Chapter 10: Nekoma and Karasuno

"Hinata?" Kageyama didn't even notice as his bag slumped to the floor beside him, his mouth hanging open in shock. "What the hell are you doing here?"

Hinata wasn't able to stifle his laughter as Kageyama looked him up and down, eyes wide in disbelief. He patted the crutches leaning against the bench beside him before explaining. "I convinced them to discharge me only a few hours ago. They said I wasn't ready yet, but I told them there wasn't anything they could do to stop me."

"Don't tell me you walked all the way here by yourself on that injured leg, with only a pair of crutches. You could hardly get around with a wheelchair only a few days ago."

"Nope!" Hinata shook his head vigorously. "My mom picked me up from the hospital and dropped me off here. I haven't really thought out how I'll get home from here, but that's a problem for later."

Kageyama couldn't restrain himself from facepalming, but the other team members laughed just as lightheartedly as the crazy boy sitting before him.

"Come on, Kageyama," Nishinoya said as he stooped to pick up Kageyama's fallen bag. "At least Hinata's in good spirits. You should be, too! He'll be able to watch us play after all!"

Kageyama just shook his head as he followed the other players away from the bench and started warming up. Every so often, he would sneak a glance in Hinata's direction and was surprised to find his eyes glued to him every time. A weird mixture of emotions was circling through Kageyama's system: excitement for the match and for Hinata to be back with the team again (even just on the sidelines), anger at Hinata for taking such a huge health risk being there, and worry that something else could happen to him if he pushed himself too far. It wasn't enough to distract him from his game preparation, however, because Hinata actively participated in critiquing his practice sets and serves and kept his head in the game, so to speak.

After about ten minutes of warm-up, Kageyama stopped on the far side of the court to get a drink of water and catch his breath. He glanced over to the bench, where Hinata was deep in conversation with Takeda-sensei, who looked eager to have someone to chat with while Ukai was out amongst the players giving feedback. Hinata looked up, feeling Kageyama's stare, and offered a wave and a wide grin, but turned his head quickly as the door to the gym opened.

"Shoyo!" Kozume Kenma stood in the doorway, huffing after the exertion of running. Kageyama leaned to the side and was able to see the rest of the Nekoma team moving behind him at a slower pace. Kenma locked eyes with Hinata and broke into a run again, skidding to a stop just next to the bench as the other members of his team began to enter the gym.

"Hey, Kenma!" Hinata looked up at him with a huge smile.

"Don't just 'hey' me, Shoyo!" Kenma said as he plopped down on the bench and took Hinata's hands within his own. "Coach Nekomata told the team about what happened to you when Coach Ukai called to set up the practice match. I wanted to come and visit, but he said I would only get in the way." He fell silent after catching sight of the crutches at Hinata's side.

"That's okay, I understand," Hinata spoke slowly as he watched Kenma's eyes trailing down. "I'm just glad to see you now... I don't know if he told you guys how serious it all was, but I can't play volleyball for a while. I won't be joining the match today."

Kenma's face fell, but there wasn't even a hint of surprise. "It won't be as fun without you on the other side of the net. Since we met, I've been trying to enjoy playing more, but it's hard."

Hinata remained silent, seemingly unsure of what to say to raise Kenma's spirits.

"I've never seen Kenma so emotional," Kuroo Tetsuro whispered as he crossed the court to approach Kageyama and a few other Karasuno players. "I'm sure you all have had it worse. Our coach told us Hinata was in a coma, is that true?"

Kageyama nodded solemnly as his gaze returned to Kenma clutching Hinata's hands tightly. "He's only really been awake for a week. He should still be in the hospital, but he's too stubborn."

Kuroo pulled him to the side, away from the other players. "Look, I know Hinata and Kenma are the closest among our two teams, but I still consider us friends. Are you okay? You look a little out-of-it…"

"Just tired, I guess," Kageyama mumbled, refusing to meet the Nekoma captain's eyes. "I was there when he woke up, and it was… jarring, to say the least. I've been having nightmares about him recently and it's hard to tell myself they're just dreams when I know so much has happened to him."

Kageyama didn't know why he was admitting all this to a Nekoma player. He hadn't mentioned it to any of the Karasuno players, especially not Hinata. Maybe it helped that Kuroo wasn't around all the time, and wouldn't be there to worry about him constantly. Maybe it was just in his nature to be supportive to the people around him. Before Kuroo could offer any sort of supportive response, though, a shout from Coach Ukai caught the boys' attention.

"Karasuno players," Ukai began as he stood at the edge of the court with Nekoma's coach Nekomata. "Clear off the court and do some more stretching. Nekoma's got the court for warm-up for the next ten minutes."

Kageyama offered a short wave to Kuroo as he headed back towards the bench, watching as Kenma reluctantly released Hinata's hands and stood. As Kageyama sat down on the ground near Hinata's feet and started working on his stretches, he caught the conclusion of their conversation.

"Do your best today, Kenma! I'll be back out there before you know it, and I want to see how much you've grown when I face you on the other side of the net again."

"Mhm!" Kenma nodded, a flash of enthusiasm returning to his face amidst all of the sadness that hung there. He turned and ran over to the Nekoma bench and began preparing to head out onto the court.

"How are you feeling?" Kageyama asked as Hinata fixed his eyes ahead of him again. "Does being here make you feel angry that you can't go out there and play against him?"

"I mean, sure it does, a little," Hinata looked down at him and began to lean forward, then stiffened and straightened up with a grimace. After a moment of silence, he spoke again. "I know that I have to be responsible and take care of my body, though, so what's the point of being angry about something I can't control? It would be awesome to be out on the court again, but I'm just gonna have to trust that you've grown as much as you told me you would and you and the guys can kick Nekoma's butts without me, just this once." He flicked his eyes down to meet Kageyama's again and smiled. "Oh, and your form is a little loose. Straighten out or you're not gonna get a good stretch."

"Hinata, idiot!" Kageyama laughed as he turned to watch the Nekoma players warming up, following Hinata's advice as he went. "Don't change the subject to avoid talking about it," he mumbled, but Hinata ignored him.

Several minutes later, the match was well underway and Hinata was doing his best to cheer like crazy from his spot next to Takeda on the sidelines. Kageyama was on the court with Azumane Asahi, Tanaka Ryuunosuke, Sawamura Daichi, Nishinoya Yuu and Tsukishima Kei. Kenma and Kuroo were starters on the other side as well, so Hinata was going wild and yelling at the Karasuno side to go after them as much as Ukai would let him.

Karasuno was racking up points quickly, garnering generous cheers from Hinata, but a missed dig from Nishinoya gave the serving advantage to Nekoma. Kuroo was up to serve and decided to aim in Nishinoya's direction again, hoping to use his previous stumble to Nekoma's advantage. But Nishinoya had already learned from his mistake, and received the ball with ease and grace before passing it to Kageyama. Kageyama set it to Asahi, who spiked it hard over the net with speed. Everyone believed it would be a surefire point for Karasuno yet again, but Yaku Morisuke, Nekoma's libero, flopped across the court to receive the ball and send it off to Kenma. Seeing no opening in front of him, Kenma set the ball behind his head, where the Nekoma ace, Yamamoto Taketora, was waiting with excitement. His hand slammed into the ball with immense pressure, sending it sailing over the net and across the court in a powerful cross-shot play. There was no hope for any of the Karasuno players to be able to receive such a powerful hit, and they quickly realized that there was no need to anyway, as the ball was sailing out of court-range. What the players didn't realize quickly enough, however, was that receiving the ball would still be necessary.

As the ball sailed towards him, Hinata sat completely paralyzed, sweat dripping down his forehead. It loomed larger and larger in his field of vision until it was all-encompassing, but his arms and legs didn't move an inch. Kageyama was the farthest one away from him, but he ran with all his strength, panic causing heat to lick ferociously at his ears and build up in his cheeks.

"Dodge, idiot!" Kageyama screamed, but Hinata made no move to follow his orders. His skin was white and his eyes were wide, his arms limp at his sides. Time seemed to be moving slowly for Kageyama, allowing him to process all of this but not allowing him the speed to get to the boy in time. He felt his legs lift from the ground as he unthinkingly released his body into a full-on-belly-flopping jump, knowing he would never land close enough to protect the boy, and he screamed in anguish as his stomach made contact with the hard gymnasium floor.

But as he looked up, hearing the hard thud of ball making contact with body, relief flooded over Kageyama's now bruised body. The ball fell to the ground and bounced before rolling towards the Nekoma side of the court, revealing Takeda's shoulder in the space where Hinata's face had been seconds before. He had leapt forward quickly enough to shield the boy, pressing Hinata's face against his chest and tucking his arm protectively around the top of Hinata's head.

As Takeda pulled back, Kageyama scrambled to his feet and ran over to the bench. He kneeled down in front of Hinata as his face came back into view. He was clutching at his stomach with a deep scowl set into his face, as Takeda had twisted his body to the side in his haste to protect the boy and it had obviously caused him some incredible pain.

"Hinata," Kageyama gasped as both teams began to gather behind him. "Are you okay?"

"S-sorry, Tak-keda-s-sensei," Hinata said quietly, his voice quivering. His body was trembling, and as Kageyama placed a hand over Hinata's hands, still pressed to his stomach, he felt the burning heat of panic radiating from the boy's skin. "I saw the ball coming, but I-I just couldn't move. I don't know why."

"It's quite alright, Hinata. I'm fine, and you're okay, so that's all that matters." Takeda said as he rubbed lightly at his shoulder.

"Are you okay, Hinata?" Kageyama echoed again, his hand still pressed over Hinata's own.

Hinata nodded slowly, color starting to return to his face. "I don't know why... " he said again. "I've never reacted to a ball like that before…"

"I don't blame you, Hinata," Ukai said as he came around the side of the bench and placed a hand on his shoulder. "You've been through a lot in the last few weeks. I mean, a volleyball to the face is kinda what started it all. it's only natural that you may have developed some trauma, if you want to give it a name."

A shadow seemed to cross over Hinata's face, and it looked as if he was trying to fight tears from forming. "I don't want to fear the sport I love," he said quietly.

"Do you want to go home? I can take you," Takeda said, leaning forward. "I apologize if I caused you any pain. It might be best for you to go home if that is the case…"

"No," Hinata murmured a bit more firmly this time, pushing Kageyama's hand away from his stomach. "I'd like to stay, if that's okay. I don't want to feel this way, so I want to stay."

Takeda, Ukai, and Nekomata, standing a few paces away, all looked at each other, glancing back and forth in silence, before Ukai ultimately decided to be the one to speak.

"Are you sure, Hinata? We can't always control where the ball goes. This might happen again."

"Mmm," Hinata nodded. "I'll expect it from now on. I'll be prepared."

As the players began standing up and spreading out to resume the match, Taketora scrambled forward and knelt down next to Kageyama. He took Hinata's hands and rested them atop his knees. "Hinata-kun! I'm so sorry! I can't believe I lost control of the ball like that and put you in danger."

"It's okay, I know it was an accident. I need to work through some stuff, emotionally, I guess, so please don't blame yourself."

Taketora hung his head low for a moment, then nodded and released Hinata's hands. He stood and bowed slightly before returning to the court, where Kenma stood watching Hinata carefully. Hinata waved at Kenma and put on his best smile, but the worry on Kenma's face only seemed to deepen. Hinata sighed before slipping his gaze down to the floor, where he noticed Kageyama was still squatting in front of him.

"What are you doing? Get back on the court."

"Sugawara!" Kageyama called out while locking eyes with Hinata. "I'm done for today, you're in for me. If you don't mind."

"What?!" Hinata exclaimed, his mouth dropping open. "You guys haven't even finished the first set yet!"

Kageyama rose and sat down on Hinata's other side, pressing against his arm in the small amount of space available at the edge of the bench. "I'm gonna sit here with you. I felt things out with how I played so far. I've definitely improved, but that's not what's most important right now. You are. Takeda-sensei probably doesn't want to have to block another ball again, am I right, sensei?"

"Ahaha, um, yes, actually," Takeda laughed sheepishly from his seat on Hinata's other side. "I'm not the rough-and-tough sort. I bruise easily."

"See?" Kageyama smirked. "Count on me if there's another ball incoming. Plus, I'm going to make you work through these issues of yours right here and now." His smirk stretched into a mischievous smile.

"What… does that mean?" Hinata asked with trepidation.

"It means… WAHHH!" Kageyama suddenly leaned forward and raised his arms, causing Hinata to jump and lean away from him, bumping into Takeda's arm. After the horror had flashed across Hinata's face and disappeared again, Kageyama continued. "I'm going to keep you on your toes so you get used to it again."

"That's not a very nice thing to do to a guy in recovery," Hinata grumbled as he rubbed at his stomach again, shifting his eyes to watch as play resumed.

"I'm kidding," Kageyama grunted, but he kept a close eye on Hinata as the rest of the match proceeded, feeling every brush of Hinata's arm against his own as a ball sailing across the court made him jump, or watching his eyes widen as the out balls weren't gone for. Halfway through the second set, Kageyama couldn't fight it any longer. He leaned backward and slipped his arm behind Hinata's back, then began rubbing soft circles. "Dude," he stammered quietly as heat rose to his cheeks, "don't make this a long-term thing, okay?"

Hinata didn't say anything, but his body relaxed as soon as Kageyama's hand had rested on his back for a moment. He let out a long sigh, as if realizing how much anxiety had been flowing through his body and he was now willing it all to flow out with that breath. Kageyama kept his hand there for the rest of the match, starting up the rubbing again each time any tenseness or agitation crept back into Hinata's muscles.

As everyone began piling off of the court at the match's end, Karasuno having taken both sets with Nekoma putting up a valiant fight, Hinata turned carefully to Kageyama and whispered softly, "Thank you. I didn't know I needed that… I never knew how important just being able to reach out and touch someone was until I was alone in that forest… alone in that hospital room…" He said nothing more, his eyes taking on a sort of faraway look before snapping back to normal as players began to congregate around the bench.

As Hinata smiled and began to congratulate the players, Kageyama leaned forward and shielded his eyes from view of the others. He could feel tears welling up, thinking again of the dreams that had been plaguing him, of Hinata's scream as the car pressed forward against the tree, his pain and disorientation as he had awoken in Kageyama's arms weeks later, and now the scar all of that had left so visibly on Hinata's psyche. Hinata was forever changed and there was nothing Kageyama could do about it, and the pressure welling up inside him at that realization was too much to bear. As everyone chatted, packed up and started leaving the gym, Kageyama sat there next to Hinata with his eyes covered, hot tears carving wet tracks down his face, until he, Hinata and the coaches were the last ones left in the gym.

"Text me more often, Shoyo. I want to know how you're doing," Kenma said from the door before waving and heading out.

"Well," Takeda stood up and stretched. "I need to head home and grade some papers. I'm sure you both have things to tend to as well, Ukai, Nekomata. Hinata, can we help you get home?"

"I'm gonna walk, actually," Hinata beamed, and Kageyama shot up.

"No, you are not," Kageyama said forcefully as he looked away from the boy, trying to buy himself time to wipe his eyes before any of them could see. "Please tell me you aren't that stupid."

"I am, though," Hinata giggled. He patted the crutches at his side. "Just kidding. I'm not. But I am walking. With these, I should be able to make it home no problem. I need to work on using crutches to get around anyway."

"What would your mom say, if she knew you were planning this? She would never have let you come in the first place!" That seemed to hit a soft spot with Hinata, and his smile disappeared.

"Fine," he replied softly. "I'll take the bus. But I'm walking to the bus stop, and there's nothing you can do to stop me."

Kageyama found himself actually facepalming for the second time that day, and noticed the three adults in the room exchange worried glances as well.

"I'd be happy to give you a lift there, Hinata, really," Takeda said skeptically, but Hinata just shook his head in response.

"I'll come with you then, sheesh." Kageyama said, and stood. "Your mom would kill me if she found out that I had the chance to offer that and passed it up. And you can't say no to me because I'm stronger than you at the moment and will literally carry you if you give me any trouble."

That set the three adults into fits of laughter, so much so that they couldn't even calm themselves to say goodbye before exiting the gym. They just waved as they left, leaving an agitated Kageyama alone with Hinata, who still hadn't attempted to leave his spot on the bench.

"If you can't even stand up there's no way I'm letting you get yourself to the bus stop."

"Okay, okay, I get it." Hinata laughed and waved Kageyama off, but his face took on a grave expression as he looked down at the crutches beside him. He picked them up and set one on either side of him, then scooted forward until his butt was on the edge of the bench. Kageyama moved forward and took hold of Hinata's elbows without even asking first if Hinata needed help, and essentially did most of the work hoisting Hinata up as he placed all of his body weight on his uninjured leg. As he got the crutches placed firmly on the ground, Kageyama backed away.

"Feeling good so far?" Hinata nodded. "Okay, then let's go."

Kageyama stooped down and grabbed his bag from the floor, then waited as Hinata moved the crutches forward and hopped on his good foot to align his body with them. A slight flinch of pain shot across his face as he moved, but he kept silent as he made up the space to match pace with Kageyama. They moved slowly as they exited the gym and traveled towards the school's main gate. Hinata was already breathing hard as they crossed over to the sidewalk outside.

"Are you sure about this?"

"Yeah, this is good," Hinata huffed. "I feel like I'm getting a good workout in for the first time in a while."

Kageyama just shook his head as he checked his pace to make sure he didn't move too fast for Hinata. It was complete insanity that this boy was hopping around on crutches only a week after waking up and having his stitches rip open, with only a few physical therapy sessions under his belt to boot. He was getting paler and paler with every step they took, and the sweat on his forehead was reaching waterfall status.

"There's a bench over there. Do you want to take a break?"

"If we take breaks it'll take forever to get anywhere, Kageyama."

They were almost at the street corner nearest to the school, which meant they still had another block and a half until they would get to the nearest bus stop. Kageyama didn't mind the slow going at all, but he was getting increasingly concerned that Hinata had been overly ambitious with his plan and it was due to catch up with him at any moment.

"I really think we should…"

Hinata just kept going, even picking up the pace as he began to cross the street. He seemed to be getting used to the feeling of walking with crutches, even appearing to become accustomed to the pain that was likely coursing across his stomach and lower back as the force of repeatedly making contact with the ground traveled upwards through his body.

A small flicker of pride began to grow in Kageyama as he watched Hinata setting out before him, challenging everything that was holding him back in the way that he had done so often before everything happened. It was like the trembling, scared boy that everyone had witnessed in the gym was just a front, like he had been switched out with a fake, and the real Hinata was returning to them now. But that only lasted a second more.

"Woah!" Hinata called out as first one, and then the other crutch fell out of his grasp and toppled to the ground. One crutch had become stuck on the edge of an unlevel piece of cement in the sidewalk and had sent Hinata careening off-balance. All reason seemed to leave Hinata's head as he panicked and tried to balance himself, forgetting that his leg was just as badly injured as his torso. The leg went down, a cry of pain resounded, and Hinata began to crumple to the ground.

Kageyama didn't even waste the brain power to call out this time, instead acting as quickly as possible to protect Hinata. He raced forward and scooped the boy out of the air just seconds before his head would have hit the concrete, then got on his knees and gently laid Hinata's head across them. The pain must have been tremendous, more unbearable than even the pain in Hinata's stomach had been during the match, because the boy was out cold in Kageyama's arms.

"Hey, Hinata," he bent over and said close to the boy's ear, tapping at his cheek as he spoke. He kept going to distract himself from his own anxiety. "Man, what an idiot. You should not have been discharged today. Add this to the list of things you've done that are killing me."

Kageyama stared at the boy, waiting another moment for him to come around, but there was no change. His mouth hung open loosely, his eyelids open just the slightest bit to reveal that his eyes had rolled back. A bit of sense finally returned as Kageyama racked his brain for what to do, and he pulled up the leg of Hinata's sweatpants to check the stitches for any rips. But that wound was still bandaged up, and no blood appeared to be seeping through the white cloth, so he replaced the pants leg and lifted up the hem of Hinata's shirt to check his stomach. Kageyama was expecting to see a similar sight, but he was met instead with Hinata's bare skin. The scar that ran across his lower left side was long and thick, somewhat-healed in some places, large stretches of irritated skin and fresh stitches evident in others. He ran his hand over the wound quickly, just to make sure everything was still sealed tight, then lifted Hinata's head up to his shoulder and ran his hand along his back to check there. That wound, too, was unbandaged, but no new stitching had been added there when Hinata had woken up.

Kageyama moved Hinata's head back down and cradled it against his forearm, then sat transfixed by the scar across his stomach. The idea of calling for an ambulance, for Hinata's mother, or even for any of the adults that were probably not too far away from the school didn't cross his mind as long as he kept staring at the scar. Kageyama sat with his hand hovering inches away from Hinata's stomach, unable to process a single thought.

"Uh… what are you doing?" Kageyama jumped as Hinata's voice rang into his ear, and he scooped the boy into a hug before he had even thought through how to react. "Seriously… what are you doing?"

"Taking care of your stupid ass," Kageyama said into the top of Hinata's head, then pulled away, pretending not to notice the bewildered expression on Hinata's face, and tugged his shirt back down. He grabbed Hinata by the hand and pulled him with caution into a sitting position. "Sorry, this probably looks really weird from your perspective… I was just making sure your stitches didn't reopen."

"Oh, thanks." Hinata glanced down at his stomach. "Pretty nasty looking, right?"

"It's not too bad. It'll keep healing."

"The one on my leg is even worse. I can probably never wear shorts again without freaking out little kids."

"Don't be a pessimist, Hinata. It really doesn't suit you. I'm sure all of your stitches will heal up just fine, and if they scar, hell, you'll look like a badass and people will stop calling you chibi-chan." Kageyama tried to be lighthearted with the boy, but Hinata just shot him a tired look. He then swiveled his head around to peer at the street around them and brought his hand up to rub at the back of it.

"You caught me before I hit the ground?"

"You remember what happened?"

"I think I tripped."

"Yeah, idiot. That's what you get for being cocky and going so fast. You're gonna have a long road to recovery, so please don't make it even longer by trying to rush it."

"Right."

"I'm gonna have to go home with you every day, once you start coming to class again, aren't I?" Kageyama grumbled as he collected Hinata's crutches, distracting himself from the thumping of his heartbeat as relief over the return of Hinata's consciousness allowed it to slowly return to normal. "You're gonna kill yourself by accident if I'm not there."

"That's not true!" Hinata laughed as Kageyama handed the crutches to him. He put them down on either side of him and began lining them up to try to return to a standing position, but Kageyama placed his hands over Hinata's.

"Nuh-uh. I gave those back to you so you could carry them. Because I'm carrying you. No way you're walking again, at least not today."

He wrestled the crutches out of Hinata's grip and stacked them together, then shoved them into Hinata's arms despite his complaining. Then he squatted down and placed one hand behind Hinata's back, the other underneath his knees, and lifted him into the air.

"You literally are carrying me, like you threatened back in the gym. This is so humiliating," Hinata grunted between clenched teeth as his leg twitched.

"Less humiliating than passing out in the middle of the sidewalk," Kageyama jabbed back. "Now, keep an eye on those crutches. I don't want to get smacked in the face."

As soon as the words had left his mouth, he was playfully struck across the face.

"You did that to yourself," Hinata giggled, but Kageyama managed to keep a straight face as he began walking again.

"How's the pain? Your leg is probably really hurting, right?"

"Oh, it's fine," Hinata said simply. But within minutes all of the bubbly energy he had after he had come to was gone. He rested the crutches across his chest and let his head fall onto Kageyama's shoulder, all pretense of taking charge of his own recovery gone. In the silence between the two boys as Kageyama continued on, he gazed lifelessly back at the path they had tread.