The first thing Hinata registered when he stumbled out of bed was a splitting headache.

The next was the fact that he was way hotter than he should be.

His final red flag of the morning was the bile rising in this throat. The ginger barely had time to untangle himself from his mess of blankets and sprint to the nearest bathroom before he emptied the contents of his stomach in the toilet, occasionally coming up for a small breath before diving back down again.

"Shit." He muttered, wide eyes staring down at the jumbled mess of last night's dinner in the toilet bowl in front of him. "Not now. Not today."

"Shouyou?" Hinata was abruptly snapped out of his thoughts at the sound of his mother's voice outside the door. He held his breath, desperately trying to force down the last bit of throw up. "Breakfast is ready. I'm driving you to school today, so you're going to have to leave a little earlier than usual."

Hinata would've breathed a sigh of relief if he wasn't so focused on keeping himself composed. "Kay." He paused, racking his brain for anything else to say. "Thanks, mom."

"You're welcome, sweetie."

As soon as he heard her footsteps fade away, the bile he had been forcing down viciously clawed it's way back up, forcing the poor ginger to once again bend over the bowl, retching and gasping. As soon as he was satisfied that his stomach was completely empty, he sat back on his haunches, breathing in the air he had been deprived of deeply.

"God, I feel like crap." He murmured, curling up on the cold, tiled floor of the bathroom. It did little to soothe his hot, overly sensitive skin, but he practically melted into it nonetheless. His head was pounding, and sweat was running down his brow. His stomach was constricting in uncomfortable ways, no doubt searching for something else it could push up to the surface.

Hinata grimaced. He would have to skip breakfast today, that was for sure.

He stood up slowly, legs shaky and hands gripping the side of the sink for support. The ginger gritted his teeth together in frustration. He would be fine. This was just a bit of nerves. This was normal for him. After all, he'd gotten queasy from anticipation before, right?

Deep down, Hinata knew that none of that pertained to his current situation, but it was reason enough for himself to stumble over to his room and hastily yank on a white t-shirt and black volleyball shorts. There was no need for him to put on a uniform today since the very reason his mother was driving him to school instead of letting him bike like he usually did was that Karasuno was leaving for yet another training camp that week, and had been excused from all classes until further notice.

Hinata had been ecstatic at hearing the news. No overbearing teachers for a week, and he got to see all of his friends?! Now that was something that didn't happen very often.

Hinata's body was slick with sweat, and in his weakened state, he had an unreasonably (in his opinion) hard time pulling his shirt on over his damp shoulders and sticky torso. The fabric clung to his body uncomfortably and rubbed coarsely against his skin whenever he moved, a sensation that wasn't at all pleasant but was an excellent distraction from the splitting migraine he was currently experiencing.

Hinata trudged back to the bathroom after changing. He yanked open the cupboard and rummaged around until he found an old thermometer, one that probably hadn't been used in years since Natsu and Shouyou were usually such healthy children. He wordlessly stuck it in his mouth and waited, his foot tapping impatiently against the tiled floor. He would be going to the training camp no matter what; missing it was entirely out of the question. Volleyball was his entire life, and there was no way he was going to miss an opportunity to practice with all of his friends from their respective teams. Plus, he couldn't just abandon his teammates like that! He had made an obligation to them, and there was no way he was going to back out on it now just because of a tiny little bit of nausea and pain.

A small beep startled Hinata out of his thoughts as the results displayed on the small screen on the top of the thermometer. Hinata yanked it out of his mouth with a pop and sat back to observe the damage.

He cringed.

Thirty-eight point four degrees celsius.

"Shit," Hinata muttered to himself, pressing his clothed back against the wall in an attempt to cool it down. He threw the thermometer back onto the counter and let his head fall back.

"My stomach should be fine as long as I don't eat anything for the rest of the day." The ginger mused to himself, sliding down the wall until he was in a sitting position on the floor. "And even if my stomach does find something to throw up, the team shouldn't get too suspicious if I only do it once." He wrung his fingers together. His stomach wasn't the primary problem right now. Though it was very uncomfortable and his muscles were constricting painfully, his concern was mostly on his fever.

He could hide a stomach ache. He could hide a migraine. What he couldn't hide, however, was his fever. The sheer heat radiating off of him was a dead give away. Hinata was pretty sure that if anyone so much as touched his skin, his sickness would be found out immediately and he would be either sent home or bedridden. The ginger groaned and ran a hand down his face. Logically, he knew he should probably stay home and relax instead of going to a rigorous training camp that could potentially make his sickness worse. Still, at the same time, there was absolutely no way he was missing this or letting his team down.

He'd just have to hide it. That was fine.

Hinata took the rest of the time he had to press cold washcloths to his face, wipe off as much sweat as he could, dry off his damp hair, take an aspirin for his headache (though that had immediately ended up with him puking it back up a few seconds later) and just generally making himself look as presentable and healthy as possible.

"Shouyou! I'm going to be late!"

"Coming, mom!" Hinata hurriedly raced out of the bathroom and stuffed his overnight clothes, shorts, shirts, uniform, and necessities into his duffle before grabbing his volleyball and running out of his room to meet his mother in the entryway, expertly ignoring the pain in his stomach and the pounding in his head. He greeted her with a smile and wave, though she didn't return the grin.

"You okay, sweetie? You look a little flushed." She instinctively reached out to smooth down her son's unruly hair, the same way she had done ever since he was just a toddler, which was why she was so taken back when Hinata involuntarily flinched. His mother froze and dropped her hand instantly. "Is everything all right?"

Crap. He'd messed up. "Yeah! Fine!" Hinata chirped, practically skipping out the door in an attempt to avoid the conversation. He'd never been good at lying to his mother, and both of them knew it. "Just excited, you know?" He made sure to keep his face angled away from her.

"Mmhm. Okay." Hinata heard the jingle of car keys as she fished them out of her front pocket. "Shall we go?"

"Please do."

xxx

The bus ride over to the camp was not a pleasant one.

First off, in Hinata's opinion, Japan should take better care of their roads because the endless bouncing of the bus over speedbumps and potholes was doing no favors for his constricted stomach or splitting headache. Secondly, he was pretty sure Kageyama had noticed because why wouldn't he? His setter knew him better than anyone, a fact Hinata both despised and adored all at the same time. Of course, Hinata knew that he could be overreacting a bit. After all, the only reason he had concluded that his fellow first-year suspected something was wrong was that there was a distinct lack of the word 'dumbass' in his vocabulary that morning.

Now Hinata knew that Kageyama wasn't a very chatty person in general, but the raven-haired boy always found some sort of reason to insult the ginger at least once when he arrived at school. They had comfortably settled into a routine after about the first week of knowing each other, and they hadn't broken it since. The pair would either race to the gym or wait for the other in front of it, depending on whatever mood they were in at the moment. Kageyama would insult Hinata's skills in some way or another, and Hinata would get adorably angry and start their bickering for the day. It was a natural, carefree routine, and the fact that a degrading comment hadn't so much as passed Kageyama's lips for the hour they had been sitting next to each other on the bus made Hinata a bit more paranoid then he'd like to admit.

"Bakayama?" Hinata tentatively kicked his leg, deeming it the most convenient way to get the setter's attention without skin to skin contact. "What's wrong with you?"

Kageyama gave him the side-eye. "You seem off today." He said finally, opting to shift his body so the partners could sit face to face.

Hinata mentally slapped himself. Maybe his mother wasn't the only one capable of picking out his lies. Nevertheless, he plastered the biggest grin he could muster onto his face and leaned back to rest his head against the window, both so he could see Kageyama better and to minimize the chance of his setter touching him.

"Whadda you mean?"

Kageyama regarded him with a weird look, and suddenly Hinata felt very small. It was like his blue eyes were boring holes into him, scanning him, looking straight through him and the facade he had so carefully constructed. A vulgar string of curses filtered through Hinata's head. Shit, why did Kageyama have to be so damn observant all the time? His gaze was cold and calculating, but at the same time, there was a hint of confusion buried under the mix. Hinata had always been the definition of an extrovert and practically lived off the attention of others, but right now, all he wanted to do was crawl into a hole, alone, and hide forever. Kageyama may insult him a lot, but Hinata had never been on the receiving end of the steadfast, immovable gaze he reserved only for the most calculating of opponents.

Hinata decided right then and there that he would have to give his friends on Aobajohsai extra big greeting hugs for having to put up with this for three years. Hinata didn't think he'd survive.

"Nothing." Kageyama's grumble abruptly snapped Hinata out of his thoughts. "Forget I said anything."

Hinata blinked. It wasn't like Kageyama just to dismiss a subject like that, no matter how much it seemingly annoyed him. Still, Hinata couldn't complain. After all, he would prefer to get to play volleyball during the training camp rather than staying bedridden for the next week and be fussed over by the smother hens he called his friends.

Hinata paused for a moment before poking Kageyama's cheek, just quick enough so that he couldn't feel his burning skin, but hard enough so they could maintain a sense of normalcy.

"Hey! Dumbass, what the hell was that for?!"

Hinata just grinned dopily. Boy, he sure was lucky that he could get excited over small things like teasing his setter even while he was sick. The ginger knew that otherwise, his smiles would look completely fake.

xxx

The second Karasuno stepped into the practice gym, Hinata was swarmed with people, much to the disbelief of his teammates. They knew Hinata was popular, but they didn't think he was this popular. All the members of Aobajohsai had just straight up left their practice match against Fukurodani to race over to the flustered ginger, followed by an eager Bokuto and a softly smiling Akaashi, all of which greeted Hinata with humongous grins and shining eyes. Hinata, though he was feeling like absolute crap, made a point to give all of them huge greeting hugs, taking extra care not to initiate any skin to skin contact.

Ushijima had grabbed Hinata right in the middle of his hug with Oikawa, prompting the setter to glare at his long time rival even more intensely than he already had been. Hinata smiled slightly as he whirled around and barrelled into the hoard of people known as Shiratorizawa, expertly dodging hair ruffles from Shirabu and Semi (so they didn't touch his forehead and find out exactly how hot it was) and wrapping each of them in his famous bear hugs.

All Karasuno could do was stare in awe as Date Tech approached their tiny first year (because when had he ever even interacted with any of them except Aone?) with shining smiles and gentle eyes. The surrounding teams watched as they exchanged pleasantries, whispered about something that suspiciously sounded like it involved miso soup, Koganeawa's face go beet red, and the group burst out laughing as Hinata wrapped each of them in his warm, small embrace.

His teammates' jaws were practically on the floor as he pranced back to them, his childlike face practically screaming happiness. They knew their precious first-year was friendly with anybody and everybody, but the fact that he had all of the most formidable volleyball players in their league wrapped around his little finger was astounding.

"You're..." Daichi was practically spellbound. "You're seriously friends with all of these people?"

"Yeah!" Hinata nodded vigorously, immediately regretting the action as his migraine doubled in size. He resisted the urge to wince, instead focusing on his captain's face. "Of course!"

"Actual friends?" It was Tsukishima now, wearing the same incredulous expression as the rest of his teammates. "Not just acquaintances?"

"Of course!" Hinata repeated, making a point not to nod.

"I doubt Hinata even knows what an acquaintance is." Kageyama narrowed his eyes. Hinata huffed. As always, his setter had something to prove.

"That's impossible." Tsukishima was referring to his earlier statement. "Even you couldn't be good friends with everyone here."

Hinata bit his lip hesitantly. "Well, I'm not friends with anyone on Fukurodani except Bokuto and Akaashi." He smiled slightly as if apologizing. "I haven't met any of them yet, so..." His face split into a grin. "I'm sure they're amazing people, though."

Kageyama barely registered a few sharp intakes of air and chokes from the Fukurodani players behind them. He rolled his eyes. He knew what they were feeling all too well. "Fine. Besides the players you don't know here, have you ever hung out with any of them outside of volleyball?"

"All of them." Hinata's answer was immediate, making Karasuno blink, and the surrounding players smile smugly.

"Wha-what do you mean all of them?" It was clear Kageyama hadn't been expecting that answer.

Hinata shrugged. He didn't get why this was such a shock to his teammates. Did they not hang out with their friends or something?

"I mean what I said. All of them." He stated innocently, cocking his head to the side. "Let's see...I regularity go get ice cream with Ushijima, Semi, and Shirabu, Tendou came over to my house earlier this week to help me babysit Natsu, I slept over at Akaashi's a few nights ago with Bokuto, Aone-" Hinata cut off with a sharp gasp, suddenly becoming painfully aware of his contracting stomach. Seeing the concerned looks his friends gave him, he quickly flashed a soft smile and held up a warning hand. "Bathroom!" He squeaked, before running off in what he hoped was the direction of the toilet.

"Is he okay?" Iwaizumi asked after a moment, turning to Karasuno. "He sick or something?"

Kageyama shrugged, undeterred by his friend's sudden exit. "Probably has to take a shit."

Suga flicked him in the back of the head before smiling apologetically at Iwaizumi. "Sorry about him, he's kind of an ass-"

"We're aware."

Iwaizumi elbowed Oikawa harshly in the ribs, much harder than Suga had hit Kageyama, before grinning sweetly at the vice captain. "You were saying?"

"Uh..." Suga lifted his eyes from Oikawa's doubled over form to the Aobajohsai ace. "Right. What Kageyama meant to say is he probably just needed to use the bathroom." He gestured in the direction Hinata had run off in. "You know how he is. He probably got so caught up in the moment that he didn't realize."

"Mmhm." Iwaizumi didn't look particularly convinced, but Bokuto seemed to take the answer in stride.

"Alrighty then, folks! Let's play some volleyball!"

xxx

The way Hinata had run had, luckily enough, been in the direction of the bathroom, which was how he got in his current situation of retching over the toilet bowl, the tiny bit of water he had had that morning dribbling past his lips as he tried to keep the horrible noises he was making to a minimum.

His skin felt too tight, and his body felt too warm, and his head was hurting like crazy, and this was so not good. Hinata rested his forehead on the edge of the toilet bowl, not trusting himself to leave it's side yet. How could he play volleyball like this? There was no doubt that he'd just hinder his team, and that was the last thing he wanted to do.

"I can't just tell them though," Hinata muttered to himself, slowly standing up on shaky legs. "Suga would freak..." He frowned. "Not to mention, it would ruin everyone else's time."

He bit his lip, mulling over his choices while simultaneously trying to stay standing as black dots danced around his vision.

"I can do this." He finally whispered, mostly to reassure himself more than anything else. "This is just a little nervous sickness. Yeah, that's it. Everything's fine. I've been through his before, and I did fine. Yeah. Fine." He suppressed a gasp and sunk back down to his knees, his babbling being abruptly cut off by horrible retching coming from his throat, though there was nothing left in his body to throw up. All he could do was choke on air, let spit dribble down his lips, and wait it out.

He stayed in the kneeling position a few minutes after his breathing had evened out and the noises had subsided. The ginger knew he was playing a dangerous game. He had been gone way longer than deemed normal for a simple bathroom break, which meant either relentless teasing from his teammates or someone finding out about his current condition.

Honestly, he didn't think he could handle either.

Hinata rose to his feet, ignoring his pounding headache, and made his way over to the sink. He grimaced when he saw his reflection. The ginger's curls were damp and matted to his forehead, looking even more vibrant than usual against his ghastly skin. His eyes were a bit droopy and red as well, which didn't help the middle blocker's appearance in the slightest.

Sighing, Hinata splashed some water on his face before drying it off with a paper towel, making sure to scrub extra hard in order to regain some color in his cheeks. There wasn't much he could do about his eyes or hair, though, other than run a hand through his curls and fluff it up to the best of his ability.

Hinata walked out of the bathroom on wobbly feet, fighting desperately to regain his composure before he reached the gym. Luckily for him, the ginger was notoriously stubborn, and he was able to force himself to walk properly out of sheer determination alone. He knew it wouldn't hold up for long, but he hoped that he could at least get through a few matches before having to mysteriously disappear to the bathroom again.

He reentered the gym and was immediately hit with a wave of nausea, whether it was from the stench of sweat or because his stomach had decided to act up again, he didn't know. He didn't have long to recover, though, because Nishinoya spotted him immediately.

"Hey! Shouyou!" He beckoned vigorously for his underclassman to rejoin the rest of his team, and despite everything, Hinata gave him a small smile. Nothing made him happier than attention from his amazing upperclassman.

He quickly walked over to his teammates, not trusting himself to run like he usually would. As he approached the group, Suga rounded on him almost instantly.

"The hell were you?" He asked harshly, crossing his arms and giving Hinata a slight glare. "You were gone for like-" He stole a glance at the clock hanging above the gym doors, "fifteen minutes!"

Hinata shrugged sheepishly. "Sorry." He muttered, not really in the mood for Suga's overbearing attitude towards him. He usually loved it and the attention it came with, but today he was just simply at his limit. He didn't think he could handle any extensive lectures either. His head already hurt enough as it was with all the volleyball bouncing around voices clashing together.

"Just some nerves." He cocked his mouth into a half-smile. "You know how it is."

"You blew chunks, Shorty?" Tanaka, blunt as ever, walked over to the ginger and swung his arm around his shoulder. Hinata silently thanked whatever deity was out there for the fact that he was wearing his Karasuno jacket so Tanaka didn't touch his skin. "I thought you got over that!" The spiker's tone was playful and teasing, but Hinata's muddled mind took it as an accusation. Besides, it was a good point. Hinata hadn't thrown up because of a game in months.

"Just nausea." The ginger answered, expertly ducking out of Tanaka's grasp. "I'm all good."

Tanaka merely shrugged, undeterred by the fact that his usually touchy underclassman had shied away from his grip. "Whatever you say, Shorty." Tanaka tended not to worry too much. That was good. Plus, his boisterous nature automatically directed the team's attention away from the ginger and toward himself, unintentionally saving Hinata from any unwanted gazes or questions.

Well, all except one.

Out of the corner of his eye, Hinata could see Kageyama fixing him with the same weird look he had on the bus, his brown furrowed together, and his eyes scanning over the smaller male's body as if looking for something. It lasted about five seconds before the setter turned away with a huff, unaware that Hinata had seen the whole thing. He tensed momentarily. Kageyama definitely suspected something, that was for sure, and that fact that he hadn't acted on it or expressed his concern to the rest of his teammates was something Hinata was immensely grateful for. He knew how his teammates were, and if he gave even one indication that he might be sick, he would be bedridden for the rest of the training camp, no questions asked.

And there was no way Hinata could lay in a bed for six days straight and not completely crack under the pressure to play volleyball.

"When's our match starting?" Yamaguchi's voice snapped Hinata out of his thoughts. "Everyone else is already playing."

Daichi offered a small smile, not even bothering to take his eyes off the door. "Any second now..." He murmured, arms crossed and finger tapping impatiently.

As if on cue, Kuroo burst through the doors with extreme vigor, followed by what looked like a slightly annoyed Kenma and the rest of his team. Kuroo wasted no time in flashing a quick middle finger in Bokuto's direction before bounding over to the awaiting group.

"Ayo Karasuno!" His face split into a mischievous grin. "Ready to lose?"

"About time," Tsukishima muttered, not at all deterred by his mentor's antics.

"You're late," Daichi said a matter-of-factly, glaring at his fellow captain. "Everyone else has already started."

"Then let's get to it!" Kuroo, utterly unfazed by Daichi's threatening tone, all but sprinted over to the unoccupied net Karasuno was currently standing in front of, following by the pouting form of Lev and an annoyed Yaku dragging the spiker by his collar. Daichi rolled his eyes but gestured for his team to aide Nekoma in getting out the volleyball and setting up the scoreboard.

"What's wrong with you."

Hinata yelped and whirled around, nearly colliding with Kenma, who was staring at him with accusing eyes and a slightly sad expression. To anyone else Kenma's face would look passive as usual, but Hinata knew better. Honestly, he should've prepared himself for Kenma's observation skills and ability to read him like an open book, just like Kageyama. It was annoying, frankly, how well his two best friends knew him, but there was really nothing he could do about it.

Hinata regarded him with a scowl and a pout. "Nothing."

"I think I know you better than that, Shouyou." Kenma crossed his arms and returned Hinata's glare with the same amount of intensity. "Something's wrong."

"Keep your voice down!" Hinata hissed, suddenly becoming hyper-aware of the curious gazes the duo were getting. He lightly grabbed Kenma's clothed elbow and pulled him to the side of the court and away from their respective teammates. The last thing he needed right now was a checkup from the smother hens known as Daichi and Suga.

"Seriously. I'm okay." He offered a small smile. "Just a little nausea before you got here. It's happened before."

"Are you sure?" Kenma's tone was challenging. "If you're nauseous then you should probably sit out or-"

"NO!" Hinata's loud outburst elicited multiple confused stares. The ginger mentally cursed and tried again. "It's nothing, Ken." He made sure to keep his voice low, practically pleading at this point for his friend to believe him. Kenma had always been a little too good at seeing through his lies, and Hinata could only hope that today would be an exception. "Ask my team. It's happened before. Nothing to worry about."

"If it's happened before, then why do you look so miserable?" Kenma retorted, clearly not entirely convinced.

"What, am I not allowed to feel even a little bad when I'm nauseous?"

"No. But if it happens so often, I'd assumed you'd be used to it." Kenma's counter was smooth as silk, as always. If Hinata didn't know any better, he would've thought the setter had formulated his answers in advance.

"Well, I'm not."

Kenma and Hinata rarely fought, but when they did, Kuroo usually had to pick up the pieces. Both of the boys were relentlessly stubborn, and Kuroo had often mulled over the prospect of telling the ginger that he could fix whatever conflict they were having in a split second if he just unleashed one of his smiles at the pudding haired boy, but had always decided against it and had to take the hard way out, aka being the messenger between the two boys until things were resolved. It really would be so much easier if Hinata knew the power he held over people, but Nekoma would undoubtedly lose every single match they played against Karasuno if the ginger knew what his smiles did to the team.

So he always kept quiet.

This little dispute between the two small players could barely even be called a fight considering their previous ones. Still, nonetheless, the two both stared at each other for another moment before stalking off to join their respective teams on their respective sides, both of their faces pinched in annoyance for two different reasons, Hinata for Kenma noticing the misery etched on his face and questioning him about it, and Kenma because Shouyou was clearly lying about what was wrong.

"What's up with you and Kenma?" Tsukishima asked bluntly, never one to beat around the bush. "I've never seen you bet mad at him before."

"I'm not mad," Hinata muttered begrudgingly, lifting his eyes to glare at the pudding haired setter, who in turn just huffed and stuck his nose in the air. Tsukishima rolled his eyes.

"Oh yeah, I can totally see that," He said, sarcasm dripping from his words like venom. "My bad for making assumptions."

Hinata took a moment to compose himself. His headache had only gotten worse, and while his stomach wasn't constricting as bad as it was before, it was still painful. All that, Tsukishima's lousy attitude and his admittedly undeserved annoyance at Kenma were all contributing factors to his mood steadily growing worse and worse. All he wanted to do was get at least one match in before his stomach decided it wanted to make him experience giving birth again or something, but apparently, that was too much to ask.

Hinata knew he was being unfair. He knew it was just the fever talking, and he knew that Kenma didn't deserve the annoyance Hinata was currently feeling towards him. So he took a deep breath, pushed down his anger until it was nothing more than a low simmer, and opened his eyes to meet Tsukishima's.

"Can we please just play?"

The blond froze, whether it was from the desperation in the ginger's voice or the lack of sparkle in his eye, no one would ever know. He stared at Hinata for a moment, his eyes confused and calculating as if he were trying to solve a particularly hard math problem.

"Uh. Yeah." He croaked out, eyes still raking over Hinata. "Sure."

Hinata rolled his eyes in annoyance. Great. Now Tsukishima was suspicious of him too.

xxx

All thoughts of Hinata were quickly forgotten as Nekoma and Karasuno dove deep into their game; both determined to win against the other. Despite the unrelenting pain in his head and abdomen, Hinata found himself just as immersed in the game as he'd always been, much to his relief. He hadn't been sure if he'd be able to play well enough for his team in his current state, but it seemed he was fairing just fine.

That is, until the middle of the second set.

Nekoma had won the first set, and Karasuno was doing everything they could to keep the ball in play. They were down 16-19 with a three-point gap, nothing the crows couldn't fill if they got their momentum going.

Nishinoya received Lev's spike effortlessly, having practiced with Nekoma enough times to get accustomed to his strange way of hitting the ball. The volleyball soared upwards, right into Kageyama's outstretched hands. A perfect receive by their libero, as always. Hinata knew immediately that Kageyama was aiming for a quick attack. They hadn't used it yet because of Inuoka's annoying ability to somewhat track where it was going, but by the way Kageyama's hands were aimed and the feel of his eyes boring into his skull, that was going to change.

Hinata took off immediately, the consequences of running at his full speed and jumping to his full height not even crossing his mind. He was too engrossed in the game to notice the way his abdomen throbbed painfully as he sprinted towards the net, the way the pounding in his head increased tenfold as he jumped to the best of his ability. It was only after the ball came spiraling to a stop in front of him that he realized something was wrong.

But by then, there was nothing he could do.

Blackness clouded Hinata's vision as he felt himself fall back to the ground. Hinata registered the sensations of his knees giving out and head knocking against the hardwood floor, though his mind was too overwhelmed to care about any pain that wasn't coming from his stomach. He heard terrified shrieks and breathless gasps from the people around him, and he vaguely recognized someone kneeling by his side.

"Sorry."

Then he promptly passed out.

xxx

Kageyama was at Hinata's side the second he crumpled onto the ground, everyone else following his lead only a moment after. The screams emanating from their court attracted the attention of the other teams in no time, who had all rushed over to where the precious ginger they had all grown to love was sprawled out on the floor in a mess of limbs and sweat.

"Sorry." It was soft and quiet, but it was Hinata's voice nonetheless. Relief coursed through the surrounding teams at hearing the middle blocker speak, but it was quickly replaced by pure, unadulterated terror as his half-lidded eyes rolled back into his head and slipped shut completely.

Everyone had immediately assumed the worst. Yamaguchi broke down ugly crying in an instant, followed closely by Inuoka and Bokuto. Oikawa latched onto Iwaizumi for dear life, and for once, the ace let him, eyes glued to the unmoving form of the Karasuno player, silently willing him to jump up and laugh in all of their faces, hoping to god that it was just a sick prank.

Asahi had practically leaped on top of Hinata's still form, eyes wide with terror and lips pressed together until they were nothing more than a thin white line. He carefully lowered himself down until his ear was pressed against his teammate's chest, holding his breath and desperately hoping that what everyone thought had just happened hadn't happened.

There it was.

A heartbeat.

Asahi nearly collapsed from relief. He raised his eyes to meet the ones of those around him, unable to keep a smile off his lips.

"He's alive."

There was a collective exhale from every single one of the volleyball players, even the ones from Fukurodani that didn't know Hinata that well, followed by numerous desperate "thank yous" to whatever god or deity was listening, beyond grateful the boy they all adored had only passed out and not passed on.

In hindsight, they all knew they had jumped to conclusions all too quickly, but what were they supposed to think when their hyperactive ginger collapsed in the middle of a spike and muttered "sorry" before closing his eyes? That "sorry" had sounded way too much like someone's last words rather than a simple apology for fainting, and the impact it had on everyone in the room was astounding.

"Thank god." Kuroo murmured, pressing his forehead to the ground in relief. "Thank you, thank you, thankyouthankyouthankyou." His voice was mixed with countless others, some of them muttering prayers, some of them whispering sincere thanks, and some not even able to form coherent sentences thanks to the sight they had just witnessed.

Kenma stood stock still, unable to take his eyes off the ginger still sprawled on the floor. He had known something was wrong, hadn't he? He had known! Why hadn't he pushed Shouyou more about the issue? Why hadn't he convinced him to tell him what was wrong? If Kenma had just tried a little harder, had not let his stubbornness and annoyance get the best of him, would Hinata not be in this situation right now?

"Fuck."

All eyes immediately swiveled to the raven-haired setter, his head in his hands and eyes buried into his palms. Daichi and Suga didn't even have the strength to reprimand him for swearing. All they could do was watch him with tired, weary eyes. Out of the corner of his gaze, they suddenly looked ancient to Kageyama. He knew they both cared for and protected Hinata, but their bond wasn't even close to that of his and the ginger.

Though Kageyama would quit volleyball and never drink milk for the rest of his life rather than admit it, the setter would lay down his life for the energetic ball of sunshine he oh-so-affectionately called a dumbass in a heartbeat with no questions asked. To see him crumple to the ground like that...Kageyama's heart had almost stopped. He'd never been so terrified in his life, and that was just after Hinata had only fallen.

When his eyes had slipped closed...Kageyama didn't even want to consider all the horrible possibilities that ran through his head. In the desperate moments he had waited as Asahi checked Hinata's heartbeat, Kageyama prayed to every deity and god he knew of and then some. Panic clutched at his heart as his eyes raked over the figure of his partner. He would never ever ever insult Hinata's volleyball skills ever again, never yell at him for small things he couldn't control, never call him any derogatory nicknames ever again if he would please just be okay.

Kageyama had felt himself physically sag from relief at Asahi's declaration of a heartbeat. Whispering a desperate "thank you" to whoever was listening.

Then reality hit him in the face like a truck.

"Fuck." He repeated, burying his face even further in his hands. "I knew. I knew something was wrong with him. Something just didn't feel right with him on the bus, and I noticed...ohmygod, I noticed something was wrong, and I..." Kageyama suddenly found it very hard to breathe. "I just chalked it up to me being paranoid or something. I didn't do anything. I should've asked! I should've pressed him about it, at least. I should've-"

"I noticed it too." Kenma's timid voice sliced through Kageyama's incoherent babbling like a knife. He was refusing to meet anyone's eyes, feelings of panic, guilt, and relief all mixing in his golden orbs. "That's what we were talking about on the sidelines. Before the game started." His voice dropped to a low whisper, effectively silencing everyone as they all strained their ears to listen to him. "He got defensive. Kept coming up with excuses I knew were bullshit." He bit his lip. "I should've tried harder too. I should've pushed and pushed him until I figured out what was wrong, I should've done more I just...I want him to be okay." Kenma's voice cracked violently at the last part, speaking the words that had been playing and replaying over and over in everyone's heads.

They just wanted him to be okay.

In a flurry of movements, Aone pushed gently through the wall of volleyball players surrounding Hinata to kneel beside the boy. He made a move to grab one of Hinata's arms to pick him up, but instantly recoiled, shock evident on his face.

"What is it?" Tanaka's voice was desperate and hurried. "What's wrong?!"

"He's burning up," Aone muttered, not bothering to meet anyone's eyes. "He's dangerously hot."

A new wave of panic crashed over the surrounding volleyball players at Aone's words; the gym immediately erupting into chaos. Everyone had risen from their positions on the ground and were now practically climbing over each other to get to Hinata, each person wanting to feel the ginger's skin for themselves to verify Aone's statement.

Suga rolled his eyes at the player's antics, but couldn't find it in himself to actually be annoyed with them. After all, he knew he would be doing the same thing if he didn't have the privilege to already be by Hinata's side. The precious ginger was significantly loved; there was no doubt about that. Anyone in the gym (minus the few Fukurodani players that didn't properly know him yet) would walk off the edge of the earth if Hinata told them too. Each one of the volleyball players had found out in their own unique way that it was practically impossible to deny the boy anything, not when he was smiling so happily and gazing up at them like they hung the stars in the sky.

Carefully, the grey-haired setter touched his underclassman's forehead, leaving his hand there a moment before pulling back with a hiss. "Shit, Aone wasn't lying." He muttered to himself, opting to press his palm to Hinata's forehead once again in a feeble attempt to cool it down. "Daichi. Can you get the first aid kit?" He paused, giving the captain time to nod. "We need to take his temperature."

"Already got it." Akaashi's usually monotone voice was filled with worry as he jogged over to the muddle of people with a familiar white kit in hand and an ice pack wrapped in a towel in the other. "Can you sit him up?"

Oikawa practically sprinted to the ginger's side, making Iwaizumi stumble from the loss of weight against his neck. The setter weaved expertly through the surrounding crowd of people, his skill and flexible limbs allowing him to kneel by his friend in no time. Oikawa carefully cupped Hinata's neck in his hand, murmuring a faint string of curses under his breath at the heat emanating off his body, and maneuvered him gently so he was resting against his chest.

Akaashi hummed appreciatively, nodding once before diving into the first aid kit. There wasn't much in it besides some bandages, gauze, and a thermometer, but Akaashi thanked whatever god was watching for the fact he was able to find what he needed to easily. He quickly plucked the thermometer out of the box and pushed it inside Hinata's closed lips, his unconscious state making his jaw slack and Akaashi's job infinitely more accessible.

Everyone held their breath as they waited for the contraption to beep, the previous scuffle long forgotten.

"Thirty-nine point eight." Akaashi read numbly, eyes going wide. "Shit, that's high."

Murmurs of agreement swept throughout the room, all eyes on the unmoving, innocent, angelic creature they had come to adore so much known as Hinata Shouyou.

"He'll be okay, right?" Tsukishima's words were uncharacteristically soft and underlined with worry, his brow furrowed and lips drawn in a thin, tight line. The truth was, he had been in hysterics from the moment Hinata had crumpled onto the floor, though his emotionally constipated self did a relatively good job of hiding it. He kept his eyes down and lips pursed, maintaining the impression of disinterestedness, though on the inside he had been anything but.

His mind had been screaming at him so loud for him to do something, anything, that he was surprised no one else could hear it. He cared about the ginger whether he liked it or not, though instead of acknowledging this fact he resorted to jeers and taunts for the sake of his sanity (the first time Tsukishima had seen Hinata smile he'd turned into putty almost instantly) he never wanted his cheerful fellow first-year to be passed out on the gym floor with a fever so high that it could potentially be even more hazardous to his health.

When Hinata had first collapsed, Tsukishima had the faint, horrifying thought that he'd never get to see the smaller boy smile again.

He silently promised himself at that moment that he'd never take those sunshiny smiles for granted again. Little did he know that Kageyama made the same vow he did, only moments later. When Hinata woke up, they were going to appreciate the hell out of him from now on.

"He'll be fine," Suga answered tiredly, answering the blond's question and sitting back on his hunches. "He needs rest. We can't risk anything like this happening again." He buried his head in his hands, appalled at the universe for hurting the cheerful puppy that was his underclassman. "We should take him back to the dorms and lie him down."

Aone instantly moved to carry Hinata back to the dorms but was ultimately stopped by a growling Oikawa, who shifted the ginger slightly before picking him up bridal style in his own, admittedly, buff arms. Everyone else followed immediately behind. No one was comfortable with the prospect of leaving the ginger's side just yet.

The trek to the dorms wasn't a very far one, but the dorm rooms themselves were small. After all, they had only been built to accommodate one team at a time, not five. Still, all the players managed to scrunch into the room shoulder to shoulder as Oikawa gently set Hinata down on a cot in the middle of the room.

It was silent for the better part of ten minutes, everyone taking this time to gaze at the sleeping ginger with fond, adoring eyes. Everything was alright. Hinata was alright. Nothing seriously bad had happened to him. And really, at that moment, that was all they could ask for.

"I swear to god." Kageyama's low murmur interrupted the peaceful silence. "If he ever tries to hide something like this again, I'll kick his ass to the moon."

"Is that your twisted way of saying that you care about him?" Oikawa muttered back, never one to miss a chance to tease his former underclassman.

Kageyama didn't even miss a beat.

"Absolutely."