Chapter 17: Rescue

Hinata had been sitting in front of Bokuto's door for a couple of hours and was getting antsy. He had already called Coach and Cap to tell them what was going on. Coach had called him back a little while later to say that Bokuto had answered his call. Bo had assured Coach he was fine, and although Hinata knew he wasn't fine, at least there did not seem to be any imminent danger. However, Hinata still did not want to leave his post in case some kind of emergency happened inside or in case Bo finally decided to answer the door.

He finally decided to call Sakusa and Atsumu, thinking maybe one or both of them could come keep watch (listen?) until Akaashi could get there with his key to the apartment. Because they had a bye weekend, neither of them was doing anything special and both agreed to come and give Hinata a break.

They both lived in the same area as Bo so they arrived within twenty minutes. Sakusa got there first, followed by Atsumu a few minutes later. Hinata had already filled them in with most of the details, so they were worried about their friend and willing to do anything to help.

"Any news?" asked Sakusa as he looked down at the redhead slumped against the apartment door.

"No. No sound coming from inside. I've tried calling and texting but he won't answer me."

"So what do we do?" asked Atsumu.

"I guess just stay here until Akaashi comes with his key." Hinata checked the time. "They should be here in a few hours." Atsumu took a good look at Hinata and found that his normally cheery disposition was gone, replaced by a solemn demeanor. It did not suit Hinata at all, he reflected.

"When was the last time you ate something, Shoyo-kun?"

"Uh, I don't know. Maybe eight o'clock?"

Sakusa observed, "Hinata-kun, that was almost six hours ago. You need to eat something."

"Oh. Has it really been that long?" Hinata frowned a little. "I am kinda hungry now that you mention it."

"Why dontcha go get something to eat. Omi-kun and I will stay here in case anything happens," Atsumu said.

"Yes, I agree, Hinata. Go get some food. We'll stay."

"Okay. Thanks guys. I'll come back in an hour or two. Call me if anything happens."

"Of course we will."

When Hinata left, Atsumu slumped down to sit with his back resting on Bokuto's door while Sakusa remained standing for a time. Atsumu was trying to call Bo, but as usual, he wasn't answering. They decided to take turns, each calling or texting every few minutes. After a short time, Sakusa decided to sit down too, since who knows how long they would be there. He took a spot against the wall a few feet away from his teammate.

They talked about (what else?) volleyball, their team, opponents and strategies, and also what would happen in their upcoming games if Bokuto was not able to play. They had strong hitters besides Bo, Sakusa included, but their team relied on Bo to keep up their energy so they were a bit concerned. Of course, that was nothing compared to their concern for their friend. After exhausting volleyball topics, they were silent for a while, still taking turns calling Bokuto although they both knew at this point it was fruitless.

After five or so minutes of quiet, Atsumu spoke out of the blue, purposefully not looking at his friend, but instead inspecting the patterns on the carpet in the hallway where they were sitting.

"Omi-kun?"

"Yeah?" Sakusa asked when Atsumu didn't continue right away.

"Do ya ever… do ya ever think about THAT night?" His question was greeted with silence and Atsumu dared not look up for fear of what his friend's face would reveal. He held his breath waiting for the answer.

"Yeah, I do."

"Do you ever think that maybe…",

At that moment, the elevator door dinged and Hinata stepped off it and toward them, looking less pale and tired. "Anything happen while I was gone?" he asked.

"Nope. Nothing," replied Atsumu, still a little off-balance from the interruption of what was going to be a sensitive discussion. Hinata plopped down and rested his back on the wall on the other side of Atsumu. He checked the time.

"They should be here in an hour or so."

"Good," Atsumu replied. They all sat there, tensely waiting and listening until their friends arrived.

By the time Akaashi and Kageyama stepped off the local train near Bokuto's neighborhood, Akaashi was so nervous and worried, he felt like he might vomit. They walked quickly to the building and took the elevator to Bo's floor. Stepping off the elevator, they were greeted by the three Black Jackals, sitting on the floor looking bored but concerned.

Hinata rose first. "Akaashi, you look terrible." Akaashi let out a "hrmph." Hinata then went to hug his husband as the other two rose to their feet. Akaashi's hands trembled as he fished for the key to Bo's apartment, silently thanking the universe that they had decided a few weeks ago to exchange keys. He finally fumbled around enough to insert the key in the lock and flip the deadbolt. He took a deep breath, praying for courage, and slowly opened the door.

As he entered the living room, he noted there were no lights on here or in the kitchen, which was visible from where he stood. The sun was starting to set, casting long shadows across the furniture. He could see that Bo was not in either room.

Without even taking off his shoes, he made his way to the bedroom, the others following closely behind. Akaashi paused in front of the closed door. Now that he was actually here, his heart was thudding. He was still shaking, and still felt like throwing up, but now the blood ran cold like ice in his veins as he considered what he might find on the other side of that closed door. He knew he should reach out his hand and turn the knob, but he found that fear was preventing his muscles from obeying his brain.

Kageyama noticed his distress and came up beside him, one arm around his shoulder. Kags told Akaashi, softly, "We're right here for you." Kageyama moved his hand to the door knob, twisted, and gently pushed the door open. As in the other rooms, there were no lights on here but they could make out a figure sleeping in the bed across the room. Akaashi couldn't tell from here, but was praying to every god of every religion that Bo wasn't hurt. Or worse. He tried to step forward and approach the bed, but his feet were not cooperating any more than his hands were.

Akaashi just stood there staring for a few seconds until Hinata offered, "I'll go," as he inched through the door and around the two dark-haired males. Sakusa and Atsumu were in the doorway, while Kageyama still had his arm around Akaashi a couple of feet inside the door. Kags could feel Akaashi shaking. After what seemed like forever to Akaashi, but in reality was only a few seconds, Hinata had arrived at the bed. He leaned down to listen.

"He's breathing," said Hinata, with such relief that his voice cracked and he feared tears might fall.

Akaashi let out a breath of immense relief and thanked all the gods that Bokuto was safe. He rushed over and knelt by the side of the bed that Bo was facing. Hinata stepped away back towards his husband while Akaashi tried to gently rouse the sleeping ace.

"Bokuto-san?" There was no movement and no response.

He tried again a little louder, "Bokuto-san? Wake up. I'm here." The sleeping form began to rustle slightly. After a few seconds, Bokuto opened his gold eyes and tried to focus them.

"Akaashi?" he asked in a soft, raspy voice, his eyes finally focusing on the blue ones peering at him.

Akaashi felt relief wash over him like a heavy rain. "Yes, Kotoro, it's me." At first, Akaashi thought he saw a spark of life in those honey eyes, but in one blink, the spark vanished and was replaced with an empty, dull gaze.

"Go away," Bokuto said in a stern voice. The response made Akaashi flinch in pain, but then he reminded himself, The others were not me and I will NOT let any harm come to him, no matter what I have to do.

"No, I'm not going to go away, Kotaro. I'm here to stay. I'm here to take care of you."

"I don't want you here."

"That's too bad, because I'm here and I'm not leaving, no matter what you say."

"Leave me alone. I want to sleep," said Bokuto without emotion.

"Okay, I'll go in the other room but I'm not leaving the apartment. Do you understand? I'm not going to leave you alone. Not for anything. So if you need something, just yell. Okay?"

Bokuto did not respond but closed his eyes again and after a moment, appeared to be back asleep. Akaashi, still crouched by the bed, took a deep breath, closed his eyes sending up another silent prayer of thanks, and stood. He looked over the bed towards the door where his friends were standing and nodded, as if to say, "Okay. It's going to be okay."