Chapter 9: Intruder

True to their game plan, and with Emi's fever brought down, all the guys went to school the next morning. They were oddly quiet during training, sure, and distracted in class, which caused some suspicion. Especially with Emi still off sick, the whole team was on edge. The most rambunctious second-years, most authoritative third-years, and prized team manager all out for the count or just acting weirdly? Something must've been wrong.

"Hey captain," Hinata said during after-school training. "Have you heard from Emi?"

Yamaguchi also stepped forward. "Y-yeah. Me and Tsukki have been really worried about her."

"Don't bring me into this," Tsukki grumbled, but he gave the slightest blush.

Suga and Daichi shared a short look, but Daichi played it off with a smile. "Matter of fact, I checked in on her yesterday. Stomach flu is all."

Hinata's eyes popped. "Stomach flu? Oh no!"

"Indeed," Tanaka blurted. "Emi is sick with a stomach flu."

"That is correct," Nishinoya added. "Emi is at home, her home, sick, with a stomach flu."

They both nodded mechanically. Daichi and Suga had to keep themselves from rolling their eyes. Asahi, who'd already been filled in by the other third-years, practically shook in his shoes. They were going to blow her cover!

For the next couple days, all the third-years came by to check in on Emi after training. She lay low at Tanaka's house, Daichi staying the night one night, Suga staying the other, so that looking after Emi was never any single person's responsibility. If something went wrong, they'd need at least one third-year around.

They didn't get a chance to come up with a solution before Friday. In fact, it was only Thursday's afternoon training when things took a real turn.

They were getting to wrap up and call it a night when the gym doors burst open. A middle-aged man in suit and tie charged in, his expression eerily stern. The whole team jumped at his entrance and looked amongst each other, all equally clueless.

"She here?" The man demanded. His voice was gruff and sharp.

Sensing something was off, Coach Ukai stepped forward. It wasn't his responsibility per se, but he'd be damned if he couldn't look after these dumb kids.

"You lost, buddy?" Coach Ukai asked.

"I'm looking for my daughter." The man got right up in Ukai's face. "And the name's not buddy. It's Detective. Detective Nakamura."

Hinata perked up. "Like Emi Nakamura?"

The detective didn't respond, like Hinata wasn't even worth his time. Instead, he remained planted in front of Coach Ukai, his gaze dark and threatening.

"Huh." Ukai folded his arms, trying not to give away his increasing nervousness. "Emi's dad is a cop."

Explains why he's out on business all the time, I guess, the second and third-years realized. And probably why Emi's so adamant about laying low, refusing to call the police. Oh, God. This was bad.

"That's right," Detective Nakamura said. "Emi's dad is a cop. Now you gonna tell me where she is?"

Coach Ukai hesitated. Rationally, he should've trusted the guy. A high-ranking cop, and Emi's father? Sounded pretty trustworthy. So why was he getting such a bad vibe?

Thankfully, before he had to come up with an answer, Daichi stepped in. His face was dark, his fists clenched at his sides, glaring at Detective Nakamura with a hatred and rage the team had never seen from him. What was even stranger was Suga, Asahi, Nishinoya and Tanaka backing him up, all equally furious, clearly restraining themselves.

"Emi's busy," Daichi practically growled.

"That's right," Tanaka snarled. "So you can stay the hell away from her!"

"Woah, guys." Ennoshita flailed his arms. "Take it easy." You're talking to a big-shot police officer.

Ignoring him, Suga said, "Emi won't be going anywhere with you."

The situation was becoming painfully clear. Maybe Emi really was sick, but she definitely wasn't staying at home. And the reason for that was almost certainly this scary, abusive asshole standing in their gym. Coach Ukai had to swallow his own rising fury, just imagining the pieces coming together. Was this man really….hurting Emi? Oh, man, what Ukai would've given to mess him up here and now.

"You heard the boys," Ukai said. "Emi's busy. You're better off elsewhere."

Detective Nakamura sneered. "Did you all miss the part where I'm a cop?"

"No, sir." Coach Ukai sneered right back. "I did not. But, as you can see, your kid ain't here."

"Well then." The detective rolled his shoulders back. "You see her, you tell her to come straight home."

Ukai nodded, very unconvincingly. "Mm-hm."

The detective, stiff with reluctance, wandered off, giving a final menacing look over his shoulder. Once he was out of earshot, it was just Ukai and the team left, all silent for several moments. A dreadful understanding hung in the air for even the more oblivious first-years.

It was Ukai who broke the quiet. Without turning to the team, he asked, "So where is she?"

The third-years looked slyly to Tanaka and Nishinoya, uncertain how to proceed. Especially considering how Ukai had just handled that situation, they could probably trust him, but they couldn't help but worry.

"Hey!" Ukai snapped, spinning around. "You lot know, don't you?"

"Well, yes," Suga responded, suddenly sheepish. "But we promised we'd —"

Ukai stormed toward them. "Are you guys crazy? You know better than most that Emi is not well. Unless you've got her stashed away in some hospital, she is at risk right now!"

"Hey!" Nishinoya snapped. He was the only one out of the group bold enough, or pissed enough, to stand up to the coach. "The only place Emi was ever really at risk was in her own home! We got her out of there! That's what matters!"

At that, Coach Ukai paused. So his suspicions were painfully correct. Emi's dad was abusive. No wonder the guys had all bristled up so badly when he entered.

"Alright," Ukai said, softer now. "Get the gym cleaned up ASAP. You're gonna take me to see Emi."

"Huh?" Tanaka asked.

"Don't argue," Ukai snapped. "Your upperclassmen told me to keep an eye on her. So that's what I'm gonna do. End of story."

While Daichi, Suga and Ukai gathered in the doorway to talk over the details and give the coach a run-down of the last few days, the rest of the team worked on the gym. They were a mess, dropping stuff, spilling stuff, chattering anxiously amongst themselves. The first years in particular were inconsolable. Having seen Emi those weeks ago, knowing something was wrong, but being denied any further information, this situation was like a hard slap in the face they should've seen coming.

"What's going on?" Hinata blubbered. "Is Emi really sick? And why are the third-years hiding her from everyone?!"

"Shut up, you idiot!" Kageyama snapped, unable to contain his own anxiety, channelling it into rage. "No one's hiding her! They're protecting her!"

Hinata gasped. "Protecting her? From who!"

"Oh my God," Tsukishima groaned. "You really are stupid, aren't you?"

"It's her dad," Nishinoya said, his voice unusually low, as he wandered by them with a mop. "He hurt her."

For the first time in a while, Hinata was at a loss for words. He blinked, unable to process his own horror.

"And we're not keeping her hidden," Tanaka added. "We're keeping her safe."

Kageyama swallowed. "C-can we see her?"

The second-years looked at each other uncertainly. From behind them, Ennoshita approached, doing his best to smooth the discussion over.

"I guess that'll be up to Emi," he said softly. "We'll do whatever makes her feel safest, right?"

That, the first-years could understand. They nodded eagerly.

Once the gym was packed up and clean, Coach Ukai faced the team. He did his best to retain a calm, but stoic expression, not wanting his kids to know just how scared he was.

"Alright guys," he said. "Guess cat's out of the bag. Sort of, at least. For now, I want you all on stand by in case we need extra help. I'm headed to check on Emi myself. I promise you — all of you — that I'll take care of her, to the best of my abilities." His fists clenched. "That son of a bitch cop won't lay a single finger on her as long as I'm around."

Satisfied enough by his assurances, the team nodded and chanted their agreement. With that, Ukai left with Daichi, Suga and Tanaka, to go check in on Emi and figure out what the hell they would do next.

xxx

Much to everyone's horror, Emi was not in bed resting. Instead, they found her at the kitchen table, furiously scribbling into a notebook. At the very least she had a blanket draped over her, keeping warm, and a glass of water as well, but she wasn't exactly taking it easy, as she had been instructed.

"Emi," Daichi said, folding his arms as he entered the kitchen. "What are you doing out of bed?"

Emi jumped, suddenly aware of the four people who had appeared before her. "Oh! I, uh, I had some new ideas for the team's morning training regiment. Figured I should get them down before I forgot."

While Daichi, Suga and Tanaka just sighed or rolled their eyes, telling themselves they should have known she would find some way to keep working for the team, Ukai just froze. Of course, he had been warned that Emi was looking a little worse for wear, but he wasn't ready for the fully-formed black eye. He felt sick to the stomach for a split second, before that feeling was replaced with pure rage.

"Oh, God," Ukai muttered. Slowly, he approached the table. Emi recoiled slightly, sheepish, and uncertain. What was he doing here? The guys promised they weren't going to tell anyone.

"C-Coach," Emi said. "Hi."

But he could only repeat himself, sinking down at the table across from her. "Oh, God…" For just a second, Ukai reached out as if to hold her face and get a closer look at that black eye, but pulled away. "That son of a bitch."

"Yeah." Behind him, Tanaka's face was hard. "It's bad."

Sitting up straight, more than a little nervous now, Emi frowned. "What's going on, guys? What did you tell him?"

"Take it easy," Ukai said. "They didn't have much choice. Still, I guess I didn't wanna believe it."

Upon's Emi's questioning glare, looking between her peers, Suga sighed. "Try to stay calm, but your dad paid us a little visit during training."

"Needless to say, we didn't take too kindly to having him around," Daichi growled.

"What?" Emi lurched to her feet. Her eyes bulged, panic clear in her features. "He—he was there? What did he say? Did he do anything? Are you —?"

It only took Coach Ukai a second to see Emi's legs shaking, at which point he jumped up to steady her. "Hey," he said, his deep voice both stern and comforting. "Hey, I said take it easy. You're safe, I promise. So don't go passing out on us."

Emi swallowed, hard, clearly trying to restrain herself, but Ukai knew better than to let her go. "Sorry," she said. "I-I won't."

"Coach," Daichi stepped forward, concern evident on his face. "She needs to lie down. Let's take her to the —"

"No," Emi said. Regretting her sharp tone, she took a deep breath, and repeated, "No. I'll calm down. Please, I need to know what happened."

After getting a confirmation nod from Daichi, Ukai helped Emi back to the table. This time, he took a seat right next to her, like he was afraid she'd slip straight off the chair. Daichi and Suga sat across from them, and Tanaka hung behind, arms crossed, jaw hard.

The guys gave Emi a brief run-down of the events at the gym with her father, her face getting paler and paler the more they spoke. Seeing her fear, and worried it would drain the last of her energy, they chose their words carefully, doing their best not to send her into a panic. Every now and again, Ukai would hold up a hand to stop them, giving Emi a chance to take in every part of the story. Once they were finished, Emi took a few seconds to calm her breathing. Scared as she was, she didn't want to fall into a full-blown freak out in front of all these people.

Finally, she said, "I'm really sorry you all had to deal with that. My personal problems should never interfere with your training, or any other part of your lives."

"Forget training," Ukai said. "This is one hell of a situation we've got on our hands here. Safe to say we've got new priorities."

"What're you talking about?" Emi demanded. "New priorities? No offence guys, and I can't tell you how much I appreciate everything you've done for me, but this 'hell of a situation' is not yours to deal with."

Outraged, the guys all stepped or leaned forward, ready to argue, when Coach Ukai stopped them. He pursed his lips.

"I'll admit, this stuff is a little above my pay grade," he said. "But I'll tell you right now — the second I walked through that door and saw the black eye you're sporting, I'd made up my mind."

"He's right." Determined to assert his own authority, and support, Daichi cut in. "Like it or not, manager, you've got the whole team on your side here."

"For such a crazy smart girl, it's actually pretty dumb to think we'd ever leave you alone in this," Tanaka added, earning a sharp nudge from Sugawara.

Gritting her teeth to keep herself from crying, Emi couldn't speak for several moments. She looked ahead at her friends for as long as she could before glaring down at her fists, balled on the table, as she struggled to keep her emotions in check. Everyone was being so strong for her. The least she could do was return the favour.

Finally, Emi whispered, "I'm not sure I deserve all this."

Ukai couldn't help but smirk, looking back at the matching amused expressions of his team. He reached across the table to grasp Emi's hand, forcing her gaze back up.

"That's alright," he told her. "God knows we're all sure enough for you."

"That's right," Daichi said.

"One hundred per cent," from Suga.

"Damn straight," Tanaka said.

Despite all the pain, Emi had to smile.