"Tanaka?" Ennoshita asked softly as he approached his friend. The spiker seemed deep in thought and he obviously hadn't seen Ennoshita approaching.

Tanaka shook his head as if to clear his mind, "What is it?" he replied.

"Are you okay?" Ennoshita asked plopping down next to his friend.

"Yeah, after all I'm not the one who ran 150 kilometers (~93 miles) to escape people who should've been my friends. I'm not the one who's dehydrated, starving, burnt crispy, and probably hurt," Tanaka replied bitterly.

"Alright, what's going on?"

"Ennoshita, he never hung out with the team outside of practices. What if he didn't have anyone? I mean, I know he's kinda awkward, but it's mostly endearing. I guess I always assumed he knew we are his friends, but...what if he doesn't have any? I mean, we all helped Hinata after the breakup but no one thought to check on Kags. I just assumed he was fine. He always seems so fine. But he's still just a human. He's just a kid. And he's my underclass man but I didn't help him. Hell, all I did was make things worse! I bullied him, Enno! He was bullied. And so often. I have no idea how he handled it as long as he did. I could have helped him! I SHOULD have helped him! He was all alone with no one to help him. How could I let that happen?"

Ennoshita was shocked when his friends voice cracked at the end and was stunned silent for a long moment when he noticed the tears gathering.

"Tanaka, look at me." Ennoshita waited until his command was followed before continuing, "You are NOT the only one who hurt him. You are NOT the only one who failed him. Each and every one of us let him down. You can't beat yourself up so harshly. What happened happened. Right now, it's not helpful to focus on how he withstood it or what we should have done. Tanaka, we can't change what happened. As much as I wish we could, it's not possible. The only thing we can do is learn from our mistakes. OUR mistakes, Tanaka. And then we do better. We can help him now. We can do better now. We can make sure he never falls through the cracks again. Focus on that, yeah?"

Some of the grief on Tanaka's face had been replaced with determination which encouraged Ennoshita. Of course, he made a mental note to keep an eye on Tanaka. He'd mention something to Daichi and Asahi as well.

"Yeah, I can do that," Tanaka responded. There were a few minutes of silence before Tanaka spoke again. "I see Nee-san's van. You and Suga should get ready. Take care of him, okay?"

"We will," Ennoshita reassured him. Standing, he squeezed his friend's shoulder offering some comfort before making his way to Suga.

--

Kageyama saw the familiar bus pulling up not far away. "Nee-San?" he asked hesitantly.

"What is it, Kageyama?"

"You'll stay with me, right?"

"I'll stay until you're comfortable, little brother," Saeko offered with a bright, mischievous grin.

Coach Ukai stepped out of the bus first quickly followed by Takeda Sensei. "It's too soon," Kageyama thought. Suga and Ennoshita were a few steps behind the adults but no one else followed. Just as Saeko had promised. He relaxed slightly at Suga's bright, warm, comforting smile. It shouldn't be possible for one person to make such an impact with only one look.

When Coach Ukai and Takeda Sensei stopped in front of Tanaka, Suga and Ennoshita stayed a few feet away. "It's good to see you, Kageyama. We were really scared when we couldn't find you. I'm so relieved you're okay," Takeda said pushing a water bottle into the boy's hands.

Kageyama looked at the ground as he mumbled a quick, "Sorry." He was surprised when Ukai's hand gently lifted his chin so their eyes met.

"Don't apologize, Kageyama. It looks like you've learned why striking out on your own isn't a good idea. I should be the one to apologize. You are my responsibility. I care about you and never should've let you fall through the cracks like I did. You should've known-it is MY responsibility to make sure you feel safe coming to me for help when you need it. But we'll get to that. Kageyama, are you hurt?" When a few tears trickled down the kid's face, Ukai had his answer. "Where are you hurt?"

More tears started flowing as Kageyama's started speaking. Just hearing his voice made Ukai and Takeda flinch, but once the words started it seemed Kageyama couldn't stop them.

"I'm so sorry, coach! I was stupid and now my hands are all torn up. What if I can't set? And-and when I dropped from the gate...it hurt so bad. Between that and the bottle, what if I hurt my back? What if I damaged the nerves and they don't get better? I- my calf and thigh have been spasming so bad. I-I don't know if I'll be able to practice while it's so intense. It-I probably pulled a muscle in my thigh. No muscle spasm hurts like this. And-I fell asleep on the beach. I just wanted to cool off for awhile, but I fell asleep. It swallowed some of the water and started coughing and vomiting. My chest hurt so bad. My skin hurts so-well I guess you can see that for yourself. I think I burned my feet too. I got sand in my shoes and it keeps rubbing and hurting. It's ridiculous that something so small can hurt so bad, coach. My head hurts so bad and I'm so dizzy. It's gotten better since Nee-San...I mean-"

Saeko inturrupted, "Nope, it's Nee-San, Kageyama. Don't you dare call me anything else!"

That coaxed a small smile from the sobbing boy and he forced himself to take a deep breath and squeeze the woman's hand before continuing.

"It's gotten better since Nee-San found me. It's less hot in her car and she had water for me. The water's helping, but my brain still feels like a throbbing pile of mush."

Takeda Sensei squeezed his eyes shut in sadness and Coach Ukai took a deep breath. "We're going to help you, Kageyama. Thank you for being honest with me. Torn up skin is going to heal and you'll be back to setting before you know it. You definitely won't be practicing on a torn thigh so don't get any ideas. You're in too much pain as it is. I'll take care of the cuts on your hands and feet and we'll have you checked by a doctor when we get back. You'll be okay. Trust me, I'm going to take care of you, kid. Does anything else hurt?"

"I skinned my knees but my back hurts the worst. Some idiots threw a bottle at my back."

Ukai nodded and then turned to the waiting students. "Suga, Ennoshita, I need the first aid kit and three more bottles of water," he ordered.

"And bring the fresh clothes!" Takeda called as an after thought.