Hinata drifted awake, unable to remember falling asleep in the first place. No, not sleep… there was something wrong with him. He hurt. He was reminded of that when he shifted, trying to move, and immediately abandoned the effort with a soft, broken whimper rising up. It hurt. Why? Why did it hurt? It wasn't the familiar aches and pains of a hard match, as this filled every inch of his body, and he didn't know why, forehead furrowing as he tried to work out what had happened.

The ball…?

… no, there hadn't been a ball…had there?

No, that was right, he was outside…outside…but where? He opened eyes that had slipped shut again and tried to make sense of what he was seeing. He didn't know where he was, unable to see anything but trees and a brief glimpse of the sky above. It was dark. Was it night-time? Or was there something wrong with his eyes? His head hurt, and he wasn't sure if that was because he was hurt…getting hit by balls always hurt his head, but not like this, and it hadn't been a ball this time, had it? Or was the throbbing that was taking root behind his eyes because of the confusing thoughts that were spinning around too fast for him to grasp hold of, let alone understand. He made to close his eyes against the onslaught, only to find that they had drifted shut again without him realising, and he knew that was probably a bad sign, although he couldn't think why.

I don't understand what's going on…

The car headlights were illuminating the road ahead, showing clearly that there was no sign of his son as he leant forward, peering into the darkness, crawling along the road for fear of missing something. Despite the reassuring words that he had said to his wife before leaving to search for Shouyou, Mr Hinata was growing increasingly worried with each minute that passed without any sign of him. He'd hoped to find him walking along the edge of the road, pushing his bicycle with a flat tire of something, but he had made it nearly two-thirds of the way down the hill, the lights of the town visible below the trees now, without finding anything.

Where are you, Shouyou?

He wasn't sure what he was going to do if he got to the bottom without finding him, unable to imagine Shouyou had just taken off on them. His son wasn't always the most sensible, but he knew better than that, and he frowned, knuckles turning white as he gripped the steering wheel tighter and glanced down at his phone in the passenger seat, hoping to see a message or missed call from home, but there was nothing.

In the end, he almost missed it, because it was just beyond the edge of where the light from the headlights fell, and he knew that if it hadn't been such a clear evening, he wouldn't have spotted the dull glint of something against the railing that lined the road, and he immediately hit the brakes. His heart in his mouth as he grabbed the phone, turning on the torch before stepping out of the car, leaving the lights on in case anyone else came up the road. "SHOUYOU!" He shouted, hoping to hear a reply, but there was silence and gathering his courage, he made his way towards what he'd spotted.

It was Shouyou's bike.

There was no relief at finally finding some sign of his son because the bike's frame and the front wheel was buckled, and it had clearly collided with the railing at speed and had been left to slump against it. "SHOUYOU!" He shouted, doubting that his son would have left it behind as it was his pride and joy, a sigh of independence once they'd decided he was old enough to cycle to and from school alone. There was no reply, and he stepped closer, examining the bike more closely, before turning his attention to the trees and slope beyond the railing, lifting the phone high, the narrow beam of the torch a feeble defence against the shadows amongst the vegetation. "SHOUYOU CAN YOU HEAR ME?!" He shouted louder this time, hoping that he was somewhere near the road. Always stay where you can be found, they had taught him that, but there was no response and no flash of ginger hair in the light, and his heart sank further when he spied the trail of destruction leading down the hill.

Shouyou…

It was still relatively early, but Kageyama had been on the verge of falling asleep, the matches – especially the one against Aoba Johsai and Oikawa had drained him, and their hardest fight was still to come. He had just settled under the covers, biting back a yawn, when his phone rang. Grumbling under his breath, and promising that he was going to kick the dumbass' ass if Hinata was actually calling him at this point, he rolled over and fumbled for his phone, answering without looking at the screen. "What?"

"Kageyama?"

It wasn't Hinata, and he bolted upright in bed as he recognised the voice. Why is he calling me? What did I do wrong? He faltered at that thought, wondering why his mind had leapt straight to that thought before there was a cough on the other end of the line, and he swallowed.

"Captain?"

"Is Hinata there with you?"

"Hinata?" Kageyama echoed with a frown, not sure what to make of the strange note in Daichi's voice and wondering why on earth their Captain would think that they would still be together at this time of night. Although if Hinata had his way, we would probably still be in the gym practising, he admitted to himself, deciding to ignore the fact that he would most likely be there with him. "No, he isn't, why?" What had the dumbass done now? He didn't think that Hinata would have done anything to jeopardise his part in the match tomorrow, as he was more hyped about facing Ushijima than any of them, but he knew better than anyone that sometimes there was no telling what the shorter boy would do.

"Where do you see him last?"

"On the way home," Kageyama replied, hesitating for a moment before admitting. "We stayed behind after the meeting to practice for a little while…" He paused, waiting to be scolded, but there was nothing from Daichi, so he continued cautiously. "When Kiyoko-san sent us home, we walked part of the way together before he had to turn off as he lives out of town." There was a sharp intake of breath at that, and something cold and unpleasant formed in the pit of his stomach. Why was Daichi asking about Hinata? And why was he calling him about it? All thoughts of sleep disappeared as he straightened even though the older boy couldn't see him, unconsciously falling back into his 'King' voice as Hinata would put it as he demanded. "What's going on?"

There was a long pause, as though Daichi wasn't sure whether to scold him for his tone or to answer his question, and the quiet did nothing to settle Kageyama's growing uneasiness, and he was about to repeat himself when the other boy spoke. "Hopefully nothing." That wasn't the answer or reassurance that Kageyama had been hoping for, but before he could say as much, Daichi had continued. "I need to speak to the Coach; I'll call you back."

"But…" The line went dead before he'd even had a chance to get the word out, and he lowered his phone, staring at it for a long moment. What the hell was that about? He hesitated for a moment, before dialling Hinata's number, hoping that the other boy would answer it and prove that he was worrying necessarily and that the only thing was wrong that he'd pestered him. It rang out. Maybe he's already asleep, he consoled himself, but the uneasy feeling hadn't faded in the slightest, and after a minute he sent a quick text to Hinata telling the other boy to message him or call him back once he got this, no matter how late it was.

He waited until the little tick appeared to show that it had been delivered, before flopping back onto the bed and scowling at the ceiling as he clutched his phone. All thoughts of going to sleep now were well and truly ruined as he knew that he wasn't going to be able to settle down until he got a reply either from Daichi, or preferably Hinata, and he sighed.

Dumbass, what is going on?"

The hill wasn't at its steepest here, for which he was grateful as he slowly followed the trail through the trees. Moving cautiously after he'd nearly catapulted himself into the trunk of a tree after his shoe had caught a root, woefully unprepared for a trek but unwilling to waste more time. He methodically swept his torch over the surrounding bushes and trees, worried about missing anything as his shouts continued to go unanswered, and his diligence eventually paid off as he spied the piece of cloth – part of a black hoodie, like the one his son wore after practice hanging from a broken branch, and dry-mouthed he moved across to it, scanning the floor. His heart beating faster as the torch illuminated something that looked worryingly like blood on some of the leaves, fresh enough that it glistened in the light.

"SHOUYOU!" He roared, fear lending him volume, straining to hear any kind of response but there was still nothing, and he swallowed thickly before speeding up as he followed the trail. Please… He was torn between hoping that he was on the right path and that this wasn't where Shouyou was, especially as he continued to shout silence.

Why isn't he answering?

A chiming noise caught his attention, and for a moment, he thought it was his own phone until he spied the faint glow amongst the leaves at the base of a tree. Stumbling and sliding, he rushed to it, scooping up the phone and staring at the cracked screen, before pressing the button and seeing the familiar, Karasuno background and over a dozen missed calls, mostly from their home number, along with half a dozen messages.

"Shouyou…" He whispered.

Daichi sighed as he hung up on Kageyama. He hadn't missed the concern in the first year's voice once he'd realised that something was happening, not that he'd had much more that he could tell the younger boy, as his own conversation with Ukai had been brief.

"Hello, what can…?"

"Sawamura," Ukai cut him off, sounding more urgent that Daichi had ever heard him sound before, even in the tensest moment of their matches and there was a swooping sensation in his stomach. What's going on? "Have you seen or heard anything from Hinata?"

"Hinata? No, not since we left the meeting. Why?" The younger boy had his number, they'd all made sure to exchange numbers just in case anything ever happened with the matches, but Hinata had never had to use it. He pulled out his phone anyway just to check that he hadn't missed anything, but there were no missed calls, and the only message that he hadn't read was some classmates about the project they were doing for history, which he reported to the coach who sighed. "Coach, what is going on?"

"Hinata's mother just rang me. Apparently, he hasn't made it home yet. Her husband is out looking for him right now, and she asked if I could contact the team to see if you'd heard anything."

Hinata was missing? Daichi felt as though he had been sucker-punched because he knew that as idiotic as the first year could be at times, he wouldn't risk missing out on the match tomorrow and he wouldn't worry people like that. "I've not heard anything, but I can call around?"

"Try Kageyama, I am going to call Takeda-Sensei and see if he knows anything," Ukai ordered, sounding even more stressed than before. "Try not to worry him too much, we don't know anything is wrong yet. He might just have been delayed or…"

Or…

The hesitation was what worried him, and he felt slightly numb as he promised to let the Coach know if he heard anything, barely aware of Ukai thanking him before hanging up in a rush.

Daichi grimaced. He was tempted to ring around the rest of the team, but he knew that if Kageyama didn't know where Hinata was, then the others were unlikely to know much more, but he hesitated for a moment, remembering what the other boy had said about staying behind to practice. I will have to scold them about that in the morning, he thought, deciding that it was easier to think that everything was okay and that he would get the chance, even as he scrolled through his contacts and found Kiyoko's number. He wasn't up for another evasive conversation, and he knew that she was too good at reading all of them, so he settled for sending her a brief text instead.

What time did Kageyama and Hinata leave the gym?

That wouldn't tell them much, but maybe it would help, and he was reluctant to call Ukai back without something, trusting that the Coach would have rung him again if Hinata had been found. What the hell is going on? He wondered, finding himself unable to settle as he kept glancing at his phone, and starting to pace around the room, before looking at this phone once more, worrying at his lip before he found Hinata's number and rang it.

Where…?

Hinata blinked sluggishly as a strange noise broke the silence around him. It took him longer than it should have to recognise his own ringtone, and he winced, the sound cutting through his head and making it throb worse than ever. Please stop, he thought, before his head kicked into gear and his eyes widened. Phone. If he had his phone, he could try and get help…why did he need help again? As soon as the thought had occurred it started to slip away from him, and he'd nearly lost track of it, when he heard another sound, a voice raised in surprise before the painful ringing sound was cut off, and despite himself, he made a soft cry of dismay as though a lifeline had just been caught.

The silence was different for a moment before he heard movement, something large moving through the bushes and branches, and he tensed, fear flooding him, a quiet noise rising in the back of his throat. "Shouyou!" The shout startled him, and he jolted and immediately cried out as the sudden movement sent fresh pain lancing through every inch of his body, and his vision blurred, tears beginning to trickle down his cheeks. It hurts. It hurts. White noise flooded his ears, but through it all he heard a second shout, louder and closer this time. "SHOUYOU!"

Shouyou…that was his name, wasn't it?

Recognition tugged at him, although he couldn't place the voice right then, pain and fear clouding his thoughts to the point where he couldn't think, couldn't breathe. All he knew was that it promised safety.

"…here…." He tried to call, but all that came out was a pitiful broken whisper that he could barely hear above the rushing in his ears. It had hurt to speak, a burn that left him feeling nauseous and dizzy and he didn't dare try again, hoping that it had been enough.

Please…

Please…what….?

Branches cracked, and then there was a light on his face, and he whimpered, squeezing his eyes shut as it felt as though he had just looked directly into the sun. It hurts. His entire head was a throbbing mass, feeling as though it was ten times bigger than usual, and he kept his eyes shut, not daring to look again. It hurts. "Shouyou…" His name – it was his name, he was sure of that now – was whispered, and he sensed something, or someone settle next to him, and despite himself, he opened his eyes. The light had been moved, no longer shining directly on him, and casting the trees over him into sharp relief.

Where am I?

He had hoped that being able to see would quieten his confusion, but if anything, it made less sense. I…don't understand. I… There was movement, and a face came into view above him. He couldn't make out all the details, his vision blurrier than before, but something tugged at the edge of his scattered thoughts as he saw the ginger hair so like his as gentle fingers brushed his face, the touch tentative as though they knew how much he was hurting. The voice softer than before, still painful to his throbbing head, but less so than before. "Shouyou, can you hear me?"

I know that voice. It's…

"D-D…ad?" It was so hard to speak, and it hurt. Dad, I don't know what's going on, and it hurts. There was a sound almost like a sob from his father, and he frowned – that didn't sound like his father, and he tried to lift his head to see what was going on, only to find himself being held down and gods that touch burned. Distantly he knew that it wasn't meant to hurt, but it did, and fresh tears rolled down his cheeks as he tried to pull away, a whimper rising as he wasn't allowed to escape.

"Don't move," his father ordered in a tone that was usually enough to get Hinata to do as asked without question, but he was confused and frightened, and there was a strange note in his father's voice that he didn't like, and he tried to move again. A strangled cry tearing itself free, as something shifted in his side, and the world vanished for a moment, narrowing down to that sensation and the pain it brought, as though a thousand needles were being dragged, slowly, painfully through his side and his breath caught. "Shouyou?!"

"I-I…" I can't breathe, he tried to say, but the words wouldn't come, and there was a strange whistling noise. I can't breathe. I can't breathe. He was panicking now, and he knew that was making it worse, trying to remember what the others had told him to do when he was panicking before a match, but his mind was empty of anything, but the fact that he couldn't breathe and that something was wrong. There was warmth in his mouth, copper against his tongue, and he tried to look for his father, trusting him to have the answers.

Fear.

Fear was the strange note he'd heard earlier he realised, seeing it in his father's eyes. He was talking to him, he realised belated, mouth moving in urgent motions, but Hinata couldn't hear the words above the pounding in his ears, and there were shadows in front of his eyes now untouched by the light illuminating the world around him. The world closing in on him, as everything narrowed to the strangling feeling in his chest.

What was happening to him?

Any awareness he'd had was fading, he couldn't remember where he was or what was happening to him, he just knew that he couldn't breathe, that there was pressure and pain building in his chest until it took over everything and that his father was there. That it must be his father's warm fingers that were wrapping around his left hand, a pinprick of heat in the chill that was consuming him, and he tried to squeeze back, to tell him that he was there, that he needed help…that he couldn't breathe…that he wanted his father to make it all better like he had when he was little.

Daddy, please…

…help me…