A/N: Gah, this took forever (Yay finals, and term paper season- but also... this was a hard chapter to actually put into words)

Hinata's POV

He felt cold. The pain that coursed through his body completely lost to him as he floated in this semi-conscious state. He saw the side of the man's head explode as the rest of his body crumpled in turn, the maroon stain adding further grime to the floor beneath. His breath was slow, heavy, like every inhale was coated in lead weighing the air down, and making it hard to swallow as the gore unfolded before him.

"Hinata-kun!" An unfamiliar voice called out at the end of a dim tunnel, the noise reached him, however the meaning was lost on his waning attention. A man nearly threw himself down the stairs from the catwalk, running to kneel in front of the redheads crumpled form. He had blonde hair, and earrings, and in one hand there was a gun. Hinata wanted to struggle away from the stranger, kick and squirm until the threat was far away, however his limbs were unresponsive. The man holstered his weapon and looked over his shoulder at the other prisoner. "Yaku-kun, how are you holding up?"

"Much better than he is, you got backup coming?"

"I've called for some, my partner and I got separated on the way." The stranger turned back to Hinata and gently touched his cheeks, his eyes looking over his wounds. "Hinata-kun, can you hear me? My name is Ukai Keishin, I came here with Kageyama and the rest of the Black Dahlia staff."

Hinata managed to weakly focus his eyes on the man, a soft whimper escaping his throat.

"It's going to be alright, we're going to get you out of here." Ukai assured, his attention moving to the cuffs locking his thin wrists to the wall.

Sound erupted from behind Yaku, and chunks of wall flew past Hinata's head. Hot blood splattered against his already tattered shirt as Ukai cried out in pain. The man didn't let what had happened slow him down however. He quickly turned and drew his own weapon, firing off multiple rounds. Whoever had made the shot quickly dove behind some boxes out of sight.

"I seem to recall hearing that you were occupied with some officers, Igarashi-san?"

"You need to try better than that, Ukai-kun! You think I can't see through a fake search warrant? You must have been pretty desperate to involve those poor junior officers." The man's voice echoed around the room, singing his taunt.

"I was at least hoping it would distract you for a few hours…" Ukai sighed. Hinata was scared stiff at the sound of Igarashi's voice. He did notice however the red bloom extending over his rescuer's side.

Ukai glanced quickly at the two bound men, and slowly moved away from them as to not get them caught in the crossfire. He inched towards Igarashi's hiding spot, his back to the large crates. He was ready when the auburn haired man made his move. When the man's arm extended into view to train onto his next victim, Ukai brought the butt of his own gun down on the man's elbow, before smacking the weapon out of his hand. The gun clattered to the floor, far out of reach. Igarashi wasn't finished however; he doubled over, taking Ukai in a rugby style tackle to the floor, knocking his gun away in the process as well.

The two men grappled, a mess of limbs, bloody fabric, and dirty kimono. Igarashi was the scrappier of the two, with longer limbs and clothing that allow for freer movement. He snaked himself around Ukai's back while Ukai was stuck on his knees. The auburn haired man locked his left arm around the Dahlia owner's neck, the left hand grabbing onto his own right bicep while his right hand pressed against the back of the blonde's head, pushing it forward and constricting his breath.

Ukai gasped, and clawed at the man's arms, his eyes wide as he struggled. The blonde pushed his left foot out straight to his side, and brought his left hand up to push his palm upwards against Igarashi's left elbow, his right hand grasping the left wrist which sat just next to his throat. Next Ukai sat, his lowered body weight slightly hindering his enemy's balance, before he pushed his own right shoulder forwards towards the ground, tucking his head as if he was about to roll. The movement pulled Igarashi forward, tossing him over Ukai's lowered shoulder and onto his back. Hinata had never seen a move like that, and had he been more in his right mind, he'd probably have been impressed.

Ukai didn't hesitate, he threw an elbow at the man's face, making contact before Igarashi managed to roll away out of his reach. The man sputtered, his lip bleeding heavily as both men gasped for breath. The pause lasted no more than a second before they were diving at one another again, Ukai getting to his feet first managed to toss a few punches, though none of them made contact as the enemy dodged expertly. Igarashi faked a right hook before diving off to the side, rolling off of his shoulder and rising again.

This time he had one of the discarded guns in his hand, which he picked up during his roll. He fired two rounds, causing Ukai to throw himself away from the projectiles. The blonde slammed into the crates, managing to avoid both shots. Igarashi approached calmly, his hand steady as he pointed the gun at Ukai's head. The blonde looked spent, he was slumped against the crates, holding onto the wound in his side as he stared death in the face. "You… you rat bastard…" Ukai coughed out.

Hinata felt doom weigh down upon him. He knew he was dying already, he'd lost so much blood, and he could hardly feel his own body anymore… and now his rescuer was about to bite it too. Who would take care of Natsu? He was sure Yachi would, but she shouldn't have to- taking care of the young girl was his duty! He hadn't gotten to see her graduate, hadn't gotten to get his degree, never got to fall in love and start a family… he was so young, why did he have to die? Why did any of this have to happen? Why couldn't he just got on living normally? His thoughts were spiralling as the two men held their own conversation, though through all of his depressive thoughts, the thought that this was all because of Kageyama never crossed his mind. He didn't have the capacity in his heart to blame the man, because deep down, he knew this was not his fault. Bad things often befell good people. The world was unfair that way.

Blackness closed in around him as he pictured the smiling face of his sister, then Yachi, his last memories of his parents, Kageyama… The gunfire that exploded around him didn't register as he fell completely limp in his chains, waiting for heaven to take him.

Warmth, like a soft blanket fresh from the laundry enveloped him, something hot and damp cupped his cheek. A hand? Was this a servant from the afterlife here to welcome him? He slowly opened his eyes, expecting to see blinding white angelic light, but instead he was greeted with the same dirty warehouse… and deep blue eyes.

Kageyama… oh, thank… You found me, you came to get me…

There was so much he wanted to say, but his voice wouldn't work. A croaked "Kah…" come out, but nothing more.

Then he was being held again, close to Kageyama's body. The scent Hinata had been missing came flooding back along with the salty tang of sweat. Metal clattered noisily, and suddenly the cool pressure on his wrists was lifted. Kageyama held him close, and scooped him up as if he were some damsel in distress.

Their bodies were flush together, however Hinata felt that it wasn't enough. He wanted Kageyama's scent to completely envelop him in a blanket of safety. Hinata buried his face in Kageyama's shoulder, his hand clamping weakly to the fabric of his sweaty shirt. He hardly registered that there were others around them, or that they were moving again, until a white van dotted with bullet scars came peeling down the road next to them. The doors opened, and one by one they were diving into the safety of the vehicle.

Kageyama squeezed him tight against his chest as he dove into the vehicle, strange hissing noises flashing past their senses. Then darkness. They had made it into the van, and they were off, speeding away from the horrors of that warehouse.

Hinata could feel bodies, warm, and alive pressed against him- but he was also suddenly in cased in metal coated darkness once more. With what little strength he had he began to breathe faster, shaking like a dry leaf in a windstorm.

"N...no…. No.. please let me out, please… I'll be good, please don't keep me in here…" His words were hardly discernible, the damage to his throat making the syllables garbled and broken.

"Shhh, shhh… Hinata-san, it's me, it's Kageyama. You're safe now." As if on queue the van straightened out, and the speed increased as they made it onto the highway. Ukai spoke into the radio as Kageyama held the redhead close to his chest, one hand stroking the smaller man's dirty hair for comfort.

Hinata weakly sobbed, hardly noticing the comforting gesture as his fear engulfed him. In his mind he was no longer in the van with his saviours, rather he was still trapped in that shipping container, beating his knuckles bloody trying to escape.

Hinata didn't remember falling asleep, or more likely, passing out. However when he woke, he was laying down on a soft mattress, with wires sticking out of his shirt, tubes coming from his arm, and an oxygen mask over his nose and mouth.

Beep…. Beep… Beepbeep…. Beep…

The heart monitor next to him was the first thing he heard as his eyes slid open to glance cautiously around the room. He was alone. The room was small, private, with sterile white walls, and furniture.

He thought about sitting up, but found that his body was still far to weak to move. He lay there silently, listening, waiting for any change in environment. Was he truly safe now?

Something in him broke, he was in a strange limbo of feeling like he was ready to just die, and wanting so desperately to live. He'd been through hell, and no, he didn't want a post card. Hot tears trickled down his cheeks as he silently sobbed, his hands clenching into weak fists in the sheets next to him.

The door opened slowly, a head covered in dark raven hair poked through, however the man was looking down. He had his phone in one hand, and a coffee in the other, his brow furrowed deeply as he read the small illuminated screen. Kageyama sighed deeply, pushing the phone back into the pocket of his black hoodie before allowing his blue gaze to rise. Kageyama froze stiff at the sight of Hinata, eyes open, and crying.

He didn't stay frozen for long. Hinata watched through swollen eyes as the man nearly tossed the coffee on a small table before hurrying the rest of the way to the redhead's side. Kageyama froze next to the bed, hands outstretched as if he wanted to do something, anything. Hinata released one of his fists from the blankets, and let his hand slowly rise towards Kageyama. The man instantly reacted, taking the small shaky hand in both of his own.

"H-Hinata-san…" His voice was raspy, and he had dark circles under his eyes from lack of sleep. "A-are you in any pain?" The look on his face was a torrent of worry, blue eyes searching Hinata's face for any indication of pain. Hinata shook his head slowly and continued to cry, tears staining the pillow on either side. "Ah… I-I'll call the doctor, okay? I'll be right back-" Kageyama began to release his hold on Hinata's hand, his body turning away from the smaller man to head out of the room, however Hinata managed to squeeze onto one of Kageyama's long digits.

A whimper came from Hinata's throat, as his eyes continued to spill tears. Kageyama stopped, and turned back to the redhead, his one free hand raising to wipe some tears off of his cheek. "P-please…" was all Hinata could manage to say through his damaged throat.

"Okay, I won't go anywhere." Kageyama withdrew his hand from Hinata's face, and grabbed his phone out of his pocket. "I'll text one of the others to fetch the doctor."

While Kageyama worked his phone with one hand, Hinata slowly began to calm down, his eyes no longer completely clouded by tears he was able to look closely at his friend. Kageyama looked exhausted, his clothing wrinkled and his hair disheveled. On top of that, he had small scrapes and bruises on his hands, and face, though they didn't look like they came from a fist fight, rather from flying debris.

The taller man placed his phone in his pocket, before turning his body slightly to sit on the edge of the bed. "Hinata…" Kageyama said, his expression somber. Hinata blinked up at him, slightly startled that the man had spoken so familiarly. "I'm so sorry this happened… if I had left sooner, shown my face at the Dahlia- you could have remained separate from this world- OW!" Hinata had pinched Kageyama on the pressure point between his thumb and index finger quite hard.

"No… not your-" Hinata croaked before coughing heavily into the mask, his breath heaving from the discomfort.

Kageyama opened his mouth, his brow furrowed as if he was about to scold the man for talking, when the door opened. A man not much taller than Hinata entered, dressed professionally with a black tie, and lab coat. "Sorry for intruding," He bowed his head, his unruly hair sticking up on odd angles, while the bow caused his large glasses to slide down his small nose. Hinata blinked at him, his hand still wrapped comfortably in Kageyama's. "I'm Doctor Ittetsu Takeda." Purposeful strides brought the doctor to the bedside, his smile warm as he looked upon the comforting scene.

"Ah, Takeda-Sensei… I'll get out of your way." Kageyama released Hinata's hand, his ears red with a flush that Hinata couldn't understand.

"Thank you-" The doctor began, however he saw the panicked look on the small man's face as he outstretched his arm for his friend, "Unless Hinata-kun would prefer your presence? I'll need to check your wounds, so you may prefer the privacy…" The doctor explained, Hinata shook his head to the best of his ability, still reaching for Kageyama. The taller man looked between his bedridden friend, and the doctor, not sure if he should stay like his heart was screaming at him to- or to leave the two in privacy.

"St-stay…" Hinata croaked, eyes watery again.

Kageyama looked back to the doctor for further permission, his fists clenched as he all but rocked on his heels to prevent himself from returning to the man's side. "There is a stool in the corner, you can bring it along side Hinata-kun's bed on the side closest to the window." Takeda's smile remained, and his voice was soft as he watched Kageyama spring to action. Within seconds the tall man was seated next to Hinata once more, his hand enveloping the others small palm. "Okay Hinata-kun, I'm going to take off the oxygen mask, and exchange it for this-" The doctor walked to a machine next to the bed, and held up a long clear tube with two small prongs extending from it. "It will rest on your upper lip below your nose, and I will secure it in place behind your ears." Hinata slowly nodded, looking at the contraption with a slightly concerned expression. It didn't sound very comfortable.

The doctor carefully removed the mask from the young man's face, taking care not to irritate any of the facial bruising present, before replacing it with the nasal cannula. It felt odd, the cool air blowing feather light up his nose. It tickled at first, but Hinata soon grew accustomed to it.

"Alright, Hinata-kun, are you feeling any kind of pain anywhere?" Hinata frowned slightly, and thought about the dull ache that was pretty much everywhere. He wouldn't call it pain, but it definitely wasn't comfortable. He lifted his free hand slightly and held it flat, horizontally before rocking it side to side in a "sort of" motion. Then he tapped his throat to indicate what was the worst. "To be expected. Okay, I'm going to up the dosage slightly on your painkillers. It may make you feel a bit more groggy than you do now." Hinata nodded.

The doctor focused on one of the machines next to the bed, and within a few minutes, a slight tingling sensation trickled through Hinata before the aches seeped away. He felt rather floaty, and his mouth felt quite dry. "W-water…" He croaked.

Takeda turned back to him and nodded, "Let's see if we can get you seated, and then I'll get you something to drink." It took some maneuvering, however with the aid of the electronic bed which moved into a sloped seated position, and the fluffy pillows placed around him by the doctor and Kageyama, Hinata was finally seated. A yellow sippy cup with a bright blue straw was handed to him, however his arms felt like noodles now that the pain meds were really working.

"Here, dumba-" Kageyama grumbled, his cheeks flaring as he recalled his bedside manners, "Hinata-san" He took the cup from the redhead, and held it in front of his mouth, angling the straw for him. Hinata took a few slow sips, and sighed, settling back into the pillows. Kageyama was close to him, watching him carefully with his dark blue eyes that seemed to see right through him. It made Hinata's stomach flip as he turned his face back to the doctor in a sudden flush of embarrassment.

"T-thanks.." He mumbled.

"Okay, I've got to run a few tests before checking your injuries, let me know if at any point you feel pain, okay?" Hinata nodded to the doctor who was holding out some sort of inflatable cuff. Takeda set it on the edge of the bed, and carefully pulled back Hinata's blankets to his hips. Hinata was wearing a soft button down cotton top, however he could see the bulges beneath from the bandages. "I'm going to remove your shirt for now so I can access your injuries and your arm, alright?" Hinata slowly nodded.

Takeda gently unbuttoned the shirt, exposing pale, bruised flesh patched like an old quilt with bandages. He looked horrible. Hinata felt his lip quiver as he gazed down at his marred flesh, wondering how bad it was under the large bandages that crossed his side, and his chest. He'd noticed the bandages that covered his wrists, and could feel a few more on his legs, and back, but the ones on his chest and side were the largest. Takeda carefully removed Hinata's arm from the sleeve on the side closest to him, which was free from the wires and needles. The hand Kageyama carefully held was riddled with small bandages and tape holding the needles and such in place. Careful not to put pressure on the young man's injured wrist, Takeda slipped the cuff up over Hinata's bicep.

"This may get uncomfortable as it inflates. It might be best to just focus on your friend there." Takeda warned. Usually testing blood pressure wasn't a terrible feat, however Hinata understood his mindset. He'd been chained up, held down and abused relentlessly for days- this simple test could set him off the deep end. Even in his exhausted state, Hinata was aware of how weak he was, physically and mentally. He turned his head back to Kageyama, and focused on his breathing, which thanks to the pain meds, was fairly easy despite the broken ribs.

The doctor placed the stethoscope on the pulse point under the edge of the cuff, and then slowly began to inflate it. Tightness closed in around Hinata's arm, before causing a tightening in his chest. He began to breathe faster, panic eating at his resolve. Kageyama began to stroke circles on Hinata's palm to comfort him, which helped a little, but not nearly enough to stem the tide of this panic attack. Hinata's eyes watered as his resolve threatened to shatter entirely. Suddenly he felt it- thumpthump… Thumpthump...Kageyama had brought Hinata's hand to his own chest, allowing the small man to feel the steady beat of his heart. He slowly inhaled, and then exhaled, "Breathe with me." Kageyama commanded softly. Hinata inhaled a shaky breath, copying Kageyama. They exhaled in unison. Hinata's hand held over Kageyama's heart as the pair took breath after breath as one. Beepbeep… beepbeep… Kageyama's face grew pink as the heart monitor matched up with his own heartbeat. Hinata's eyes were closed, his face relaxed as he focused on his breathing and Kageyama's heart.

"Okay Hinata-kun, stay just like that, I'm going to draw some blood for tests."

"Mm.." The man mumbled in return, completely relaxed.

Without any struggle, or further panic, the doctor was able to extract a number of small vials full of the dark crimson liquid from Hinata's arm.

Cool metal was slid behind Hinata, "Take a deep breath... " The doctor listened through the stethoscope as he pressed it against the patient's ribcage. They did this a number of times in different spots before the stethoscope was removed. "Okay, I'm going to call in the nurse now to help with your wounds."

"Mm…" Hinata muttered again. The doctor retreated from the room, leaving the pair in privacy.

"Are you okay?" Kageyama asked quietly.

"Yeah… I am now." Hinata sounded relaxed and groggy, though his voice still broke and rattled with strain.

"Good, you're doing great." The complement caught Hinata off guard, causing his eyes to slowly open. As he did so, Kageyama lifted the Hinata's hand from his chest, bringing his knuckles to his mouth. Lips grazed over the bruised fingers, feather light. Pink dusted Kageyama's cheeks as he did this, while Hinata's face attempted to match the colour of his hair. He felt like his brain short circuited, seeing Kageyama act so… cutely. The taller man opened his eyes, meeting his gaze with the wide brown eyes that sat frozen with shock. He appeared to realize what he'd done, quickly releasing the man's hand in embarrassment as he looked away, the pink flush turning darker across his cheeks.

"T-thanks…" Was all Hinata could say, his hand floating in mid air. Curious, he lowered it back to Kageyama's chest, feeling the rapid thumping of Kageyama's racing heart. He opened his mouth again to ask what that was all about, but the door opened, once more interrupting them. Takeda returned, this time with a young woman in tow. She was beautiful, all dark hair and soft angles. A small mole sat below her mouth, glasses resting on her elegant nose, framing her sharp eyes. The woman bowed politely, and excused her intrusion. "I am Kiyoko Shimizu, pleased to meet you." Hinata and Kageyama tore themselves away from their own embarrassing situation to offer small nods to her, eyes wide at the sight of such a beauty.

The two professionals approached them, wasting no time. The bandages on Hinata's wrists were the first to get changed, revealing a horrid display of brutality. The skin had been rubbed raw, down several layers, and was coated in some sort of ointment that stung upon application. There was no way that these wounds wouldn't scar. The other wounds were as expected, the large cuts down his chest and side had been stitched and cleaned while he slept. The bruising around the wounds looked far worse than the wounds themselves, but the doctor did mention that he may have scarring after those healed as well. It took some maneuvering to change the small bandages on his legs, and the few on his back, but after just over an hour, he was redressed, and relaxing back against the pillows. The two excused themselves to check in on other patients, allowing the young men more privacy.

"The man who found me… what happened to him… and Yaku-san! Are they-" his voice rasped before breaking into coughs.

Kageyama watched him struggle to regain his breath, holding onto his shoulder with worry written all over his face, "You need to just focus on your own well being right now…" Hinata shook his head, stubbornly, wiping his mouth on his sleeve. With a sigh, Kageyama reported, "Ukai-sama is fine. He's pretty banged up and on bed rest for a couple of weeks. That bastard Igarashi shot him in the side, but thankfully he didn't hit anything vital."

Hinata muttered quietly, "That's good at least."

"Yaku-san will be hospitalized for quite some time, and will have a lot of rehab to look forward to. There was a lot of damage to his bones, and muscles but the doc says a full recovery is within the realm of possibilities." He chuckled, "Here I thought the Dahlia was rowdy… you should see the ruckus Yaku-san's visitors are causing."

Hinata could only imagine, though he wanted to ask about Yaku and this Nekoma group he belonged to, it could wait for another time. "Ukai-sama mentioned that everyone from the Dahlia was involved? At least I think he did… I was kind of out of it…"

"Yeah, everyone pitched in to come get you," The soft smile on Kageyama's lips was still quite foreign to Hinata, and caused him to stare, which of course caused Kageyama to scowl in turn. "Anyway, there were some injuries, but nothing serious. Tanaka-san and I got grazed-" He pointed to his bicep which was covered by his sweater.

"You got shot?!" Hinata attempted to shout, more coughs resulting.

"Easy! Take it easy! It's nothing, hardly even made a mark. Tanaka-san's was worse but not by much."

"Tanaka-san is…"

"Oh, he's a bouncer, I believe you crossed paths. Shaved head?"

"Oh!" Hinata managed to place his face to the name now, "I hope he recovers quickly." Hinata quietly prayed.

"Tsukishima's hospitalized though, but he'll be out in a few days. I don't think you two met when you stopped by at the Dahlia. He's a super tall bartender-"

"Goatee?"

Kageyama shook his head, "Nah, that's Asahi-san, Tsukishima-san is blonde with glasses, and a perpetual scowl."

"Sounds familiar…" Hinata teased, the first hint of his old smile returning. Kageyama of course scowled.

"Anyway, he got caught in some crossfire, leg injury." Hinata winced. Why did so many people have to get injured because of him? "Oi, don't you go blaming yourself dumbass."

Hinata nodded, his face formed into a pout. Kageyama sighed, and placed one elbow on the edge of the bed, his chin resting in the palm of his hand. Dark eyes looked up at Hinata, as if evaluating the state he was in. The gaze made Hinata want to squirm, it was so intense.

"What am I going to do with you?"

Hinata blinked,he could feel his heart skip a beat, which was betrayed by the monitor. What did he mean? "What do-"

"There is clearly something going on between the families, and I doubt it's just going to stop now that you're safe." Kageyama carried on as if he hadn't heard Hinata speak, "what if they come after you again? I can't keep an eye on you all the time, and you could be in danger, and then there's your family…" He was right, Hinata and his family could be in danger now, not to mention his rent had been due in the time he was missing, and his place had been trashed… He couldn't move back into a place he'd been assaulted in anyway, it just felt wrong. This time it was Hinata who was scowling. "Hey," Kageyama said softly, still staring in that intense way, "don't worry, we'll figure something out okay?" Again, Hinata's heart went for a backflip. Was he developing a murmur or something?

His face slowly heated again the more he looked at Kageyama, so instead he tore his gaze away, looking at the door, "C-can I see Natsu-chan, and Yachi-san?"

"They've been sleeping for the last few hours. We finally had to kick them out after the third day of nearly no rest. They were about to fall over. I can go wake them if you'd like?"

Third day? How long had he been unconscious for? "It's alright, let them sleep."

Kageyama nodded, "You should rest too."

"I've been asleep for long enough."

"You look horrible." Kageyama stated flatly, poking Hinata in the cheek to force him to draw his attention back.

Hinata reluctantly turned his flushing face back to Kageyama, who looked equally exhausted. "You're one to talk."

"There's a couch out there I intend to take advantage of." The taller man stated simply, "Just try to get some actual sleep. You're family will be here when you wake up." Kageyama stood, and stretched. "Do you want me to stay here until you pass out?" Hinata chewed his lip for a moment, then slowly nodded. He remembered Kageyama's first few nights after the attack, the nightmares that plagued his sleep. He was honestly scared to close his eyes right then. Kageyama twisted his back, resulting in a few quiet pops, before settling back onto the stool.

They sat there in silence. Awkwardly. Hinata felt his stomach twist at the need to fill the near silence, the sounds of the machines grating on his nerves. The medication was doing it's job making him sleepy, however the strange unexplainable nerves he was feeling having Kageyama there for him was stopping any kind of rest from claiming him.

"Dumbass, get some sleep." Hinata balked at the man, realizing that there was really nothing to be nervous about, this was the same, grump of a man he'd known before. That softness earlier was just a fluke. Kageyama reached out and took his hand again, slowly rubbing circles on his palm. It was like a tranquilizer. Hinata sagged into the pillows, watching through half lidded eyes as the man traced the intricate lines on his palm, his attention claimed entirely by the action, as if he was reading a map.

Darkness ebbed into his vision, the beeping drifted away as he floated into the ocean of dreams.

A/N: Thank you as always for reading, and reviewing! You're comments bring me so much joy! Check out my tumblr for fandom trash, and random musings Failsoup