The rest of the team had somehow caught wind of their return to school. Haruichi wouldn't be surprised if his brother planted the seed, to watch everyone's assumptions and eventual realization as the news spread throughout the day.

School had barely let out when the first flow of their teammates poured into the cafeteria in varying forms of relief. There were teary eyes, smiles, and excess sarcasm as Haruichi, Furuya, and Kuramochi were quickly swarmed; chairs haphazardly pushed aside to create space. Declarations of being happy they were alright, and light-hearted banter, all blurred together. There were so many voices around them that they didn't even get a chance to respond to anyone before the rest of their teammates trickled in to add to the chaos.

"What happened to your face?!" Someone exclaimed, Haruichi turned to see Seki had pushed his way to the front where he stared wide-eyed at Kuramochi. Asou quickly elbowed him in the ribs while Kuramochi simply raised a brow at the question. Everyone else had gone silent, probably because someone finally asked what they were all thinking.

"Real subtle," Haruichi heard someone mumble, possibly Kanemaru, from amidst the horde.

Maezono quickly pulled Seki back further into the crowd, "You don't have to answer that," he said as he took Seki's place, "It's good to see you again, all of you," he finished, as he made sure to meet each of their eyes.

"Thanks, man. It's good to be back," Kuramochi replied, a crooked smile curving his lips. "And let me guess," he went on, "Ryou-san let slip we were coming back today," Haruichi couldn't help but smile softly at that. They both came to the same conclusion.

Maezono chuckled, "He may have hinted at it."

There was a suspicious sheen in Maezono's eyes that suggested he was fighting back tears of his own. Haruichi was slightly surprised he hadn't begun to full-on cry yet.

"Do you know when you guys will be able to return to practice?" Tojo spoke up from the crowd, poking his head up in an attempt to see over everyone.

Kuramochi winced at the question, but Haruichi beat him to respond, "We're allowed to begin light exercise and go from there," he said, jerking his thumb at Furuya beside him. All eyes quickly shifted towards Kuramochi, waiting to hear from him next.

Kuramochi aggressively ran his hand through his hair, gaze focused on the table. After a beat, he let out a loud sigh of frustration, "I...am not allowed to practice. At least, not until after my next check-up." Instantly, quiet mumbles broke out around the cafeteria before Maezono silenced everyone.

"It's a good thing we're in the off-season, then," Maezono began, placing a hand on Kuramochi's shoulder, "Just take this time to recover." Kuramochi granted that a wane smile, but Haruichi could tell that he was still miffed that he'll only be able to watch as the rest of their team continued to work on their skills. Though, Haruichi couldn't blame him at all, for he himself was frustrated that he couldn't practice as hard or as long as he normally would. The coaches had been made aware that Haruichi and Furuya had to limit themselves, which would mean they were going to be monitored and probably pulled from practice if it appeared they were overworking themselves.

They had a lot of lost time to make up for.

"We're currently on a diet of light foods," Haruichi added with forced mirth; to take the attention off of Kuramochi and alleviate some of the tension.

"Why?" Asou blurted. No sooner than it left his lips, Asou's eyes widened in shock and he slapped a hand over his mouth as everyone else turned hard gazes onto him. It was undoubtedly a reflex response on Asou's behalf and he came to that conclusion too late.

Their teammates may have come to an agreement not to ask any questions. It was a little surprising no one had tried to get at least some information out of them. Haruichi was half expecting to be bombarded with questions, but the two they got seemed to have been spouted unconsciously, only for them to be shut down immediately. Haruichi couldn't blame Asou, or anyone else that may let something slip. The situation was touchy, and they've never had to censor themselves around each other as they were currently attempting to do.

They probably weren't expecting a response, but Kuramochi gave one anyway, "The joys of being starved for over a month," it came out snide with a hint of a sneer playing across his face. Haruichi assessed Kuramochi as the room fell silent once again. Kuramochi's mood had taken a drastic shift ever since their teammates poured in around them. It had been slight at first, with minimal tell-tale signs that could have easily gone unnoticed, especially amongst all the commotion. However, after Seki's initial slip-up, his mood spiraled from there.

Haruichi didn't think it was their presence itself that was bugging Kuramochi, but the fact that they packed in around them like a can of sardines. After being trapped within the same four walls with no escape, Haruichi wouldn't be surprised if being surrounded was grating on Kuramochi's nerves. Even for Haruichi, it was beginning to make him feel claustrophobic, but he had tamped the internal panic down in the face of his teammates' joy and relief; unaware and ignorant of the strain it had on the three of them.

Maybe not fully unaware, as Maezono let his own smile fade as he focused on Kuramochi, likely trying to get a read on him with the sudden hostility that was beginning to radiate from him.

Kuramochi had leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms over his chest in a display of defiance. While, to everyone else, Kuramochi may appear to be thoroughly vexed, Haruichi, however, could only see it as a defensive posture. Almost as if he was waiting for someone to express their sympathy, without knowing that that would be the last thing Kuramochi wanted to hear. Haruichi hadn't been explicitly told that Kuramochi had a fear of being perceived as weak, but the thing about being trapped with each other, with no other forms of distraction, allowed them to slowly pick up on body language and words that were left unspoken.

Quickly, Haruichi wracked his brain to think of another change of topic, something that wouldn't bring more attention to Kuramochi or allow anyone else an opportunity to accidentally offend. However, Haruichi couldn't bring his mind to focus on anything that would divert the sudden tension that weighed heavy throughout the cafeteria; too high-strung to recall "normal" conversation topics.

Haruichi fisted his hands tightly in his lap, fingernails biting into his palms as sweat began to bead in his hairline when Furuya's voice cut through the precarious lull, "Sawamura and Miyuki-senpai were found," and just like that, the tension snapped as the room broke out in an uproar.

With a shaking exhale, Haruichi released the tension in his own body as Kuramochi met his eyes. While the three of them had a little over an hour to soak in that information, it had slipped Haruichi's notice that the rest of their team had yet to have a chance to stumble across the news themselves. It was the most effective way to divert the path their conversation had been leading down.

Nice, Furuya!

Kuramochi barely mentioned the article he found and the rest of the group pulled out their own phones to search for themselves. At some point, someone even turned on the T.V and flipped through the various news stations to see if any of them were covering the story. As of yet, none of them were, but that didn't stop anyone from checking every couple of minutes.

Once dinner rolled around, the hype had died down slightly while the team went about their routine of scarfing down their food before going about the rest of their evening. Haruichi picked morosely at his meager miso soup and a single bowl of rice. The day wasn't even over, but Haruichi could already feel the exhaustion set in, leaving him without an appetite as he listened to the drone of his teammates as well as the television playing softly in the background.

Haruichi couldn't help but notice that no one had gone off for afternoon practice. Kataoka hadn't even come in search of them, which led Haruichi to believe their coach was aware that they were all visiting, and was allowing them a day to catch up with each other, unconcerned without any looming games on the horizon.

Though, considering it was the off-season, most of the time allotted was used for personal training as the weather grew too cold for extensive field play. But with how determined their team was to practice whenever and however possible, Kataoka would have noticed if none of them were sprinkled about as he still monitored all of their progress and offered helpful tips.

Haruichi forced himself to finish his meal, knowing he wouldn't be able to build back up to his usual portions at his current rate. It was already going to take a while until he could return to any semblance of normal, and if he wanted to build up his stamina and muscles again, he would need all the nutrients he could get.

With a puff of breath, Haruichi leaned back in his chair, resting a hand on his stomach; feeling full, almost borderline too full, but it was one hundred times better than the sensation of his stomach twisting itself into knots from hunger. The majority of the team had long since finished, a few trickled out mentioning getting started on homework or batting practice, but several still hung back to linger by Haruichi, Furuya, and Kuramochi's table.

The atmosphere had lightened significantly with the news on Sawamura and Miyuki, as if everyone had a heavy weight suddenly lifted from their shoulders, to leave them giddy and loose-limbed now that they officially knew all of them were alive. Though the conditions of Sawamura and Miyuki were still unknown, at least they had been found.

A loud exclamation sounded from the corner of the cafeteria followed almost immediately by the volume of the T.V being turned up. As if summoned, everyone quickly crowded around the screen where a newscaster, Ida Sayuri, sat with a split image of Sawamura and Miyuki mid-game plastered on a large monitor behind her. Ida essentially covered what they had already read in all the articles, but they couldn't help but watch regardless.

The image behind her shifted to a muted video outside of The University of Tokyo, where a line of cop cars blocked the entrance from a mass of people, "Due to an increased number of media and reporters attempting to get footage, all visitors and people not of staff or in need of medical assistance, have been temporarily prohibited from entering the hospital," Ida began, "Security has been boosted to allow Miyuki Kazuya and Sawamura Eijun to be treated in peace."

"Early this morning, police apprehended the perpetrator where it is assumed Miyuki and Sawamura were being held," The video faded out to be replaced with the mugshot of a very familiar face; a face that instantly caused Haruichi to break out in a cold sweat. However, there was a new feature that hadn't been there the last time Haruichi had seen the man. The center of his face, especially around his nose, was smattered in dark bruising and dried blood. The discoloration spread outward and swelled his eyes nearly shut. Despite all of that distorting his face, Haruichi would never mistake the man as anyone else.

"That's new," Kuramochi mumbled in slight awe. His words drew the attention of their team away from the screen.

"It had to have been from Miyuki-senpai or Eijun," Haruichi stated. Kuramochi simply grunted in affirmation, and no one else made a comment.

"Hamamoto Shimpei, forty-six years old, and former employee at RIKEN Brain Science Institute before his contract was terminated and was arrested in twenty-thirteen for buying and selling drugs on the black market," Ida glanced down at the paper neatly stacked in front of her and continued, "Hamamoto spent five years in prison and was released in twenty-eighteen without incident. After nearly seven hours of interrogation, police raided his home in Nikko this afternoon. At this time, we have no further information."

Ida then began to go on about other news that Haruichi couldn't be bothered with, and apparently, everyone else had the same sentiment as the T.V was soon switched off

Haruichi hadn't realized he was shaking until Furuya tapped the back of his hand, drawing his attention to where it rested on his knee. Haruichi clenched his fist tight and took a few slow, deep breaths to steady himself as chaos broke out in the cafeteria for a second time that day.

The ride to the hospital had been a blur for Eijun. One moment he was in the back of an ambulance, and the next he was sitting upright on a stiff bed. It was disorienting and felt an awful lot like he had teleported between the locations in the blink of an eye.

Every part of Eijun ached, but that was nothing new, there had always been underlining of pain. Sometimes it would be worse, and others Eijun would be able to block the discomfort out until he could function through the stiffness of his joints and the way his skin pulled around wounds old and new when he moved.

That, Eijun could handle. What he was beginning to get annoyed with, however, was the heavy exhaustion that weighed him down, leaving him sluggish and grumpy. It didn't help that there were probing hands everywhere. Eijun vaguely recalled wearing a coat, but that was nowhere to be seen as he had, somewhere along the way, been divested of its warmth to allow cold, rubber fingers to graze over tender flesh.

The people around him were asking him questions. Eijun could tell by the inflections at the end of their words, but his brain was too hazy to make out what they were even saying. Not to mention, at this point, Eijun didn't care, he was tired, dammit!

Weakly, Eijun made attempts to slap the invasive hands away until they left him alone so he could sleep; however, they were never gone long and quickly returned to apply pressure to a sharp ache above his knees or swipe a damp fabric across his face. A strong scent of, what Eijun could only describe as something sterile wafted around him as all his wounds began to sting anew. That wasn't enough to deter him from his goal to sleep. At least, it wasn't until a quick swipe along his back had him cry out in shock and pain.

Eijun twisted himself away from the hands the best he could, but those same hands grabbed his shoulders to hold him in place. They left his back alone after that, though it was already too late; it had been aggravated and burned aggressively to express its displeasure at the treatment.

Shortly after, Eijun felt a small prick on his bicep and all his pain dimmed to afterthoughts. He was mildly grateful, but Eijun would still prefer it if they left him alone already, and maybe, they could revisit this after he had slept for several hours, at least.

However, the thought of sleep was placed on the back burner when breathing slowly grew harder. Each breath was taking more and more effort until it felt as if his throat was closing up. Instinctively, he reached for his neck, assuming there was something around it that was preventing him from breathing, but his hand came across nothing but his own skin. Distantly, Eijun could hear shouting as his vision began to fade in and out with each labored breath. There was a second pinprick on his thigh right as everything turned black.

Eijun awoke on his back to a bright light shining directly into his good eye and something strapped around his nose and mouth. Irate, Eijun closed his eye and turned his head away with a garbled mash of protest. There was a muffled "don't sleep" in response and Eijun could have cried with how strongly he wanted to be doing just that. Instead, Eijun attempted to ask a question he had been thinking about for a while, however, it came out just as jumbled as his protest.

Squinting his eye open once again, glad the light was gone, Eijun glared at the doctor leaning over him and tried again, but slower, "Mi...yuki...wh...ere…?" His voice was rough and raspy, but coherent enough that Eijun hoped he wouldn't have to repeat himself.

The doctor furrowed his eyebrows in confusion before they suddenly widened with realization, "Miyuki is being treated in another room," he explained calmly.

Eijun swallowed hard, "Can...I...see?" He asked, voice small and hopeful.

With a wince, the doctor shook his head, "Not yet," and Eijun felt his heart sink, "But you'll see him soon," the doctor was quick to add.

Not long after, Eijun fell back to sleep, but it felt like no sooner than his eye closed and he was drifting, that he was being shaken awake. To his irritation, the process repeated until Eijun could see the sunlight streaming in through the gaps of the blinds over the window. Several nurses entered his room and helped maneuver him into a wheelchair and pushed him out into the hall where he was instantly blinded by the bright LED lights that lined the ceiling. Their small group all boarded the elevator until it released them onto the roof and the chilly morning air. They wheeled him out as a nurse draped a blanket over his lap, and Eijun was quick to pull it up over his shoulders, clumsily trying to tuck the edges around himself to hold it in place as he shivered.

Eijun stared at the helicopter in front of him blankly when the elevator dinged and another wheelchair was pushed out. He couldn't contain the smile at the sight of Miyuki, who appeared just as ruffled and tired as Eijun felt. Bandages had been cut to various lengths so they could be plastered directly along the wound on Miyuki's face. Miyuki blinked at the chopper before his eyes found Eijun and smiled back.