appreciated most about Hinata was that he always had his back. Their combo moves were so flawless because they were so in synch. Unlike his old Kitagawa team-mates who had given him the hated label of 'King of the Court', Hinata was prepared to perfectly attune himself to Kageyama's sets so that they could be put into play with maximum impact. And seeing the results of their efforts had thrilled him. Now he'd begun to trust in the small boy. He'd begun to take it for granted that he was always going to be there and helping him. And Kageyama realised that, the reason he was crying was because he wasn't sure anymore if that would be true. Hinata was seriously hurt. Even an idiot like him could work that out. And a little voice in his head whispered cruelly 'What if he never comes back? What if he can't play anymore? You'll be alone again. Always alone. The King of the Court on his throne. All alone". He bit his lip, blinking back the tears falling and trying to coach himself to stand up.
"Kageyama-kun, are you in here?" a voice suddenly called, and he recognised Suga-senpai's gentle and caring tones. He froze again. He couldn't let the third year see him in this state. He bit his lip and didn't answer. He heard a sigh outside his stall door "I can see your feet Kageyama-kun..." Suga responded and something was placed by the stall door "You forgot your school bag. You don't want that to get lost do you?" the gentle voice continued. There was no question about Kageyama's current condition. Suga had an almost psychic bond with his team-mates at times. He could always tell when one of them wasn't feeling right. Or if they were in pain. He'd noticed when Tsukishima had started to develop migraines from his glasses prescription changing and needing to be updated. He'd noticed when Yamaguchi was feeling nervous about the accuracy of his pinch serves. And he was always there to take care of them in his tender unjudging manner. Kageyama felt he could trust the 3rd year with a secret like this.
He stood, his legs still numb and wobbly and opened the stall door, head lowered at first, but then raising it, so it was visible that his beautiful blue eyes were red-rimmed and his cheeks streaked with tears "I....I don't.... I don't want to be.... alone again...." he found his voice speaking in shaking tones, and Suga's expression turned to sympathy, nodding "You're never alone Kageyama, you're part of our team now and even after Dachi and I graduate you know we'll always come and watch your games and support you to the very end" he reassured him gently, reaching into his pocket to offer the first year a tissue. Kageyama blinked back more tears "But... H-Hinata.... he might not come back...." he voiced his fears and the third year promptly gave him a light thump on the head, his gentle expression giving way to that other side of Sugawara, the fiery more passionate side that came out during games when the odds seemed overwhelming.
"Absolutely not. I won't allow that to happen. Hinata is part of our team like you are Kageyama. And if he's going to recover at all then you need to believe in him! Why are you losing faith in him already? Why are you even still here in this bathroom? You care about Hinata, don't deny it. It's been becoming increasingly obvious lately. So you should be with him now. At the hospital. Go and stop being an idiot already" the older boy scolded him just like a mother would. Kageyama hesitated for just a split second, looking in surprise at Sugawara and how easily he had looked into his heart and mind and drawn out the truth that even he hadn't been capable of deciphering about himself. He did care about Hinata. Hinata was the first one who looked at him like a person. Like an equal. He bowed in gratitude to his senpai, grabbing his bag and practically sprinting out of the bathroom as the silver haired volleyball player stood hand on hip shaking his head a little "Go and get him Tobio. Go and bring back our sunshine" he murmured, having faith that only the setter would be able to do that.
This burst of optimism powered Kageyama all the way to the hospital, and gave him hope enough that he even started to expect Hinata to already be awake, preparing the ways he would chew his ass out for worrying the whole team so much. It lasted until about 5 minutes after arriving, and approaching Hinata's room just in time to accidentally overhear the doctor speaking to Hinata's mother who seemed to be crying, her younger daughter Natsu clinging to her side, also in tears "I'm very sorry to tell you this ma'am, but your son has received severe head trauma, and it's not the first to have occured it seems. The damage has been built upon from multiple similar injuries such as these. There is a high chance that he may never wake up from his coma" the man was saying. And Kageyama froze again, feeling the world slipping away from him once more. Hinata.... never wake up? No.... no.... NO! It couldn't be!