Hello everyone! So, this is my very FIRST fanfiction! Woohoo! It's probably not great, but I would really appreciate critiques and reviews to help me improve! It's probably pretty OOC, because I haven't actually completed the whole Haikyuu! series yet. This idea just suddenly came to me, and I had the urge to go ahead and write it… I'll probably edit it after I catch up in the series! Thanks for reading and reviewing! ^-^
Chapter One: The Poison.
"What should we do?" Sugawara questions the captain standing beside him, as they both stare up at the gym doors. Across them, the words "QUIT THE TOURNAMENT OR ELSE" were sloppily graffiti-ed in bright red paint, and a shiver ran down Suga's spine as the thought that looked uncannily like blood came to mind. Daichi let out a long sigh and opened his mouth only to be interrupted by the arrival of another club member.
"Ehhh?! What is this?!" The hot-headed Tanaka tilted his head back and gritted his teeth, "Some punks think they stand a chance against us? I'll give whoever wrote that a nice kick up the—"
"Tanaka." Sugawara threatened, causing the younger man to withdraw with a groan. Before Sugawara or Daichi even had a chance to say anything, the rest of the club joined in. They all stared at the warning message in silence before someone finally spoke up.
"Ehh… What is this?" Hinata tilted his head and rocked on his heels as he stared up at the writing. "Ohhh! I've seen this sorta stuff in action movies! Is this a game? Are we gonna go 'pow' and 'bwaaah'?!"
"Don't be such an idiot. I highly doubt this is a game." Kageyama crossed his arms and rolled his eyes, Hinata opened his mouth to argue when Sugawara interrupted.
"Kageyama is right, this isn't a game." He said in a strict yet gentle tone, the kind only Sugawara was able to manage. The whole team shifted awkwardly during the silence that followed this sentence, a weight falling over them as they considered the fact that this could be a real threat.
"W-What is this then?" Yamaguchi questioned sheepishly, sticking close to the still apathetic Tsukishima.
"Nothing to be worried about, I think." Daichi finally spoke, bringing all eyes on him.
"Daichi's right. Probably just some rascals trying to intimidate us, is all. But Kurasuno doesn't give up that easily! Right, team?" Sugawara's tender and enthusiastic tone offers the team reassurance as they smile and nod in agreement, and Hinata spurts out an "Osu!"
They cut today's practice short so they could wash the graffiti off the doors before it was time to leave. Despite their agreement to carry on as usual, the threat still weighed down on some of the members, particularly the captain and vice-captain.
Once the rest of the team had left, Sugawara and Daichi sat themselves on the steps of the gym. "Do you think that threat was actually empty?" The ashen haired teen asked the captain beside him.
"You don't think so, Suga? You said it yourself."
"I was just trying to help everyone relax, that's all. No point in having them worry too much, it could affect their practice. I'm not sure what I truly think about the threat."
"I have my suspicions as well, but you're right. We can't have the team worrying too much, the tournament is coming up soon and they need to keep their heads in the game. As captain and vice, we'll just need to keep a close eye on the situation."
"I suppose that's all we can do." Sugawara sighed as he gazed upon the setting sun.
One week had passed since the threat was left upon their gym doors, and everything had carried on like usual. Hinata whined at Kageyama as yet another one of his tosses hit right into his face.
"Oi, what's your problem! You're doing this on purpose, aren't you?!"
"Don't be an idiot. I'm just not feeling the sync today… Must be something wrong with you."
"What did you say?!"
"Don't mind, don't mind!" Sugawara interrupted the two, a concerned smile on his face. "Maybe we should just take a break."
The team agreed and sat down on the benches, each with their respective water bottles in hand. After taking a drink, they all stood again and began to do some quick stretches before repositioning themselves to continue practice. As Kageyama wiped his lips and closed the water bottle, he felt a burning sensation in his throat. He ignored it and began to stretch, when the sensation spread to his chest and stomach. He let out a quiet cough and rubbed his neck. Soon his vision began to blur and his head spun as he broke into a cold sweat. He felt like the floor had disappeared beneath him and he suddenly felt the impact of flesh on wood. "Kageyama?!" He heard a shout but couldn't identify the voice. He saw blurred figures rushing towards him before he succumbed to the darkness.
"Kageyama? Can you hear me?" Sugawara shouted, lifting the boy's head into his lap.
"He's burning up!" Hinata had a hand on Kageyama's forehead, heat seemed to radiate off it as if there were a fire inside his brain. Takeda, who had only just arrived, was already on the phone with emergency services and calling an ambulance.
Kageyama shook in Sugawara's arms, occasionally making strange sounds that resembled gurgling or choking, but he was otherwise silent and unresponsive. They heard the sirens outside and the world seem to blur as the paramedics and their stretcher rushed inside. They were so fast, it was hard for the team to even process what was going on around them. Paramedics rushed by them, checking Kageyama's vitals and scooping him up onto the stretcher. Takeda and Coach Ukai were talking to one of the paramedics as the rest loaded Kageyama into the ambulance, Daichi and Suga tried to join the conversation as well but were instructed to stay inside the gym with the rest of the team. Not a word was spoken in the gym, until they heard the ambulance siren whirl away down the street and Coach Ukai reentered the gym.
"Well?!" An anxious Nishinoya broke the prolonged silence, and several others in the gym already had their mouths open to speak as well. Coach Ukai raised his hand to silence anybody thinking about adding another comment.
"We don't know any details yet, we won't until Kageyama gets a proper examination at the hospital. Takeda rode with Kageyama in the ambulance, and I'm going to drive anybody who wants to come to the hospital. Call your parents and make sure it's okay first."
The team scrambled for their phones, and Yamaguchi elbowed Tsukishima until he pulled out his own phone with a sigh and a roll of his eyes. Once they confirmed with their parents, Coach Ukai loaded the entire team into the van and set off to the hospital. Once they arrived, the scurried in and crowded the thankfully empty waiting room as Coach Ukai went to find where Takeda and Kageyama were. Hinata, Nishinoya, and Tanaka were fidgety in their seats. Yamaguchi bounced his knee up and down, until Tsukishima forcefully pressed his hand into Yamaguchi's knee to still him. Asahi sat quietly, taking deep breaths to calm himself. Sugawara and Daichi sat next to each other, wringing their hands and whispering into each other's ears. The team stayed like this, until they saw a man enter the hospital and walk past the waiting room, towards the hall Coach Ukai had just sped into. It was a police officer. The room stilled, and even Tsukishima removed his headphones and started paying attention.
"You don't think…" Nishinoya whispered, gazing at the now empty space the officer had just walked through.
"We're such idiots." Sugawara leaned forward and put his face into his hands and muttered. At this, Daichi stood. "Don't jump to conclusions just yet, everyone. We don't know any details."
As if answering their concerns, Coach Ukai, Takeda, and the police officer from before entered the room. Everyone stood abruptly, questions flooding out of each of their mouths. Coach Ukai raised his hand, and everyone dropped silent.
"Kageyama has been poisoned. He'll be fine, but right now he's still very sick. You can't see him just yet."
A low, worried murmur spread through the room. Hinata grabbed onto Nishinoya's shoulder to stable himself in shock, and Sugawara put his face in his hands once again. Daichi turned away, avoiding eye contact with everyone else.
"In the meantime, I'd like to ask you kids a few questions. I know you're shocked right now, but anything you can tell me helps." The officer spoke gently, and the team simply nodded in reply. "Who would like to speak first?" He questioned. Daichi approached him, "I'm the team captain, I should go first."
The officer nodded, and led Daichi to a separate room, where he explained the message on the gym door and the events leading up to Kageyama's fall. The officer thanked him, and invited in Sugawara who told him the same. One by one, the rest of the team joined the officer and told the same story in their own way. The last one was Hinata, who told the story with a lot of self-made sound effects.
Hinata rejoined the team in the waiting room, and the officer thanked them all once more. "This was all very helpful. I'm off to the gym, to help investigate the scene with our new information. I'll return once Mr. Kageyama is feeling up to speaking." He bowed, and exited the room. A female nurse entered after the officer left.
"Mr. Kageyama still isn't awake, but he should be any minute now. Would you guys like to come and wait in his room?" The nurse smiled gently, and the team lined up behind her in a split second. They walked down a long, white hall until she stopped in front of a wooden door, knocking once and then entering as the rest followed her in.
Beep. Beep. Beep.
The steady beeping indicated the beating of Kageyama's heart. His breathing was shallow through the oxygen mask on his face, and the rise and fall of his chest was weak. The whole team crammed into the small room, much too tight for this many people but nobody wanted to leave. They surrounded the pure white hospital bed, their teammate looking sickly pale against it. After the nurse excused herself, someone finally decided to break the silence.
"What now? Are we going to quit the tournament?" It was Nishinoya, standing and gently bouncing in the corner, too restless to sit. Daichi sighed.
"I guess, now that we know they're serious, we have no choice but to—"
"But we've worked so hard." Everyone jumped and stared at the bed, the source of the weak voice.
"You're awake!" Sugawara, who was standing directly over Kageyama, piped up with relief. The team started to crowd him, asking him how he's feeling and saying they're happy he's okay. They were making Kageyama's head hurt. So annoying.
"Guys, don't crowd him." Daichi warned, and they all backed off a little.
Kageyama turned his head to Daichi again, "We've worked really hard to get here, and if we quit now…"
"I know how you feel, but we really shouldn't risk someone else getting hurt. I already made a mistake by not taking the warning seriously the first time. We can't make the same mistake again."
Sugawara bowed his head quickly in shame. "It's my fault too, I'm so sorry. I should've taken it more seriously and reported it right away."
There was silence.
"Oi, the police are after the punks who did this, right?" Tanaka stuffed his hands in his pockets and tapped his foot.
"Yeah, why do we need to drop out? The police'll be able to find whoever did this and then we can play as normal!" Nishinoya finally spoke, backing up Tanaka.
Daichi looked around at the faces around him. He knew how they felt, and he wasn't sure their minds could be changed at this point…
"…Alright." He sighed.
"D-Daichi?!" Sugawara whipped his head in Daichi's direction, about to protest.
"But, we're not taking any unnecessary risks. We'll take a break from practice for now, and give the police time to investigate. If there's any hint that anybody else could get hurt, we're dropping out immediately. Got it?"
Their faces lit up. "Osu!"
Well... That was the first chapter of my first fanfiction! What do you think? ^-^
Thanks again for reading!