A/N: So since it's been so long since I've written this story, I went back and reread the last chapter and I couldn't even... I am horrified and I'm pretty sure my confidence in writing just went down at least 40%... oh my god... and my author's notes are so embarrassing how do I do this...

"Welcome back!" Nishinoya greets from the bench, pulling the backs of his gym shoes over his heels and then bounding towards me. "How are you feeling?"

"A lot better than a few days ago," I admit.

He slaps me on the back and I wince, knowing it will be a bruise tomorrow, but smile back up at him anyway. "Guys, Hinata's back!"

I watch as the team filters out of the locker room and I meet eyes with Tsukishima before he quickly looks away, a blush rising on his pale skin.

Suga walks up to me then, a gentle smile on his face as he approaches and scans me over, probably not realizing that I notice. "How is your schoolwork going?"

I shrug, looking up to meet his eyes. "I got most of it done at the hospital... I mean that TV can get pretty boring pretty fast."

Suga laughs and I give him a small smile. It's so hard for me to fake it. There's a nervous churning in my stomach from what I know is to come later today. He raises an eyebrow at me, most likely sensing my mood, but walks away when he sees Tanaka approaching to give us some space.

"What's up, little bro?" When he is right next to me his eyes widen and I cock my head, confused at his face. "You are SO tiny!" He marvels. As if to emphasize this, he grabs me by armpits and hoists me into the air with a grunt. "Lordie!"

I scowl and I hear some of the team laughing from below. I have never seen the gym from this high up, before, actually. I ignore the tight, bruising grip on my armpits to look around with a enthusiastic 'oooh', forgetting how insulted I felt just shortly before.

"I mean, it's not exactly a secret that he's short..." Kageyama comments dryly from behind us, and I glare down at him. He continues, anyway. "You're probably just not used to seeing him standing up."

Tanaka ponders this for a moment and nods slowly. "Yeah, that's probably it. Damn, Hinata, you're almost as small as Nishinoya!"

Nishinoya stomps on Tanaka's foot and Tanaka howls, dropping me hard, and I wince at the rattling impact on my knees and ankles, but I land on my feet nevertheless.

"Careful!" Daichi, Suga, and Kageyama scold at the same time.

Kageyama grabs me by my collar and drags me away from the upperclassmen, muttering profanities under his breath.

I turn my head when Tsukishima speaks from the edge of the group. "Maybe we should like... I don't know... start practice?"

Yamaguchi elbows him with a glare, but the blond ignores him.

Daichi nods. "Good idea, Tsukishima." He turns to address me. "Have your doctors said when you should be okay to play volleyball again?"

I lower my head, looking at my beaten up tennis shoes; I didn't bother changing into my volleyball ones. "Can I talk to you and Suga after practice?"

Daichi's eyebrows furrow, but he nods. "Of course. Just sit on the bench, then, and watch out for any consistent mistakes people are making."

I nod and obediently sit down on the bench, attentive already.

"So what did you need to talk about with us?" Daichi prompts.

After practice, I had been quick to rush them away from the rest of the team, steeling myself to get this over with as soon as possible.

"I just... was wondering..." I begin, worrying my lip. "My doctor told me I can start playing as soon as I start the next phase of my chemo, which will be in the next few weeks."

I see a smile grow on Suga's face at this news, but it is still dampened by the apprehension. He knows there's a reason I am nervous.

My hands tighten into fists around the soft fabric of my school pants. "When I am able to play again, are you even going to let me play in games?" I blurt out loudly. "I haven't practiced in so long, and I probably suck at playing now!" I can feel tears welling in my eyes, stinging and making my nose water, but I ignore it.

I feel a warm, strong hand on my shoulder, steadying it. I didn't even realize it was shaking. Daichi steps forward and gives me a warm, yet sympathetic look. "Maybe not for whole games at first," My gut tightens, "but as soon as you get your strength back, you'll be back on the court and freaking out our foes once again. You know our team is having more trouble without you. You may have forgotten, but you are an integral member of this team. Without you, we just aren't the same. We won't replace you that easily!"

I breathe out a huff of air and look up at my senpai, my lower lip wobbling. "Thanks." And then I breathe in, shakily. "I won't let you guys down!"

I pump my fist into the air and grin at them, only faltering slightly at the edges and rush out of the room without saying goodbye.

Okay. I've made it in 25 chapters. I can do this. I am determined to complete this fic, even if the quality goes down considerably. I feel horrible, too. My betas have stopped responding to emails so the chapters are no longer being betaed, I am severely lacking motivation, and honestly, I realize this chapter is almost as bad as the first chapter was, if not worse. I am struggling with a lot of stuff in my life right now, but at the moment things are finally calming down and I was asked by an anon on tumblr to update this, so here you go. I'm sorry if this is a disappointing update- I've disappointing myself with it, too. I hope you can just realize I have a lot on my plate, and since it's been so long since I've written I'm still getting the hang of it. Hopefully, my next update will be longer and generally more interesting.

you can yell at me on my tumblr... haikiuyu . tumblr . com