He had been there for five months. He had left his family and home town to join this unit, to follow the man he trusted. Oikawa Tooru hadn't regretted his decision for a single moment. He didn't know what it was about this man, Iwaizumi Hajime, that made him feel so dedicated. The vice-captain was strong, considerate and talented, and Oikawa wouldn't be afraid to give his life if it helped the unit or the brunet in any way. And he knew Iwaizumi would do the same for him, just like for any soldier in the unit.

In fact, Oikawa wasn't even a soldier. His father was a hunter, and Oikawa knew a lot about guns. He had always been on hunting trips with his father, and had even shot a few animals already. His father said Oikawa had a good aim. That's why he became a sniper.
He was in the same team as Iwaizumi, team Cat. That was the leading team of the unit, and Oikawa was proud to be in it – although Iwaizumi had said it was only until the sniper would get used to living in the unit, then he'd be moved to some other team. But it had been six months and nothing had happened, although Oikawa already knew the whole city like his own pockets.
He knew his unit, too, and one thing was for sure: He didn't like the leader, Kuroo Tetsurou. That guy didn't do anything, just sat in his office all day. Iwaizumi said it was 'paperwork'. Oikawa didn't buy that, since Iwaizumi did paperwork, too. All Kuroo did was order Iwaizumi around doing the things the leader should do himself.
Another person that Oikawa didn't like was Daishou Suguru. The captain of team five was too hot-blooded – Oikawa already had a nasty scar on his neck as a prove. The only thing he agreed about with the Snake was their leader: Daishou despised Kuroo, and had made it clear that he only followed Iwaizumi.

Another reason to respect and follow the vice-captain.

"Iwa-chan, are we in any patrols today?" Oikawa chirped and leaned his arm on the vice-captain's shoulder. The brunet shook him off and turned his look back to the documents he was carrying.
"You are, I'm not", Iwaizumi answered, partly sighing the words. "And I already told you to stop using that nickname."
"Oh?" the taller brunet chuckled. "What should I call you, then? Hajime?"
"That's better", Iwaizumi stated, not even blinking even though Oikawa had said that to tease his teammate. The sniper was left speechless by the vice-captain's quick response.
"Really?" he aspirated. "You can call me Tooru, then."
"If that's okay with you, alright", Iwaizumi mumbled, not turning his look from the documents. A wide smile appeared on Oikawa's face. He felt really honored, since the only ones that called their vice-captain by his first name were the former team captain Ukai and sometimes the sniper of team two, Akaashi. Oikawa hadn't met Ukai, since he had left two years before the sniper had joined the unit, but he had heard everything about him. Hopefully he would meet this old soldier someday.

Paperwork, paperwork, paperwork. Oikawa had gotten the same answer for over a week now when he'd asked if Iwaizumi would attend any patrols. The sniper also had recognized that the other brunet seemed really tired, even more than usual. He wasn't even as hot-blooded as before, almost apathic. Oikawa was starting to get concerned, since he knew the vice-captain well enough to say that his behavior wasn't normal at all.
"Daichi, what do you think?" Oikawa spoke up his mind while he was in the patrol with the captain of team three, Crows. The dark-haired soldier gazed him in confuse and raised his brows a little.
"About what?"
"Hajime", Oikawa stated shortly. "He has been really quiet lately." The sniper hoped that the other soldier would know something about this, since he had been part of the unit over two years longer than the brunet.
"Oh, that", Daichi mumbled without meeting Oikawa's eyes. "I have noticed that too. That has happened a few times before, if I remember right." The Crow let out a deep sigh. "Iwaizumi overworks himself pretty easily. That's nothing serious, though, but when that's combined with the current state of his mind…"
"Current state?" Oikawa repeated. "What do you mean? Is he okay?"
"I thought you had noticed already", Daichi noted, voice genuinely confused. "It's because Kuroo is testing his limits, reminding him of the things he doesn't want to remember. Akaashi said Kuroo did that a lot when he and Iwaizumi were just ordinary soldiers, stopped when Iwaizumi became the vice-captain, but now it has gotten out of hands as Kuroo got the leader's place." He kicked an empty beer can with his foot, seeming to have fallen deep in his thoughts. "It's not just Kuroo, though. To be honest, this place doesn't suit Iwaizumi. He's a perfect vice-captain, but his daily routine is too harsh. It doesn't let his old wounds heal – neither physical nor mental."
"Do you mean the death of his family?" Oikawa guessed. "I have heard a little bit of that. Was it really that bad experience for him?"
"It was even more than just 'bad'", Daichi huffed. "He would be fine if he wasn't surrounded by death almost daily. If you ask me, he should leave this city for his own sake. The loss of loved ones is never an easy thing to comprehend." The soldier fell quiet for a slight moment before continuing: "I think it was his age. When that happened, he was old enough to feel regret and understand the circumstances perfectly, but he was too young to accept it and get over it quickly. It haunts him, he has had nightmares and is sometimes unable to sleep at all. When you combine that with his harsh routine and the bitchin' of Kuroo, you get a quite dangerous situation."
"Dangerous? Why don't we do something, then?" Oikawa aspirated. "If you know him this well, Daichi, shouldn't you help him?"
"There is no way to help him", Daichi mumbled. "He doesn't listen and is basically in charge. Only Kuroo could tell him to stop working, the others can only suggest that – and there's no way Iwaizumi would leave something undone. He just is like that. However, since Kuroo doesn't care and thinks Iwaizumi can handle all the work he gives him, our vice-captain doesn't have breaks at all. That's the only thing I hate in this unit – Kuroo's blindness. I think he's still in the phase of 'Look how I can do anything I want', since he has been leader for barely a year."
"Shouldn't we talk to Kuroo, then?" Oikawa hissed, getting seriously worried over his teammate. "Tell him to stop or something."
"That doesn't help anymore", Daichi stated and turned to look at the sniper. "You see, Oikawa, Kuroo doesn't have almost anything to do with Iwaizumi's current state. He just… pressed the wrong button once. If Iwaizumi's mental health is usually here", the soldier reached his hand above his head, "Kuroo was only the one to push Iwaizumi over the edge. He caused this to start, but it doesn't matter what he does now – Iwaizumi will keep going down and down", Daichi lowered his hand quickly to represent his words, "Until he reaches the bottom. No one can really help that. Kuroo is doing all he can already without affecting the unit – keeping Iwaizumi away from patrols. He uses less energy when he is doing office work. And yes, he has to do something, because otherwise he would have too much time and start overthinking. And that is the most dangerous thing he can do right now."
"Sounds so fucking complicated", Oikawa mumbled and ran his fingers through his hair. "You said this has happened before. Will he be alright?"
"If this goes like last time, he will get back on his feet after he starts passing out from tiredness", Daichi stated and shrugged a little. "I really hope it will be like that. The first time he was like this is something I don't really even want to think about." The soldier eyes were looking to the distance and he clearly tried to remember as much as he could. "I wasn't here back then, but Akaashi has told everything about it. It was something like two years after they had joined the unit, when Iwaizumi wasn't really used to the pressure the unit causes. Iwaizumi becomes extremely carefree when he's seriously tired. On the top of that, pain is usually the best thing to keep him awake, and he knows that. He almost killed himself back then, reached the point when the pain made him pass out, just to stay awake and to finish his work. He loses all his sense of proportion when he's like that. He really does dangerous things."
"That's insane", Oikawa hissed. "He really doesn't listen at all? Shouldn't he realize at least somehow how dangerous his actions are?"
"He usually doesn't remember what he has done after he wakes up", Daichi explained with a sigh. "That's pretty usual for tired people. It's like being drunk: you really don't have control over yourself."

Oikawa gritted his teeth, trying to find some kind of solution to this all. He was seriously worried, and so was Daichi, but the Crow was right: they didn't have the authority to order Iwaizumi around. The vice-captain had to realize his state by himself.
"So Kuroo knows what this may lead to but refuses to let Hajime take a break?" the sniper snarled. "What kind of leader even is he?"
"He doesn't want to affect the unit", Daichi defended the raven-haired Cat. "Iwaizumi is a crucial part of our schedule. Even when he's only doing office work, he gets pretty much done. I don't know how Kuroo's mind works, but I think he just puts the unit before individuals – just like he should. He just does it the wrong way."
"I should talk to him", Oikawa mumbled. "It doesn't hurt to try, right? Maybe he can at least explain what is going through that small head of his."
"Go on, then", Daichi hummed. "Maybe you can really turn his head."

The patrol lasted for what felt like forever, but finally they arrived back to the headquarters. Oikawa was going to walk straight to the door of Kuroo's office, but then decided to try and talk to Iwaizumi first. Maybe he would be able to make the other brunet realize that he needed a fucking therapist or something.

"Hajime?" the sniper called, knocking the door twice. He didn't hear an answer. He knocked again – no answer. He turned the door knob – locked. That was really strange, since Iwaizumi never left the door locked if he was going to sleep or did something he had to concentrate on – the vice-captain always made sure he was on everyone's reach.
"Hajime, open the door", Oikawa tried once more, bad thoughts filling his mind. "Please. We have to talk." Again, no answer.
The sniper basically bolted to Kuroo's door, slamming his fist against it. "Kuroo! Open the door now!" Something was not right. The only explanation for the silence was that Iwaizumi was unconscious. Oikawa really hoped he would just be asleep or passed out, not something worse.
He heard an annoyed mumble from the room, and the door was opened. "What the actual fuck, Oikawa, stop trying to destroy my door", Kuroo complained, ruffling his messy hair. As excepted, the Cat had probably taken a nap. Again.
"I need the spare key for Hajime's office. Now", Oikawa breathed out, grabbing the leader's shoulders with his hands. "He doesn't answer his door. Something's not right, I swear."
"Whoa hold up, aren't you overreacting?" Kuroo huffed. "He's probably just asleep. And that's only good thing, right?"
"He never sleeps with the door locked!" Oikawa snapped. "The keys, Kuroo. Better safe than sorry, am I right?"
Kuroo frowned, concern starting to glisten in his eyes. The soldier turned around, walking to his desk, and took a bunch of keys from the box hidden under the decorating statue.
"Guess you're right", the Cat admitted, throwing the keys to Oikawa. "We should really check if he's alright."

Oikawa's hands were sweating as he hastily turned the key in the lock, basically throwing the door open. The room was dark, the only source of light being the small lamp on the table in the middle of the room, but that was more than enough. Oikawa could hear Kuroo swearing under his breath and calling Kiyoko. The sniper himself had ran to the table, words drying halfway in his throat. Iwaizumi looked like he had collapsed on the table, barely even sitting on his chair anymore, a bunch of documents in front of him. Documents that were now soaked in blood flowing from the vice-captain's wrists.