Chapter Text
“One more!” Hinata called out as he made his way toward the back end of the court, preparing for another spike.
“Right!” Both Yachi and Kageyama called back in unison before Yachi reached for another ball and gently tossed it to the dark haired setter. With quick movements from Hinata running into a spike and Kageyama jumping with his toss, the duo completed a successful attack. The ball slammed into the wooden floor along with the dozens of others scattered across the floor.
A clap rang out in the gym “Alright,” coach Ukai spoke from the sidelines, standing with the third years, “Enough extra practice. Time to clean up and head home.”
Hinata made a small pout with his mouth, “But I feel like I haven’t hit the ball enough today.”
Ukai crossed his arms, “In order to play volleyball at your best, you need to get some rest.”
Tanaka came from the cleaning closet in the gym, “Oh! He rhymed! You made it sound cool, coach!” Hinata gasped as his eyes gleamed, “Oh, you’re right! It did rhyme!”
Ukai let out a sigh, rubbing the bridge of his nose with his fingers, earning a laugh from the third years still standing near him, “The point is that you guys need to clean up and go home. Eat dinner. Rest, and we’ll continue with practice tomorrow.”
“Ok,” Hinata replied, then turned to Kageyama, “I bet I can pick up more balls than you can” He challenged, taking a running start to the other side of the gym.
Kageyama ran after the shorter boy, “No you can’t you idiot!”
It turns out Kageyama was the faster one to gather up the balls around the court, giving him another point in their competition (“33 to 30” Kageyama declared, to which Hinata rebutted “It’s 32 to 30! Don’t start cheating!”). Soon the gym was cleaned and cleared out with the team slowly trickling out of the locker room, saying their goodbyes along the way. Hinata walked with his bike on one side and Kageyama on the other toward the front entrance of the school.
“Y-you did good today,” Kageyama said to the short spiker, making Hinata look in his direction.
“Yeah it’s still weird hearing you give out compliments,” Hinata remarked, resulting in Kageyama glaring at him, “I do love compliments, don’t get me wrong, but when they come from you it makes me think there’s something wrong with you. Are you feeling ok?” Hinata joked before dodging an arm swinging in his direction.
“Shut up!” Kageyama growled out while swinging his arm to catch Hinata, “You complain that I don’t give you compliments, then when I do you tell me it’s weird!” The taller boy managed to grasp Hinata's hair and gave it a tug, earning a small gasp from Hinata along with a small noise, making Kageyama retract his hand quickly.
Noticing that the painful tug didn’t last long (usually Hinata had to beg for mercy in order for Kageyama to stop), Hinata glanced at Kageyama, noticing that he seemed a little unsettled. “That’s another thing too,” Hinata started while rubbing the patch of hair Kageyama gripped, “You’re not as touchy as you used to be.”
“Huh?!” Kageyama looked at Hinata with a confused expression.
Hinata returned the hand nursing his hair (even though it wasn’t bad) to the handlebar of his bike, “Well, it’s just that you are always attacking me - don’t give me that look you heard me right - but your physical with those attacks, whether it’s pushing me or grabbing my hair, and recently you’ve been distant. You just grumble and glare now.”
“I can’t believe you are upset that I am not ‘attacking’ you anymore. Isn’t that something to be relieved by?”
“You can, you know?”
Kageyama squinted his eyes, “Can what?”
Hinata bit his bottom lip, “Continue touching me. I don’t mind it.”
Kageyama gave him a baffled look.
“Wait - ok I do mind it if it hurts!” Hinata added on, “But still, it’s something I got used to and now you don’t do it anymore. I wouldn’t mind if the attacks were a little more gentle, though. So, yeah. You can come at me, I won’t break.” Hinata finished with a nod of his head, making Kageyama sigh.
“Whatever, I’m heading home now,” Kageyama said as he began walking away.
“Ok, toss to me a lot tomorrow Kageyama!” Hinata called out before getting on his bike, peddling in the opposite direction.
The next day went on like any normal day would, classes throughout the day, and then practice after school.
“Alright,” Coach Ukai called out to the team as they all huddled around, “We’re going to start with a practice match to see where we are still struggling. We have a little more than a month to prepare for the first rounds of spring nationals qualifying matches. Treat this as a real game, got it?” When the team replied back with a loud “Yes,” the coach gave a nod, “Let’s split up and get started.”
The practice match started, with Hinata, Kageyama, Tanaka, Ennoshita, Daichi, and Yamaguchi on one team (no jerseys), and Suga, Asahi, Nishinoya, Narita, Kinoshita, and Tsukishima on the other team (jerseys). The first couple of points went to team jersey as Hinata couldn't get past the tall block of Tsukishima and Asahi (which wouldn’t bother Hinata as much if it weren’t for the smug look on Tsukishima’s face after every shut out).
“Hey” Hinata was pulled out of his glaring contest with Tsukishima only to find Kageyama glaring at him also, earning an “Eek!” from the shorter player, “this isn’t the first time you faced a wall when spiking. Remember what you have to do?”
“Well duh,” Hinata replied, “How could I forget? I’m just getting warmed up is all!” He reassured his setter.
“Now’s not the time to warm up, we’re in a game you dumbass!” Kageyama retorted, “Start getting some points or I’m not tossing to you.”
Hinata’s face turned mortified at the threat (Kageyama doesn’t joke around when he says he won’t toss to you) making him squeal out a “yes!” before slapping his hands on his face, trying to give himself a wake up call. “If all you needed was a smack to your face, I would’ve been more than happy to help” Kageyama said as he approached Hinata, warming his arm up to deliver a good slap to the shorter boy. A gruff cough turned the duo's attention to Daichi standing on the other side of Hinata, who was giving a silent but deadly look to them, “Save the bickering for off the court, alright?” Daichi ordered, making them both agree in fear before turning back to the game.
****
The game progressed with the no jersey team sitting at twenty points while the jersey team stayed close at eighteen points. Asahi delivered a strong jump serve, to which Yamaguchi caught but the receive was off and the ball was going way off left of the court. Determined to keep the ball in play Hinata ran toward the ball and spun around to do an overhand pass to Kageyama. Kageyama watched as Hinata received the ball but noticed that his footing was off. ‘ He’s going to fall’ Kageyama thought, and called out “Hinata!” to try and warn him but it was too late. With his feet throwing off his balance, his arms occupied in passing the ball, and with how fast he ran into the receive, Hinata had no time to react as his body slammed into the floor. His head bounced off of the hard surface from the force, loud enough to create a crunching ‘thump’ sound from the contact. Hinata went motionless on the floor and the gym went quiet, everyone stunned in silence.
Kageyama was the first to move, running over to Hinata, causing the rest of the team to follow. Coach Ukai directed his attention to Takeda, “Call an ambulance!” He yelled before joining the others surrounding Hinata.
“Hinata?” Kageyama asked with a shaky voice, hoping to get some sort of reply from his teammate. No reply came. Kageyama noticed that Hinata’s eyes were open but they were unfocused with his pupils dilated. His breathing was very slow and shallow. Kageyama’s eyes roamed Hinata’s face, then his head, causing Kageyama to gasp.
“Blood” Kageyama said out loud, seeing a small pool begin to form on the gym floor, staining Hinata’s hair red.
“Shit, towel!” Ukai demanded, seeing Suga already running toward their pile of towels on the other side of the court. Suga came back with a towel in hand and joined Kageyama in kneeling over Hinata. “Be careful not to move him too much,” Ukai cautioned Suga, who slowly and gently placed the towel onto the wound. Suga turned to Ukai, “Should I put pressure on the wound?” Unsure of what to do, Ukai looked to Takeda who was still talking with the operator, passing the question on. After a few seconds of listening to the operator's answer, Takeda shook his head, “We don’t know the extent of the head injury, applying pressure could make it worse if the skull is fractured at all.”
****
Other than Takeda’s conversation with the operator, the gym was eerily silent. Kageyama didn’t know what else to do other than kneel and watch as Hinata laid almost lifeless on the wooden floor. Reaching out, Kageyama took one of Hinata’s hands in his. ‘Cold’ Kageyama told himself as he grasped the hand, trying to tell Hinata that he wasn’t alone. ‘His hands are a lot smaller than mine’ Kageyama gave a small squeeze to Hinata’s hand, hoping for some reaction but none came.
It felt like hours before sirens could be heard outside near the gym. Daichi ran to the entrance to direct the responders to where Hinata was. The team backed away from where Hinata was, except Kageyama and Suga. One responder came to kneel on the opposite side of Hinata, “I’m sorry but I’ll need you to move.” the woman spoke to the two still next to Hinata. Kageyama couldn’t move. He had to be next to Hinata. This was his teammate, his spiker, the other half of the ‘freak duo’. This was the same person who was there for him when no one else was - who assured Kageyama that he would always be there.
A hand joined his grasp on Hinata, pulling Kageyama away from his thoughts, “Kageyama, we won’t be too far away. We have to let them help Hinata.” Suga spoke in a soft voice. The dark haired boy gave a small nod, removing his hand from Hinata’s, standing up, and slowly backing away to join the others nearby. Kageyama watched as the responders assessed Hinata, working quickly yet gently to tend to his wound and prep Hinata for transfer onto the stretcher. With Hinata secured on the stretcher, the first responders and Ukai began leaving the gym (it was decided that Ukai should go with while Takeda stayed behind to let the principal know of the situation). Watching them leave, Kageyama voiced two words in his head hoping they would somehow reach Hinata (but ultimately knew they wouldn’t).
‘ I’m here’.
~~~~
Once the ambulance left, Takeda had to leave to make phone calls and tell the principal what had happened, leaving the team in Daichi’s care. Daichi made the decision to call off practice for the next couple of days, telling the team to get some rest after what they had witnessed. With that, the team made their way to the club room to pack up and leave. As Kageyama grabbed his school bag he saw Hinata’s school bag on the floor, along with his school uniform scattered around the bag (when Kageyama made a previous comment about not folding his uniform properly, Hinata replied with “I just want to get to practice faster - folding takes away time for volleyball!”).
“His parents will probably stop by sometime today or tomorrow to pick up his stuff.” Suga commented as he stood next to Kageyama, noticing the setter staring at the belongings. “Kageyama?” Suga asked, turning his body to face him, “Are you going to be alright? This was hard for everyone to witness, but it seems to be the hardest for you.”
Kageyama breathed out, keeping his eyes on Hinata’s bag, “There was nothing I could do to help him.”
“There was nothing any of us could do at that moment. After calling for help the best thing to do was to do nothing. Once his wound is treated and he is healing, that is when we can help him.” Suga gave Kageyama’s shoulder a small squeeze, “I’ll be texting you over the next few days to check in. Don’t hesitate to tell me how you’re doing. Let’s head out,” Suga got a curt nod from Kageyama before following the first year out of the room, locking the door.
Later on that night, Kageyama got a text in the group chat from Ukai reaffirming Daichi’s decision of taking the next 2 days off from practice. By then the extent of Hinata’s injuries should be known and they could discuss the outcome as a team.
Sighing, Kageyama placed his cell phone next to his pillow on his bed, thinking about how the next couple of days were going to go. Hopefully they’d go by quickly, and the mental images of today's events would disappear.
~~~~
Coach Ukai stood in front of the team sitting at his feet, along with Takeda, Daichi, and Suga after their first practice since the incident. “So yesterday we received news on Hinata’s condition. He suffered from an open fracture on the back of his head from the fall. Luckily it wasn’t a big fracture but he had to get staples in order to close the gash. From the impact, he got a concussion and has only mild symptoms.”
Tanaka spoke up, “Well, that’s good right? Only mild symptoms?”
Ukai paused, glancing at Daichi and Suga before continuing, “Well, mostly mild. Once Teach and I heard about his condition, we, along with Daichi and Suga, decided to go visit Hinata to see how he was doing. When we got there, he didn’t recognize us. Along with not recognizing us, he had no idea he was on the volleyball team. By this point we were asked to leave so that the doctor could evaluate the memory loss. I got a call later that night from Hinata’s parents… Hinata is currently suffering from long term memory loss - he has no memory from his last year of middle school to now.”
Silence fell over the gym.
“From what Hinata’s parents told us, the doctor isn’t sure how long his memory loss will last for,” Takeda chimed in, “It could last a week, months, or even be permanent.”
“So,” Nishinoya began, “Will we be able to go see Hinata at all?”
Ukai placed his hands on his hips, “During the next few days, the doctor is going to watch Hinata’s condition, probably run a few tests to see if he’s ok. If he is doing well after, that’s when they will allow more visitors. His parents are hopeful that if he is able to see and visit with you all, that may help to regain his memory.” Ukai straightened his posture, “ For the time being, we shall continue with practice as normal - we still have our first spring national qualifying round coming up.”
Asahi cleared his throat, “Um, so does that mean we’re going to play without Hinata?”
Ukai gave a nod with his head, “I know that it doesn’t feel ok to continue on without him here at the moment. But, knowing Hinata, he wouldn’t want us to stop playing because of him. We’ll practice, improve our individual and team skills, and secure a spot in the spring nationals. Once Hinata is able to play again we will be waiting and ready for him, alright?” With affirmative sounds coming from the team, Ukai let out a grunt, “Good. Practice is done for the day. Get the gym cleaned up and head home. We,” Ukai motioned to Takeda with his head, “will update you guys on any info we hear about Hinata.”
As the team began shuffling about the gym, Ukai called Kageyama over, “Yes?” Kageyama asked once he reached Ukai and Takeda.
Takeda gave Kageyama a small smile, “How have you been doing?”
“Fine,” Kageyama lied. The past few days had been grueling on the setter. His mind couldn’t erase the events of the fall, the sound of skull against wood, the smell of sweat with blood, or Hinata’s body on the gym floor. If Kageyama wasn’t busy with something his mind drifted to the incident. When he was sleeping his memories would turn into nightmares, often with a worse outcome, causing the dark haired boy to wake up gasping for breath. He didn’t want to tell anyone how much this was affecting him, though, as everyone was already worried about Hinata. Kageyama didn’t want to add himself to that list.
“Alright. If you do need anything, don’t be scared to ask Ukai or myself. There are also some counselors here at the school in case you need to talk about what happened.” Takeda informed Kageyama, earning a nod from the student.
“Kageyama,” Ukai spoke, “Once Hinata is allowed visitors again, I’m going to have the team visit in small groups if possible so that we don’t overwhelm him. I’d like you to be the first one to visit him. You’ll be going with myself, Teach, Daichi, or Suga.” Ukai brought a hand to his chin, rubbing it as he continued talking, “I have a small theory that you might be able to jog some of his memories back. If you think about where his memory loss occurs, it was sometime in the last year of middle school, and that was around the time he first met you. Since then, you’ve played a major role in his life. There are cases I found where people regain their memory after either reliving a big moment in their life, or by seeing someone important to them.” Ukai sighed, “But that’s just a theory, solely based on stories from the internet, nothing else. Are you ok with that?”
“Yeah.” Was Kageyama’s simple reply.
“Alright, help clean up then head home. I’ll be in touch with you,” Ukai dismissed Kageyama with a nod.
The setter helped his teammates clean up and put away the equipment quickly, trying to hurry home so he could be alone to process the news about Hinata.
Kageyama never believed in miracles, but that didn’t stop him from wishing for one now.