Okay, it's later than planned, but I couldn't access my page yesterday night^^
Chapter 25: Frightening news
In another part of Tokyo Iwaizumi and Daichi were completely unaware of the danger their soulmates were facing. Both police officers were just about to finish their work for the day, as they had a little double date planned for the night to let off some steam. It had been a long day for them - the paperwork just didn't seem to lessen that day - but at least they had something to look forward to. While they were casually talking about their respective partners, the peace and quiet got suddenly interrupted as somebody literally kicked the door to their shared office open. Out of reflex Daichi and Iwaizumi jumped from their chairs and pointed their weapons at whoever intruded the room. It turned out to be none other than their sly co-detective, Kuroo.
He put his hands up in surrender and yelled, "Woah stop, it's just me! Chill out, bro!"
Exasperated sighs were the responses he received and Iwaizumi howled angrily, "What the fuck, man! Can't you just walk in like a normal, civilized person?!"
Daichi glared at him and added, "You're lucky we didn't shoot you! Did something happen? You're usually the last person one would expect here at such a late time!"
Once the police officers were over the initial shock, they took in the sight of their fellow detective. He seemed to be a little out of breath and his dishevelled clothes initiated that he must have been in some kind fight earlier. On top of that, he acted a little strange and worry didn't match with his usual slack and easy-going attitude at all.
However, before either Daichi or Iwaizumi could question anything, Kuroo blurted out, "You guys need to go to the hospital as soon as possible! Sugawara-San and Oikawa-San have been admitted there not too long ago. Some aggressive father had acted violent against his own daughter and your boyfriends had tried to protect her. Didn't end that well. I'm just back from the scene, arrested that asshole."
For a moment it was silent in the room and for the respective officers it was as if time itself stopped. Their soulmates were in danger - hurt and probably scared. Their protective instincts kicked in as soon as they realized what was going on, and so the men scrambled from their desks in a hurry to see how their lovers were faring. Kuroo sent them off with the promise to take care of any remaining paperwork, so they didn't need to worry about that at least. The car ride in Hajime's car however, was torture for the worried men, since not knowing how severe the damage was, set Daichi and Iwaizumi completely on edge. Especially with Tooru's pregnancy and Koushi's fragile soul. When they arrived after what felt like an eternity, they rushed together to the receptionist.
Daichi greeted her politely and explained, "Good evening, we are here for Oikawa Tooru and Sugawara Koushi. They had been victim to an assault not too long ago and we need to speak to them. I'm police officer Sawamura Daichi and this is my partner Iwaizumi Hajime. We are also their soulmates, if you need to know."
The brunet knew all too well that it was nearly impossible to get access to a patient's room with no present family member. In case of soulmates entry was usually permitted as well, but not everyone accepted these circumstances without question. Thus, he may or may not have used his authority to see his soulmate, since they weren't married or engaged at this point. Not like Tooru and Hajime anyway. The nurse didn't question those two and showed them to the room the two teachers shared. A doctor was just finishing his examinations the moment they entered.
Oikawa lightened up immediately as he recognized the love of his life and he sang in his usual chirpy voice, "Iwa-Chan, you're here!"
Iwaizumi froze in place in place as he caught sight of his fiancé's state and he clenched his fists out of frustration. Oikawa's face was adorned with an ugly black eye and parts of bandages were visible at the neckline of his pullover. The brunet tried hard to reassure his soulmate with one of his careless smiles, yet he couldn't fool anyone since that gesture was clearly shaky.
Through gritted teeth Iwaizumi introduced themselves as police officers and on top of that, life partners of Suga and Oikawa. However, one look at his unusually shaken boyfriend was enough for him to drop any formality he had attempted to show at first. If he had only been on time today!
After hesitating for a moment, he addressed the doctor, "I apologize for showing up so late. How are they doing? Is… Did something happen to our babies?"
The doctor smiled at the worried boyfriends and explained without any prejudice against them, "I'm Doctor Shimada Arata and I've been responsible for Oikawa-San and Sugawara-San. First of all, I'd like to assure you that none of them are in any critical danger. Oikawa-San earned himself quite an impressive black eye and three more bruises covering his chest and one at the back. Luckily, there was no internal damage done and no scars will remain once he is fully healed. Your children are also save and sound and the incident won't cause any complications as long as you fiancé rests enough."
Doctor Shimada paused for a moment to let it all sink in and only continued once both officers sat next to their respective partners.
"Sugawara-San however, is a more difficult case. His injuries are minor as well, they just spread slightly more because of his lowered ability to regenerate. The shock had caused his unconsciousness, but I can't say why he reacted that badly. I figured that it must have something to do with prior experiences. Sawamura-San might have more clues to that aspect I assume. We'd like to keep him here for one night to make sure there isn't any more damage, which can't be seen now. Do you have any questions?"
They stayed quiet for a moment until Daichi broke the silence with his slightly shaky voice, "Is he gonna be okay? He will get through this, right?"
Seeing the usual tough brunet so lost and fragile was not something that Iwaizumi was familiar with and he certainly didn't like that at all. On the other hand, the last time he was in that hospital was after the loss of his daughter from a situation similar to the one at hand. Too similar!
Poor guy. I really wouldn't want to be in his shoes right now. First Sachiko, now Sugawara has collapsed… Fuck, just how messed up is that!
Shimada put a hand on Daichi's shoulder and promised him, "His body shut down to protect him from further damage, may it be mental or physical. He'll be just fine as soon as he wakes up. If it helps you relax, you could stay for the night. That way, you can see him the moment he opens his eyes. Since you are his only listed family member, we can organize that without a catch for you."
The brunet immediately relaxed his tense shoulders and accepted that offer with a grateful smile. After that, Doctor Shimada excused himself out of the room to get everything ready for Sawamura's stay. It stayed silent for a moment after he left and the group of four used that time to take in the whole situation at long last. Oikawa was the first to show any reaction at all when a weak sob escaped his throat. Iwaizumi startled and wrapped his arms in a protective manner around his middle. His cries where the only sound in the room for the next few minutes while Iwaizumi tried to calm him to the best of his abilities.
"I - I was so scared, Hajime! I can't believe that something so terrifying happened at my kindergarten. Again! I don't know what would have happened if Koushi hadn't intervened! There... There are so many things that could have gone wrong!"
In response to his cries, Iwaizumi tightened his arms around him and resumed to rubbing circles onto his back. There were no words he could say to make the whole events more bearable, so the black-haired male stuck to remembering them about the nearly smooth outcome and just how lucky they had been. In a way, it also helped Daichi to relax as he leaned forward to brush Suga's bangs out of his face. He was still scared, since his lover provided a horrible view at the moment with how pale and lifeless he lay on this bed. Yet, knowing that he was able to stay at his side until he woke up, calmed him significantly. His two friends stayed a little while longer, at least until Tooru got his emotions under control and had reassured himself that his dear Koushi was going to be okay and securely protected by Daichi.
"And you won't leave his side, you hear me? He was truly courageous against that huge 'n scary guy and I'm pretty sure that it reminded him of his own father in some way. Kou-Chan will probably be confused and maybe even frightened when he regains consciousness, so please stay with him!"
Tooru demanded with his arms crossed in front his chest and tried the most intimidating gaze he could muster up to convince the slightly smaller brunet. As intimidating as a 17-week-pregnant guy with red, puffy eyes from his crying could be. Daichi really tried to hide the little smirk growing on his face and struggled even more with the urge to pat his head a little. Iwaizumi however, was a whole different case as he stood behind his partner and literally threatened his partner to take him seriously with just one look!
That did send a shiver down his back. Being on Hajime's bad side wasn't something Daichi was too keen on and he knew how protective he got whenever it came to Tooru. Thus, he promised with a salute to hover over Koushi without fail. Satisfied with his reaction, Oikawa nodded and got ready to leave the hospital. With the peace and quiet that returned to the room, Daichi finally began to process the events of tonight on his own. He could have lost the love of his life today!
"Koushi… Why must you scare me so much? When Kuroo told me that you were submitted to the hospital, it felt like I lost part of myself. Everything slowed down and I… I remembered how Hajime called me about Sachiko's death. I don't know if you can hear me, but please… Don't ever scare me like that again. I love you so much!"
The brunet rubbed circles onto his lover's hand with his thumb and leaned down to press a gentle kiss to his lips and his forehead afterwards. He sat in silence at his bedside and watched him peacefully sleeping until a nurse stopped by again.
"Sawamura-San? Well, that's something I didn't expect!"
The addressed male looked up and his eyes widened as he recognized who stood in front of him. Suga's nurse was a male that fit the description of astonishingly beautiful. His head was enveloped by short, messy, black hair and clear, green eyes were slightly widened upon noticing the brunet. Tender looking lips formed a slight 'o' in wonder. 'Akaashi Keiji' read his nametag.
His name rang a bell, yet he couldn't quite put a finger on it. Said nurse noticed his confusion and he explained, "You probably don't remember me, but I'm Akaashi Keiji. Former setter of Fukurodani. We played against each other in the Nationals before. The team of Bokuto Koutarou. I'm working as a nurse now, obviously."
A look of realization flit across the brunet's face and he called, "Ah, sorry I didn't recall you sooner. Your face was familiar, though. Shall I step aside?"
The raven-haired shook his head and answered, "I'm actually here to bring you some food, figuring you wouldn't leave your soulmate's side from what I heard. So, you're Suga-San's soulmate?"
Daichi nodded in agreement and thanked him for the food – which was highly appreciated, seeing just how loud his stomach grumbled before he accepted the meal. While he took a seat at the table in the corner of the room, Akaashi went to Suga and started his usual examination. Luckily, nothing was out of the ordinary.
What Daichi did catch on was the gently running of fingers through Koushi's ash-blond hair. Despite the rather emotionless expression Akaashi gave out, it was noticeable how his complexion changed a little as he gazed upon the sleeping figure of Sugawara Koushi.
"You two are familiar with each other, I assume?" the brunet asked the nurse.
It startled the raven-haired and he even blushed a little before he decided on an answer.
"Yeah… We're friends. I met him in college when we worked in a little café together. Turned out we went to the same college, only took part in different classes. It's quite embarrassing to confess, but I had a major crush on him for a long time. Koushi wasn't looking for a relationship, especially out of the bond of a soulmate, but he did help me find my soulmate. We grew closer over time, especially due to his awkward flirting advice and his attempts of getting to know more about my soulmate. He was a really terrible wingman by the way!"
He ended his summary with a little, melodic laugh and even Daichi was smiling, although he felt a tiny spark of jealousy ignite in his chest. In the end, his curiosity won over and the two of them shared stories about their individual times at college, a little bit of volleyball related stuff and exchanged a few things about their respective soulmates and their meeting. Apparently, Akaashi found his fated partner in the former Nekoma setter, Kozume Kenma - one of the few rivals his school was facing for years. They passed the time until Daichi let out a yawn. The raven-haired took that as his sign to leave and he wished the young couple all the luck in the world and a fast recovery on Koushi's part.
In the end, Daichi occupied the empty bed next to his lover and let his eyes flutter close. Sleep overtook his exhausted body and mind and he found himself slipping into a dreamless sleep.