Disclaimer: I do not own Haikyuu

Sugawara swore he stopped breathing after that statement. Nishinoya…this is the first time we've all been together after the crash, so I thought that Ukai, Daichi or Tanaka would have at least seen him… His thought trailed off as he glanced around him. I'm probably in the best condition to go, despite my wrist.

"I'll go look for him." The third-year declared, earning stares from everyone.

"S-Suga!" Daichi cried, eyes wide. "You can't! Your wrist!"

"Oh?" The setter raised an eyebrow. "And I suppose that means that you're going?"

"Well, I am the captain and it's my responsibi-"

"Despite your arm?"

"Uh…it doesn't even hurt that much-"

"Daichi, you are not going alone when you can't even move one of your much-needed arms! At least I can move my arm."

"Seriously, Koushi? You think you can fuss me while we're looking for Noya?"

"Huh?" Asahi looked up, frowning. "What do you mean? Didn't Suga just say no?"

"Actually, he said 'you are not going alone'. That's Sugish for 'I'm coming with you whether you like it or not'." Kiyoko explained with a small smile.

"Aww, you named my language? I'm honoured, really." The ashen-haired setter grinned.

"So…are you coming?" Daichi asked, already about to turn around and head back to the boat.

"I didn't realise you were so willing to enter the death boat." Suga teased, but he lowered his voice on the 'death' part.

"Hey! Stop stealing my line!" Kageyama sniffled angrily, arms folded and resembling a sulking kid.

"You should be proud that someone's stealing your line. It means it's catchy." The older setter replied.

"Enough chit-chat. We have a friend to save." The captain turned and walked away from the group, the vice-captain by his side, and both hoping for the wellbeing of both Nishinoya and Yamaguchi.

"'M'going…" The sudden, slurred voice of Tanaka made Asahi, who was nearest, jump.

"Wh-what? No, you can't!"

"'M'going."

"N-no! It's too dangerous!"

"'M'going!"

"You have a c-concussion! There's no way-"

"He's my friend!" Tanaka yelled, in a sudden moment of clear coherence. "I-I can't just leave him! H-he helped me when there was a storm!"

Kiyoko frowned and leant closer. "'A storm'? Which storm are you referring to?"

"Um…I'm not sure…I just suddenly remember I was under a bed in this place that kept moving, and Noya came and he was talking to me but…I can't seem to remember what he was saying…"

So he's slowly starting to remember what happened, the manager thought. "Okay, so where do you think he is now?"

"I-I don't know…wait!"

"What is it?"

"D-Daichi! I remember seeing Daichi, and then…and then…Noya went somewhere – I don't know where, but…but…"

"But what?" Kiyoko pressed.

Tanaka shook his head weakly. "'M'tired…" His eyelids began to droop, and she knew that was all the information they were going to get out of him for now.

She sat back and let Asahi take over as he, half-panicking, told the second-year to stay awake and kept rambling on about random things.

"Um…K-Kiyoko?" Mentioned third-year looked up at the sight of Yachi nervously standing over her.

"Yes?"

"W-we uh…think Yamaguchi's coming out of his shock."

Kiyoko's eyebrows rose slightly. "Really? Are you sure?"

Yachi nodded excitedly. "Y-yeah! Well, that's what Ukai said, at least…"

"Either way, it's good. Maybe things might start looking up for us." The third-year glanced at the night sky, before hearing a yelp and shouting. Turning her head, she raised an eyebrow at the sight of Kageyama coughing and yelling at Hinata, who was yelling back.

"What sort of idiot-moron-dumbass hybrid are you?!" The setter yelled, his arms flapping around wildly as he choked on a cough.

"They all mean the same thing, you-you…" Hinata trailed off, trying to come up with a good insult, before finishing, "you cabbage!"

Kageyama stared at the middle blocker like he'd grown an extra head. "What sort of insult is a cabbage?"

"A biiiiig one! A really insulting insult!"

"How is it?! It's a frui- vegetable!"

"It's the worst thing you can call someone that's related to fruits and vegetables!"

"…I will never understand the thing you call 'logic', as your version of this is so unbelievably messed up that you'll probably get arrested for it."

"Rude! Besides, what I was doing was right! Yelling at me is pointless!"

"You tried to light a fire!"

"Exactly!"

"With the force!"

"Yeah well, someone told me 'may the force be with you' not long ago, so if you didn't interrupt me then it would've worked!"

"No, it wouldn't! You know why? Because the force doesn't exist!"

Hinata's expression was similar to someone who'd just been shot. "…You uncultured swine."

"Oi!"

"A long time ago-"

"Oh my God, don't you dare."

"-in a galaxy far, far away-"

"Don't. Just…don't. You know what, I think you're actually lacking a brain."

The shorter teen pouted. "Am not!"

"I have as many edges as you have brain cells. That's why I'm a perfect circle."

"Alright, alright, that's enough." Ukai interrupted, walking over to the pair. "Kageyama…okay, I have to admit, that's was a pretty damn good burn, but…try to limit your arguing, alright? Same goes for you, Hinata. While we wait for Daichi and Sugawara to find Nishinoya, we'll have to light the fire the survival way."

"'Survival way'?" Hinata echoed. "But isn't using a lighter the 'survival way'?"

The coach couldn't resist using sarcasm in this moment. "Sure, Hinata. Screw using sticks and stones and all that stuff, 'cause guess what? We have lighters! Come one, come all, buy a lighter! Bears love roasting their fish with lighters! A great way to get rid of horses and cows' pest problems is to just burn those suckers until the bigger animals are free! Oh, and let's not forget the competition for sunlight in the forests and jungles! The trees just use a lighter with their branches to burn away the little buggers who try to steal their sunlight!"

Kageyama whistled under his breath. "Hinata…you just got seriously roasted twice."

Ukai sighed. "Sorry. I'm just a little stressed right now."

"Uh…it's fine, I guess." The middle blocker shrugged, looking down.

"Right. So, could you find me some twigs?" The two first-years nodded and ran off, an air of competitiveness surrounding them.

Sighing again, the coach turned and walked back over to Yamaguchi, who seemed to be back with them. However, he seemed on the verge of passing out, and Tsukishima was talking to him in hushed tones, trying to get him to stay awake.

"How is he?" The adult asked as Tsukishima brought the cloth over the pinch server's back. Immediately, the latter jerked away, albeit feebly.

"He's not in shock, but he's gonna pass out soon. I'm trying to keep him awake, but…it's inevitable." The blonde replied as he cleaned a blood smear that had stained Yamaguchi's paler-than-usual skin.

Ukai nodded to show he'd heard and leant close to the shorter first-year's ear. "Yamaguchi? Can you hear me?"

He got no reply; only a faint whimper and a shiver that spread through the teen's entire body. Tsukishima cursed under his breath and continued muttering things to his friend.

"I need you to stay awake. Can you do that?" Once again, Ukai got no response – well, except for the drooping of his visible eye. "No, don't close your eyes – eye? Ah, never mind – please don't close your eyes! Damn!"

His words were in vain as Yamaguchi shuddered once before becoming still, the only signs of life being the faint rise and falls of his chest.

"He's unconscious, but alive." The middle blocker murmured. "Let's keep cleaning his wound."

Daichi pushed down the strong reluctance he felt towards entering the yacht after just leaving it, but he knew that leaving Nishinoya to Suga alone was out of the question.

"Do you know where he'd be roughly?" Suga asked.

The captain frowned, trying to remember the last time he'd seen the small second-year. "I…remember telling him to find a bucket…" He replied slowly, "And then…he didn't come back, but I swear he ran towards the front of the boat – that sort of direction."

The vice-captain nodded. "Right. Chances are he's probably still in that area. I didn't see him at all, so I trust your memory on this."

Daichi sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "I hope he's okay…"

Suga smiled and patted his shoulder. "We all do. Now come on; the more time we take, the more worried everyone gets."

"I know." He answered, before entering the yacht, his close friend by his side.

~30 minutes later~

They'd expected to find at least something. Perhaps a shoe, or even blood (although they hoped there wouldn't be any blood). But, even after half an hour of searching, their efforts were fruitless and Nishinoya was simply nowhere to be found.

Suga slowly sat on what looked like half of an overturned sofa and put his head in his hands. Daichi leant against a nearby wall, fighting the urge to fold his arms considering one of the required limbs was currently out of commission.

"Daichi…where is he?" The teen in question frowned at the question and opened his mouth to reply. "Have we not searched well enough?"

"Suga-"

"Did we miss a room? Could we blame the lack of light for our failure?"

"Suga-"

"Or is it simply the fact that I am unreliable to my underclassmen?"

"Koushi!"

Sugawara glanced at him. "What?"

Daichi stormed over and placed his good hand on the setter's shoulder. "Don't you dare blame yourself! He'll turn up! We just have to keep searching and not give up!"

"But-"

"But nothing. I wouldn't've taken you to be someone who gives up easily."

"It-" He cut himself off with a sigh. "We've already spent half an hour looking. We should've found him by now."

"I know…I think we should go back."

"What?!" Suga leapt to his feet. "You tell me not to give up and then you say that!"

"It's too dark! We can't see a thing!"

"Our eyes have adjusted!"

"It doesn't matter! We can pick up again at first light tomorrow!"

"But what if he doesn't last through the night?!" The setter's eyes widened as soon as the words left his mouth. A tense silence filled the room quickly after. "S-Sawamaru, I'm sorry-"

"Shh."

"I really am! I just-"

"No, I mean shush!" He hissed, earning a confused frown from his companion.

"What is it-"

"Can't you hear it?"

Suga's frown deepened. "Hear what?"

"It…sounds like someone's whispering."

"No-one's whispering, Daichi. You're probably just tired."

"No, I heard it!"

The ashen-haired third-year shook his head. "You probably just heard the wind."

"There it is again!"

This time, Suga did hear something faint. "Okay, I heard something just then, but it was probably-"

"-Noya!" Daichi finished.

"-the wind." The vice-captain frowned at his friend. "Daichi, it wasn't-"

"It has to be! Everyone's out except one person! I mean sure, Yamaguchi looked bad and Kinoshita seemed to be asleep or something, but everyone's out except Noya! It's gotta be him!"

Suga flinched at the mention of Kinoshita. "Listen-"

"Please Koushi; just trust me."

"You know already that I trust you. But even if it is Nishinoya, we can't search for him if we haven't already found him. He could be hidden and that's why we couldn't find him before."

"I know, but I think I have an idea where he might be now I've heard him whispering."

"It might not be him whispering, Daichi. Don't get your hopes up too high."

"I know, just…follow me, okay?"

Suga smiled. "Lead the way."

The captain wasted no time in heading confidently in a certain direction as if he had a map of the wrecked vessel imprinted in his mind. He might have seen a map of the yacht before the crash, Suga thought as he rounded another corner.

In just under five minutes, a shout of "Here!" startled the setter and made him crash into Daichi's back.

"H-huh?" Suga blinked in confusion as he moved to stand next to his fellow third-year. They were stood before an unmarked door and appeared to be on possibly the lowest level of the boat. The whispers (he was now certain it came from a person and not the wind) seemed to have increased in volume, and he supposed there was some sort of echo in the room.

"I think he's in here." Daichi announced, moving a tentative hand towards the door, which appeared to be open a crack.

"How are you so sure?"

"Because Ukai showed me a map of the boat in case of an emergency. I sent Nishinoya to look for a bucket, and this is the cleaning room. There was a plaque either on or next to the door, but I'm not sure where it is now."

"Okay then. But it's pitch black in there. I can tell just by the tiny crack in the doorway. How are we gonna see him?"

"It's like what you said; our eyes have adjusted. It can't be much darker than where we are right now. Come on; let's go." With that, he pushed open the door, both teens shivering slightly at the slow, ominous creak that seemed to echo around them as the door opened, revealing an almost completely destroyed room. Mops and brooms were snapped many times over, and luckily, there wasn't a window, otherwise the tiny room would be a lot more dangerous. The floor was ripped up and the outer wall was almost non-existent, as it seemed that the crash had ripped it off.

Fortunately, the ceiling was in one piece – for the most part, at least. A large support beam had a chunk of it missing – yet was still able to hold up the ceiling, surprisingly – and the other three walls had holes and cracks in them (and some of them stretched up to the ceiling).

The whispers had stopped, and as Daichi and Suga peered through the darkness, they heard another sound. Gentle waves, lapping at…something, 'cause it sure as hell didn't sound like sand.

"Is it…high tide? Is water coming in via the ruined outer wall?" Suga wondered aloud.

"I think so." Daichi murmured. "N-Noya? Are you in here?" There was no reply.

"Nishinoya? Please answer if you can hear us!" The setter tried.

"…Ngh…" It was small, but definitely there.

"Noya? Is that you?" The captain called as he approached the location of the sound.

"…D-Dai…" Yes! It was Nishinoya! However, his voice was way too weak and tired for either of their likings.

"Just hang on, okay?" Suga crouched beside what looked like a small, fallen cabinet of cleaning supplies, and began slowly moving them aside with his good hand. He managed to avoid getting cut by the glass of the cabinet doors, which had shattered, as he aimed to clear away the cleaning supplies and move the cabinet out of the way. It was easier said than done.

"What are you doing?" Daichi asked as he crouched beside his friend.

"He's close; I can feel it." The ashen-haired setter replied as he completed his task of moving the supplies away. "If I can just move this cabinet, then I think we'll see him."

"You think he's under here?"

He shrugged. "Possibly. But it's a start."

"Let me help."

Suga sighed, figuring that that would happen. "Fine, just…be careful."

Nodding, Daichi placed his uninjured hand under the cabinet, the vice-captain doing the same, and together they lifted the relatively light object up, before slowly moving it to rest against the nearest wall.

Now the piece of furniture was out the way, both third-years caught a glimpse of something that filled them with dread and relief at the same time.

Blood.

Suga suddenly felt light-headed. He followed a trail of blood that seemed to be illuminated until he saw…

…a hand.

"Yuu!" He yelled, crashing to his knees in beside the hand, which he now realised was a left hand. There was an upturned box of rags and towels that seemed to cover the owner of the hand, and Suga wasted no time in throwing them all over the place (one consequently hitting Daichi in the face) in order to get to his underclassman.

An arm appeared, followed by two legs, a chest, another arm and a head. The setter continued to clear the body of rags and towels until there weren't any left. As the vice-captain took in the sight of his second-year friend and teammate, he felt slightly nauseous.

"U-uh…I found the rest of that s-support beam…" He murmured, catching Daichi's attention.

"You did? Where- oh my God…" He breathed as he caught sight of Nishinoya.

The libero's body was laced with cuts, none which seemed too deep, and the third-years assumed they came from the glass. There was one on his right cheek which had soaked that part of his face in blood, and the seawater was able to hit his right arm and leg.

But that wasn't what scared them the most.

It was where the rest of the support beam had ended up.

Suga couldn't see the skin on Nishinoya's stomach as it was covered in blood. The piece of metal, resembling a pipe, had struck the left side of his lower torso, effectively 'impaling' him, as a way of saying it. There was enough blood that it made a puddle which almost came up to the top of Suga's knee as he knelt.

"N-Noya…" His voice cracked and wavered and tears threatened to spill. Even though it was dark, the setter could clearly see that the libero was unhealthily pale. His eyes were squeezed tightly shut and his fingers dug into the floor.

"S-Su…ga…?" Noya opened one eye and looked up at both third-years. The vice-captain winced at the pain that filled his eye.

"Shh, don't talk. Save your strength." Daichi commanded as he checked the small teen's body for any other injuries that weren't already noted.

He chuckled weakly, ending in a bout of harsh coughing, which caused a trickle of blood to escape his body via the side of his mouth. "Th-that's…such a…cl…cliché th-thing…" Each word was forced out almost painfully so.

"It's okay. You'll be okay. You're not going to die, you hear?! You're not!" Daichi was shouting at this point, but he couldn't find it in himself to care.

"I-I…have…no in…tention…of d-dying…"

Suga sighed in relief. At least he wants to fight, he thought, if he'd given up…

"Suga, we need to take the metal out." Daichi whispered, pulling his friend aside.

"Wh-what?! No, he'll bleed to death!" Suga hissed.

"We don't have a choice! The longer it stays in him, the higher the risk of blood poisoning gets."

"I know, but…" He trailed off, eyes straying to Nishinoya. They quickly narrowed in concern. "Noya?" He got no response.

Wasting no time, Sugawara joined the second-year's side and gently shook his shoulder. His head was tilted to the side, and his mouth was slightly open. His entire body was lax. "N-Noya?" Daichi called, leaning over Suga's shoulder.

"Is he…" The setter trailed off as he leant close to Noya's face. "D-Daichi…"

"What?"

"…Is he breathing?"

A/N: Ahahahaha no. I'm mean.

Oh, and of course, something you should know about me: in a tragedy story like this, the character who's found last is probably the most seriously injured. So to all those out there who were like 'oh author-chan, please be nice to Noya-senpai', well…I give you permission to throw a trolley at my face. 'Cause I'm a cabbage and a horrible person who likes to make lovely, innocent characters suffer.

Also, I'm off school for two weeks (hooray for half-term and Easter!) so the next update should be quicker. Hopefully.

Right well, I'll shut up now.

Bye~