She was a woman in her early forty's, had long black hair (almost the same blue-tinted type as Kageyama) and the same golden-brown eyes as Nishinoya. Her hair was neatly combed and put in a low ponytail that rested over her left shoulder. She wore a tight white t-shirt and tight dark blue jeans, a dark brown handbag hanging over her shoulder. She was panting, like she had just been running. Her eyes was panicked, but still held a quite familiar wildness in them. Judging from all of this, this woman was probably -

"M-mom?" Nishinoya asked. The said woman, now revealed as Mrs. Nishinoya, didn't said anything, too busy catching her breath. "Wh... what are you doing here, mom?"

"What I'm doing here? Isn't it obvious?! I got a phone-call from your doctor and tried to come as quick as I could. It has gotten worse, hasn't it?" She said. Her voice was warm and soft, but at the same time panicked and rushed.

"Is that… so?" Nishinoya's question almost went in slow motion. Both Asahi and Mrs. Nishinoya picked it up, and concern came over them. To Asahi, the others question had sounded like his own mother wouldn't care about him.

"Of course, silly..." Mrs. Nishinoya said softly and walked over to the bed. Asahi moved to the chair again while Mrs. Nishinoya sat down on the edge of the bed. Gently she ran her hand through her son's hair, making him calm down and lean into the touch. Suddenly she turned her head towards Asahi.

"Thank you for looking after him. Especially now when it went like this" She said.

"No problem. He is a great friend of mine, so it's only natural to care for him."

"I'm happy to hear that" Mrs. Nishinoya said, her voice was smooth as honey and warm like any other mothers. Still, she felt somewhat different from most mothers. "Masako Nishinoya" She said and bowed in respect.

"Ah, Asahi Azumane. Nice to meet you, Mrs. Nishinoya" Asahi said and bowed back.

"Now, now. Just call me Masako, no need to be formal with me young man" Masako said with a laugh. She was quite easy-going, sounding right opposite from her son who often liked to speak quite formal and polite. But they shared the same calm composed face and about begin straight-to-the-point. If he guessed right, then she possibly also had the same wild personality that Nishinoya was so famous for.

"O-Okay. Still a pleasure to meet you, Masako-san*. I remember Nishinoya have mentioned you a number of times " Asahi said, still holding on to the little bit of formality he was used to. He watched in amusement as Nishinoya' s face was painted red from embarrassment, and he stared down into his bed.

"Was… was that really necessary, Asahi?" He said, feeling his face becoming hot.

"Now then, Yū. Why get embarrassed over such a thing?" Masako said, teasing her poor little son. This of course made him even redder in his face, and hide his whole face in his knees. The action only made his mother laugh.

"Hahaha. If you weren't already so like me, now you're even more like myself in your age" She said. He pushed her lightly with his hand, only making her sway a bit. She giggled a bit, already knowing that he would have a fit if she continued. So she once again stroke her hand through his hair.

"So, how are you feeling now? Still dizzy?"

"A bit, but not so much. The doctor have said that I can remove blood today, but they haven't said any specific time for it. Maybe in the afternoon" Nishinoya said. His mother nodded.

"That's good. When do they think you can be released from here?" She said. Nishinoya shock his head.

"I don't know. By testing this new method, it could take days…" He was just about to say another word, but stopped when a wave a dizziness went through him. He held his head in his hands, trying his best to calm down. Masako patted his head a bit, before making him lay down.

"You need rest. Sleep a bit, and we can talk later" She said. Nishinoya just nodded. He soon fell asleep, and Asahi prepared to walk back to practice.

"Asahi?" Masako suddenly said.

"Yes?"

"Could we talk for a bit? Maybe over a coffee?" She asked.

"Yeah, sure" Asahi said, feeling a bit uneasy. They walked down to the cafeteria on the bottom floor, and she offered him a cup of coffee.

"So, what did you want to talk about? Is it about Nishinoya?" Asahi said. Masako sighed and nodded.

"Yes. I want to know how he is doing here. Since we no longer live under the same roof... Or in the same town for that matter" She looked down in her black drink.

"As much as I know, he is doing just fine. Well, I don't spend much time with him outside of school. But I think he's doing well, except for yesterday..." Masako sighed again, a bit louder this time.

"I knew he was going to be affected. Still I told him not to worry about it..."

"About what?" The woman looked surprised at first, but soften soon after.

"Me and my 'husband' are getting divorced, or it's more that I getting divorced from him. I told him two days ago, telling him not to worry anymore about me" She said. She had almost a disgusted tone on the word 'husband'. Asahi just somehow knew there was something more to it.

"I understand if the thought of having his beloved parents having a divorce, it would affect anyone" He said, hoping it would give some kind of reaction.

"'Beloved'? Hehe, is that how he described it?" She said, chuckling a bit.

"No, is there something wrong with that?" Asahi asked, suddenly unsure about the situation. The woman looked like she searched for the right word.

"Well, it's just... Yū hasn't liked his father for many, many years. His constant neglecting of his own son has changed his way of thinking and acting, even to the point of hating himself" She stopped for a moment. "Has he ever said anything about his childhood?"

"N-no. I don't know anything before he joined the volleyball club at Karasuno High" She smiled.

"So he still plays... That makes me really happy" She took a sip of the almost cold drink, thought for a moment before talking any further.

"Yū was diagnosed at the age of eleven. Before that his father was like anyone else, mostly proud of him. His only dislike was Yu's interest in painting and drawing. But when he was asked to pick a sport to battle his disease, he didn't like any sport that his father suggested. I supported his choice when he started to play volleyball, happy that he had finally found something new to play. But his father was enraged, to the point of neglecting him as his child. He would scream at him when Yū got home or after dinner. I tried at first to stop it whenever it happened, but I soon noticed it was... dare I say it... pointless. So when he was going to start high school, I told him to choose a school far away. He agreed, but only as long as the school had a volleyball club" She smiled at the memory. Asahi was frozen in place. Sure, Nishinoya NEVER spoke of his father but still. To think that it was this bad...

"Does he never speak with him?"

"No. Yū says he want's nothing to do with him, but I know that deep down he just wants to be accepted by his father. But in this pace, he never will…" Masako said in a sad tone, her head hanging slightly. Asahi could only listen, but tried to picture Nishinoya begin mentally abused by his own father. To think that that man refused to see this beautiful and awesome boy as his son, just because said boy likes to draw and play volleyball, made him feel sick. Sure, his own father was almost never home, but he knew deep down that his father loved him and supported him in whatever he do. And Nishinoya seemed to be just like him, like any other normal teenage boys. But that turned out to be false, because this boy had been through hardship in the majority of his life. And he was a genius who could hide it so well.

"Why would he blame himself for your divorce? Shouldn't he be more… happy about it?" He asked, not sure if it was alright to ask. Masako smiled sadly at him.

"Yes, he should. But as we know, he doesn't. I believe he blames himself for the divorce, probably thinking: 'If only I wasn't so strange' or 'If I just hadn't been born'. Something like that..."

"…" Asahi gritted his teeth.

"That's why I came here, to make sure he doesn't do anything stupid, and to try and make up for all these years. The man is still an asshole, but I can't stand the thought of losing my only child!" Masako said, almost at the verge of tears. But just like her precious son, she not about to let anyone see. So she wiped her tears away and took a deep breath.

"That's why I'm so happy that he got just what he wanted. He got into the school he wanted, he got friends that cared for him and he have met people who doesn't judge him for his disease or his height... So thank you, Asahi. For the few phone-calls we've had, I know for a fact that he really likes you and looks up to you". When she told Asahi about Nishinoya's hidden feelings, his face felt like it was on fire. To think that Nishinoya would feel anywhere the same as he did, it was almost unbelievable. But at the same time, he was both happy and worried. Happy that the other felt the same, but worried that he maybe would lose him.

"So if you planned of asking him out and dating him, I'll give my full permission" And he felt like he would die of embarrassment.

"No, let's go and look at Yū. Hopefully he is better now after some rest" Masako said and stood up. She threw her paper cup, which still had a small bit of coffee left, in the trashcan and started to walk away. It was clear that even if she was good at hiding her real feelings, she was really touched by the situation. Well, who wouldn't be if their child was in hospital with a maybe lethal disease?