Haikyu!
Higher
Chapter 26: Heartbeats

"Kenma!"

Said setter turned to see a blur of orange behind him in the hallway of the hospital, panting, as if he'd run to catch up with him, the more frightening setter behind him, stoically watching Kenma. "Shoyo," he murmured softly, turning around fully to face Hinata and his friend.

Hinata stood up and beamed brightly. "We got the invitation from you guys. You and your scary rooster captain got us into the training camp, right? Thank you very much!" He and his friend both bowed deeply, catching Kenma off guard for a moment.

Quickly regaining his composure, Kenma shook his head. "You shouldn't thank me," he replied. "This was all for Aika. Kuroo wouldn't do it if it wasn't for her. She's been missing you guys a lot."

He swore he saw Karasuno's setter blush a bright red. Kenma's eyes flashed for a moment as he stared at his rival setter, examining his expression as the conversation turned to Aika. As soon as her name was mentioned, Kageyama – at least that's the name Kenma remembered – had turned his gaze away, completely avoiding all eye contact with Kenma.

"Really?! She said so?!"

Hinata, however didn't react the same way. Instead, he seemed to get even more excited when he was told that Aika had missed him.

Kenma nodded slowly. "I've been meaning to ask, Shoyo… it's a strange coincidence that you know Aika, and that we're on rival teams. How did you two meet?"

For a second, Hinata was quiet, lost in his thoughts. "Well, we became friends after she found me." He paused. "Wait, actually… we weren't friends at first. It took us a while to really become friends, but it was definitely worth the wait." He smiled, as if he was remembering something that made him happy. "She offered to help me work on my volleyball skills, and we just slowly began to spend more time together. She even came with me to Karasuno to keep a promise she made to me in middle school."

Kenma nodded along to Hinata's story. "That sounds like her," he murmured.

"I'm really grateful to her… so I wanted to be able to do something for her someday. That's why I'm going to take every opportunity I can to get better, so I can repay her when I'm good enough." Hinata, his eyes shining with determination, declared, "I'm going to stand on a national stage to fulfil her dream!"

A pause followed his declaration.

"You love her lots, don't you?" Kenma questioned quietly.

Hinata's face was as bright as his hair, and he looked as if someone had set him on fire. His hands were out in front of him, waving wildly in denial. "N-no! I mean, o-of course I l-love her, but not like that!" he practically shouted.

Laughing softly, Kenma shook his head. "No, that's not what I meant. You care about her a lot."

A wave of calm washed over Hinata, and he slowly nodded. "She's like an older sister to me. Even though we're about the same age, she's always looking after me. Being here for her is the first time I've been able to do anything for her since we met." His tone was soft, his voice quiet, unlike Hinata usually was.

"I see." Kenma paused, looking towards the sign above the operating room. "After this," referring to the surgery she was undergoing, "she won't be able to go back to Karasuno just yet. She needs to be looked after by her surgeon, so she'll be attending Nekoma until after summer ends. She'll be going to physical therapy every week or so, and usually, Kuroo or I will be going with her." He turned back to Hinata. "She's going to need someone to visit her, otherwise she's going to get sick of us."

Both Karasuno players stared at Kenma, shocked by the amount he was speaking in order to tell them about Aika's condition after the surgery. He wasn't ever vocal, even when it came to the sport he had dedicated himself to. But when it came to his childhood friend, he was much more open with them.

Hinata's bottom lip wavered, before he burst. "I'll come visit her as often as I can! I'll even bring some of the team! I'll do my best!" he shouted, his voice echoing through the hall.

"Dumbass, be quiet!" Kageyama hissed. "This is a hospital!"

In response, Hinata slapped his hands over his mouth, successfully muffling the retort he'd prepared for his friend. Kageyama only taunted Hinata even more, mocking him for stifling his own words. Watching in amusement, Kenma couldn't help but think that Aika had made good friends in Miyagi.

They're good kids.

Aika's surgery had finished, but only one person was allowed to see her at a time. Kuroo had wanted to be the first, wanting the full results on what was happening with his friend.

Hinata had been the next, pushing forward before anyone could even think about who would visit Aika next. His impatience had been noted by both Kageyama and Kenma, who were with him as he fidgeted in his seat, even ignoring the convenience store food that the four had bought.

"That orange one sure does love her, doesn't he?" Kuroo asked with a laugh as he opened his own lunch. "Except for you, Kenma, I've never seen someone panic so much when it came to Ai."

Kenma flushed a bit, but ignored Kuroo. "Kageyama, would you like to see her next? She'll be asleep, but you can at least see that she'll be okay," he offered, turning his cat-like gaze on Kageyama.

Although Kageyama wanted nothing more than to be able to see that the assistant coach was going to be okay, that her surgery had gone well, that she was going to make a full recovery, he also didn't want to see her while she was still in a drugged sleep.

"No, that's okay," he managed to reply. "I think I'll wait until she's awake."

The two Nekoma students exchanged a knowing look, but Kenma simply returned his gaze to the food in his lap. Kuroo fixed his eyes on Kageyama, the smug smile falling from his face as he fixed his gaze on the first year. His eyes were now shadowed with a look of reluctance.

"I wouldn't normally be talking to you about this, but Kenma insists that you should know. We're sure that the shrimp knows already, considering he's known her for a few years now. But you've known her for… what, three months?" He pulled his phone from his pocket, unlocking it as he continued to speak. "Have you ever looked up videos of her playing?"

"Yes," Kageyama replied easily. "I've seen lots of videos of her best plays. She was an incredible setter when she still played." Although he was replying with ease, he wasn't too comfortable under the Nekoma captain's eyes.

Kuroo sighed and typed something into his phone. His eyes stayed locked on Kageyama as he did. "Have you seen her final game?" Kageyama shook his head, and Kuroo heaved another heavy sigh. He turned the phone towards him, and Kageyama peered at it curiously.

It was of a match between Aika's middle school team against another team that he didn't recognize. He only knew it was her from the hair, which was now a familiar color to him.

"And it looks like we've got Yukigaoka's Ace serving now," announced the commentator. "Aika Yamada, age fourteen, is known for her powerful jump serves and the ability to use her opponent's weaknesses against them. She's a scary opponent, that's for sure."

All became quiet as Aika leapt up to serve, the ball flying across the court and landing just in the opponent's side, too quickly for them to retaliate. The whistle blew, signifying that she'd earned a point. The team huddled around Aika, cheerfully celebrating.

Kageyama could see that Aika's face was strained as she moved back into her place. He could even see that she stumbled as she returned to her place as the server. He watched as she bounced the ball, preparing to serve once more. It was another jump serve, one that was so fast that no one even moved before the point was earned. It was a scary thing.

But Aika was suffering.

The pain was written all over her face, and Kageyama couldn't help but wonder why none of her teammates or coaches switched her out. She was clearly hurting badly, but no one even seemed to notice that she was killing her leg.

"I-I don't need to see the rest of this," he stammered, trying to look away. "If it's just her getting hurt, I don't want to see it."

As soon as the words left his lips, the entire crowd in the recording gasped, murmurs nearly overpowering the whistle as it blew in a way that signaled that a player was injured.

"I-It seems that… that Aika Yamada has been badly injured…" Even the commentator seemed shocked by the sudden turn of events. "A time out has been called… as have medics. They're approaching her with a stretcher, but Yamada doesn't seem to be able to move."

The Aika in the video was on the floor, writhing in pain as one of her legs looked like it was twisted the wrong way. It looked swollen and angered, agitated as she sobbed. Tears were running down her face as she struggled, trying desperately to get to her feet. She even pushed away the stretcher, yelling something at the medics, as she pushed herself up, only to fall onto the court once more, her leg refusing to listen to her.

For some reason, Kageyama couldn't look away from the gruesome sight. "Why… why did you show this to me?" he choked.

Kuroo pulled the phone away from him, locking the screen. "Because you're Ai's friend, aren't you? And you want more from that relationship, right?" he asked, no hint of teasing in his voice. "You and that shrimp and that freak quick… your team…" He paused, clutching the phone tightly. "You guys are the best hope she has of seeing a national stage while she's in high school. That's why I helped bring you guys to the summer camp. So you can learn, and you can get her there."

Although Kageyama was red from the insinuation that he liked Aika as more than a friend, he realized just how important it was to Kuroo that Aika see a national stage. Everything that Kuroo had done to pull strings for Karasuno wasn't just for the rivalry, but also for the young girl that had joined the Karasuno team and offered them her help.

"It's her dream, isn't it?" he murmured. Looking Kuroo straight in the eye, he nodded. "It's not just for her, though. I'm going to be selfish, because I want to stand there, too. But I'll be sure to bring her with me when we make it."

Kuroo simply stared at him for a moment.

He recognized the look on the young setter's face, the fire in his eyes, as the light of determination that he used to see on Aika's face, back when she was younger and still working on her tosses.

That light hadn't quite died yet, but it wasn't as bright as Kageyama's was.

"I see." Kuroo's smug grin tugged at his lips, coming back over his face as he quietly looked to Kenma. He was also watching Kageyama, a hint of recognition in his eye. "I'll put my faith in you, then, Kageyama. Please look after Ai for me."

Kageyama blinked in confusion, but then managed a nod.

"I will."

Aika watched silently as Kageyama entered the hospital room, his gaze aimed at his feet. He didn't say anything as he approached the bed where she sat upright, her leg raised in order to prevent her from moving it the wrong way.

"You're so quiet, Kageyama," she said softly. "It's not like you."

He looked up at her, finally meeting her eyes. He bit his lip, knowing that she was waiting for him to say something. "I… I'm glad your surgery was successful." That was all that he managed before he bowed sharply. "Your friend showed me the video of your last game! I'm going to make sure that we get to the nationals this year, and I'll be sure that you're right there with us!"

She could only stare at him for a moment, shocked by his sudden outburst of emotion. "W-well… that was an unexpected turn of events." She simply smiled at him, her gaze somewhat sad. "I knew that you'd see it, but I didn't expect for Tetsu to be the one to show it to you."

"I… I'm sorry," he murmured.

Shaking her head, she smiled at him again, her emotions no longer negative ones. "I know you'll make it. So don't be sorry, please." She then looked to her bag, which was sitting in the corner of the room. "I've had nothing much to do for the past few days, so I spent them writing down some things that you can take back to Karasuno. They're new techniques you guys can pull off, and new plays to practice hard at. You'll need them, since you're going to make it to the national stage, right?" she teased.

Kageyama nodded, moving to the bag. "Would you like me to take them back?"

"Yes, please. They're in the notebook that says Karasuno, of course." She laughed as he pulled out several notebooks with wide eyes. "Sorry, I also brought my schoolwork. We do have finals coming up."

At that Kageyama froze, the Karasuno notebook in hand. "Yeah… finals…" For once, he sounded nervous, like he was trying to avoid the idea of the final exams that were quickly approaching.

Aika couldn't help but laugh. "You and Shoyo are so similar, you know that?" She quickly lifted her hands as Kageyama sent a glare at her. "Both of you might have trouble with your exams, considering you both live and breathe volleyball. But if you work hard enough, I'm sure you'll make it. Just be sure to try your best, okay?" she asked with a grin on her face.

Kageyama couldn't help but stare at her, wanting to hear her laugh again. He bit his lip, but nodded. "I'll do my best, and I'll study hard. After all, I want to go to the summer training camp, and if I don't pass, I can't come," he admitted.

"Give me your phone."

For a second, he froze. Then, he pulled out his phone, which wasn't much to look at, considering he never used it. He never really had a reason to, since he never had many friends to talk to in the first place. As she took it, he felt his heart jump a little in his chest, but it wasn't an unpleasant feeling. He watched as she typed something into his phone, then handed it back to him. He only stared at it, unable to help the way he looked at the small piece of plastic. He looked back to her after a moment, only to see her smiling again.

She giggled at him, and his heart leapt again. "Now you have my phone number and email, and I have yours. You can ask me whenever you need help with something on your exams, okay? Just be sure to work hard, so I can see you guys at the training camp, alright?" she asked softly.

Kageyama could only stare at her for a moment, but then he nodded. "I'll come visit you when I can, too," he offered.

Another smile on her face. "I'd like that a lot."