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"Are you- uh, Are you okay? Your- Your mouth is bleeding."

Kageyama was working hard to get his words out, wearing one of the peculiar faces he made when unsure of what to do, nose scrunched, and brows askew as if he'd bitten into something sour. The expressions usually made Sugawara snicker, but right now it was hard to find it funny with how disoriented he felt. Wincing, he continued to lay on the ground but reached a hand up to his tender mouth, tasting blood and feeling wetness there as he cringed at the ache. Kageyama must have split his lip again when he'd accidentally headbutted him, great.

"Suga! I messed up that receive, it wasn't supposed to go this way!"

Hurdling the bench, Noya crouched beside the injured setter with clenched hands and a face full of remorse.

"I'm sorry, I messed up, I messed up- Man, your face is bleeding again! Dammit- I messed up!"

The libero's voice was far too loud as Sugawara's head swam and pounded, it made him groan and reach up to place a hand over the second years face.

"Shh… s'fine… It was an accident, Nishinoya."

Chin trembling beneath his upperclassman's hand and knuckles turning white in his lap, Noya mumbled roughly.

"I should have better control, you got hurt again because of me… I'm sorry…" He said, head falling and eyes squeezing shut as his face crumpled.

Hearing the misery in his teammate's voice, Suga's brow furrowed and he creaked an eye open to peer at his friend. Moving his hand to plop it on top of the smaller boy's spikey brown head, he ruffled Noya's hair.

"Cut that out…You did your job… Kept the ball in. Shoulda moved, s'my fault." He said struggling to form full sentences when his brain felt scrambled but gave a slight smile.

"Nice save, Guardian."

Tearful eyes quickly turning to his upperclassman, Noya swallowed his third apology and gave a short nod and a shaky grin.

"Suga!"

"Suga-san!"

"Suga!"

Suddenly there were multiple bodies and voices around him, everyone asking him questions, and crouching over him being far too loud. Closing his eyes against the assault, he groaned and wondered where Tsukishima's headphones had gone, he hoped they hadn't broken in the fall.

"Watch out, everybody back up, move. Sugawara, can you hear me?"

Suga could feel a strong hand grip his shoulder and give a squeeze, but he didn't want to open his eyes, it hurt too much to stare into the lights on the ceiling. Instead, he gave a slight nod and tried to stop the spinning sensation in his head. If he was going to pass out, he wished he would do it already, this feeling of barely conscious and struggling to function was horrible.

Aware that it was Coach Ukai that spoke in his ear, the setter groaned as a hand slid beneath his shoulder blades and began to fold him into a sitting position.

"Come on, lets get you up. Did you hit your head, what hurts?"

Suga slumped forward as Ukai pushed him up, sagging into the man as his head lolled to his shoulder. It felt as though his skull weighed 100 pounds, far too much to hold up, and he squeezed his eyes shut tighter with a whimper as the movement caused another surge of disorientation.

"Mmm… My head…" He muttered, unable to give anything more and just wishing to find a comfortable place to curl up and croak. Somewhere warm and reassuring… Like the seat he shared with Daichi on the bus… Yeah, maybe someone could drag him there and his friend would be nice and quiet as he let him fall into a peaceful unconsciousness.

"Dammit, if he didn't have a concussion before, he does now." Ukai hissed, wrapping an arm around Suga's shoulders to help support him and then using his other hand to snap his fingers in front of Suga's face.

The ashen haired boy grimaced at the annoying noise, but it did chase back the darkness trying to drag him under.

"Stay with me, Kid. Tell me where we are."

Trying to focus, Suga dug through the thoughts in his fuzzy mind for the correct information.

"Mmm… Gymnasium… A match against… against- Kita Wasaki."

Of all the things he wished his brain would be too damaged to recall, why couldn't it be the name of the team they faced? That and… Ah, his uselessness. He could have come to terms with forgetting that, but unfortunately, it seemed tightly lodged in Suga's battered skull.

As the setter's focus came and went, Daichi still stood on the court with his eyes fixated on Kanda across the net, his breath shallow as he simmered in a volatile rage. The captain knew there would be no way to convince the refs that this had been intentional, but he could feel in his bones that it was. He'd seen the satisfied look in the larger boy's eye, the smirk that flashed across his lips before disappearing beneath a facade that said this was some random Incident.

Daichi's blood boiled. He'd been watching Hinata expecting him to possibly be the next target, but what he hadn't anticipated was Kanda using Kageyama as a pawn. He'd waited until the talented boy was lost in the game enough to overlook the proximity of his injured teammate behind him, then angled a spike right at Noya instead of the opening in their defense. Daichi knew he hadn't hit to the libero by mistake, he could see the decisiveness of the play, and there had been no surprise in his face as Kageyama chased the wayward ball, only a ferocious grin as Suga was trampled in a moment of pure adrenaline. Yes, it was planned and there would be no way for Daichi to convince the refs of it.

Fingers curling into fists as he saw Kanda glance at him with the tiniest of smirks and was submerged in a cloud of red. Daichi contemplated how detrimental it would really be to the team if he were kicked out of the match. How much trouble would he get in if he walked over and slammed his fist into the other boy's throat? He could probably get at least three hits in before someone-

"Daichi!"

Breaking out of his haze of bloodlust, the brunette unwillingly turned to find Tanaka waving him over to where everyone stood crowded around his vice-captain.

"Suga's asking for you, man!"

Brows jumping as he realized he'd yet to check on his friend, Daichi shot Kanda one last glower and then jogged over to the rest of his team. Kiyoko was currently trying to help Suga hold a cloth to his bleeding mouth, but he pulled her hand down as Daichi weaved between his teammates and crouched before him. He looked awful, one eye bruised, and his lip swollen and smeared red as he slumped forward supported by their coach. Heart aching in his chest, Daichi felt a stab of guilt. He'd promised Suga he wouldn't let anyone hurt him again, but here he was bleeding on the floor and in worse condition than ever. What kind of captain was he if he couldn't even protect his teammates?

"Daichi…"

Eyes shifting to Suga's, he moved in a little closer to better hear his friend.

"Suga, are you okay? What do you need, tell me and I-"

"Idiot." Suga cringed, eyes slowly raising to meet Daichi's, left unable to open as wide as the right and appearing unfocused. Confused, the captain tilted his head and raised a brow.

"What?"

"Idiot. Stop plotting ways to kill that guy… Idiot."

Frowning, Daichi tossed a glance over his shoulder at the other team and then looked back at his friend.

"Who says I was doing that?"

"I know that face… Idiot."

Deadpanning, Daichi shook his head and took the cloth from Kiyoko to catch the drop of blood that was beginning to roll over the edge of Suga's lip and down his chin.

"What's with the name-calling? Besides, if anyone's an idiot, it's you. Stubborn idiot, I told you to go back to the infirmary, now look at you. You're a mess."

Wincing as Daichi dabbed at his lip, Suga broke eye contact and looked away without responding. Continuing to put pressure on the cut, he looked at his friend with concern. Why was Suga so against going to the infirmary? Did the other boy have a fear of doctors that he didn't know about? Daichi wasn't sure what it was, but he caught the look of panic as Coach Ukai took his wrist to pull it over his shoulder and then wound the other arm around Suga's waist.

"There's no getting past it now, you're going. Ennoshita, help me out and grab his other side. Keep an eye on things till I get back will ya, Sensei?"

Nodding, the wild-haired man clutched his clipboard tight and motioned for the other boys too move back as the reserved second year mimed Ukai's actions, and carefully took Suga's other wrist to tug over his shoulder.

"Yes, of course. You have nothing to worry about." Takeda assured.

As the two were getting ready to lift Suga to his feet, the third year lightly shook his head and then let it fall forward, a pained expression on his face.

"I need to stay… I'm fine, really."

Daichi had always known Suga to be stubborn, but this was getting ridiculous. He didn't understand why the other boy bothered pretending, it was so obvious that he clearly wasn't okay. Was he… Afraid of how the team would fare without him? Had he put the weight of their success on his shoulders and now felt responsible to stay and watch over them, even when he was injured?

"Suga… You know we'll be fine if you leave, right? You don't have to kill yourself to stay." Daichi said, raising a hand to rest it gingerly on his friend's shoulder and leaning his head down to look into his face to show he was sincere.

The captain's words seemed to have the opposite effect, and Sugawara flinched visibly before gritting his teeth. Shoulders sagging, the setter nodded his head but looked anguished.

"Right… You'll be fine without me…" Suga murmured almost inaudibly.

The tone in his voice concerned Daichi, but he didn't have any time left to question Sugawara further as Coach Ukai and Ennoshita carefully lifted him to his feet. Taking a step back, the brunette made room for them to get by and watched as Suga's face pinched in pain, swearing he saw something glisten in the corner of his eyes, but not getting a good look as the silver-haired boy quickly turned his face from Daichi. Afraid his friend didn't believe him, the captain called after them and looked on as they slowly walked toward the gymnasium doors.

"We're going to be fine, Suga, don't worry. I'll meet you at the infirmary as soon as the match is over, promise."

Refraining from looking back at his friend, Suga nodded as he sniffled softly without responding. Clenching his hands tight, Daichi watched him exit with the feeling of led settling in his gut. He hadn't convinced the other boy at all, had he?

Well, they'd just have to win this match to prove it to him.

Turning back to his teammates, he met their stares with determination flickering in his eyes.

"Alright crows, let's do this!"