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When Daichi asked Hinata out on a date, he had been one of the happiest teenage boys on the face of the planet. In that moment of elatedness, he had wrapped his arms around the shorter boy’s waist and lifted him off of the ground, causing the redhead to let out a small yelp followed by a giggle. The captain expected their date to be great as well, and it had been at first.
The pair had met each other in the late morning hours and then spent the day traversing the town. They stared through large glass windows and popped in and out of random stores, looking at the various items that were being sold as well as choking when they saw the actual prices. The middle blocker had tried to stifle his laughter when Daichi offered to buy Hinata one of the things he wanted but failed miserably when his captain nearly collapsed from the sight of the price. That had earned Hinata a light whack to the back of his head.
All in all, it had been a good date for both of them. They learned a lot more about each other in the span of a few hours than they had in the entire time that they had known one another. They spoke about their families and friends outside of volleyball as well as what they did before they got into the sport. The third year shared the story of his very first volleyball game, and Hinata found out that Daichi wasn’t always so captain-like, making massive mistakes in his earlier games.
Daichi described a few of his biggest blunders to the younger boy, ducking his head to hide the blush and small smile that would break out on his face as the redhead would grin brightly and laugh. Hinata’s smile really was too cute, and it gave the captain serious butterflies in his stomach. He definitely wouldn’t mind if his underclassman continued to smile like that until the end of time.
That was the last time that Daichi saw Hinata truly smile.
Just as the sun was beginning to set, they both made the decision that it was time to finish up their date and head home. However, before doing so, Daichi offered to buy him ice cream. Hinata agreed, and they soon found themselves in a park, standing in front of an ice cream stand, holding cones.
The pair strolled down the street together, slowly eating their ice cream as they spoke about the upcoming tournament. Daichi moved to cross the street, standing on the curb as he waited for Hinata to catch up; the younger boy had stopped to throw away his trash. Seeing the redhead coming towards him, the captain turned back towards the street and stepped into the road, taking a bite out of his remaining ice cream. The sound of screeching tires filled Daichi’s ears.
“DAICHI-SAN!!” He heard Hinata scream his name, and he turned towards the middle blocker, only to feel himself being shoved forwards, further into the street. His face slammed into the asphalt, and there was a heavy thunk followed by a sickening crunching sound.
Suddenly, there were voices all around him, screaming and yelling. He felt hands on his body, and he took a moment to regain his thoughts as he struggled to get up. His body shook as he pushed his torso up off of the ground, small pieces of loose gravel falling from his arms, leaving red imprints behind. The remnants of his ice cream were smeared all over the front of his shirt, seeping through and making his chest and abdomen sticky. He could feel it, but he couldn’t care less about that. He needed to know where Hinata was.
“H-Hinata!” He cried out the redhead’s name shakily, eyes frantically sweeping over the scene of the accident, searching for any sign of the first year.
His eyes finally fell upon the still figure of the boy lying in a small pool of his own blood. His legs, covered in tire tracks, were at odd angles while blood poured from open wounds. Broken bone had pierced and torn through the skin, exposing layers of muscle in his shins and calves.
Daichi couldn’t breathe. Bile rose in the back of his throat, and he leaned over, vomiting out the contents of his stomach. He crawled over to Hinata as he croaked out his name repeatedly, fighting off the arms that attempted to hold him back. He grabbed the boy’s hand and held it in his own. The first year was so very pale, and the captain felt more terrified than he’d ever been in his life.
He didn’t know how long it was until he heard the sirens of the ambulance. All he knew was that he couldn’t leave Hinata’s side. Everyone around them was trying to speak to Daichi, but he couldn’t respond to them. He wanted to. He knew that he needed to, but all of his attention was on Hinata, and nothing was going to change that.
He felt a gentle hand on his shoulder, and then there was a woman in an EMT uniform softly and calmly telling him that they needed him to move so that they could help Hinata. He gave a tiny, shaky nod in response, still not taking his eyes off of the small redhead. The captain reluctantly let go of the middle blocker’s hand and moved out of the way.
Everything between then and the moment that they unloaded at the hospital was a blur for Daichi. He could vaguely recall answering a few questions about Hinata during the ride in the ambulance, but he couldn’t remember what was asked or the answers he gave.
The nurses told the captain that he couldn’t go with Hinata any further. That sparked something within him, and he tried to argue with them, begging them to let him stay with the first year.
“Please! Please let me stay with him! He’s my underclassman! I-I have to… I have to stay with him. I have to know that he’s alright!”
One of the doctors firmly told him that he would just get in the way, and Daichi deflated. He knew that was true.
He was led to an exam room by one of the nurses. Daichi, too, had been involved in the accident and needed to be checked over for any injuries. He felt sore, but he only had scratches and bruises on his body. He knew that it was nothing compared to what Hinata was dealing with.
The image of the boy’s small body lying in his own blood flashed through his mind, and he wanted to vomit again. One of the nurses noticed this and quickly grabbed a bin to catch the vomit, shoving it under Daichi’s chin. However, there was nothing left in his stomach; dry heaving was all that he could manage. He felt a small hand rubbing small circles into his back. He wanted to smile at her and assure her that he was okay, but he couldn’t. He wouldn’t be alright until he knew that Hinata was alright.
A few hours passed before he was updated on his underclassman’s condition, but the doctor couldn’t tell him anything more than ‘he’s alive’ because he wasn’t one of Hinata’s relatives. Although he didn’t like it, he figured that would be the case.
Daichi didn’t have any contact information for Hinata’s family, so he had no way to tell the boy’s mother that her eldest child was in the hospital after getting hit by a car. When he told the nurses, they told him not to worry about that. He was informed that they found the redhead’s phone in one of his pockets and that they were able to get into contact with Hinata’s mother. The nurses said that the woman had told them that she’d be there as quickly as she could.
His stomach clenched at the thought of seeing Hinata’s mother and little sister after what happened, and he simply gave a small nod in response. The nurses left him alone again, and he closed his eyes, burying his face into his hands.
It was another long while before Hinata’s sister and mother arrived at the hospital. He had never met either of them before, but the sight of the bright orange hair on the tiny girl informed him that she was his teammate’s little sister. He remembered Hinata telling him about her during their date. He greeted them weakly, introducing himself as Hinata’s captain from the volleyball team.
“You were…with him when it happened?” Hinata’s mother asked him softly, her eyes filled with concern.
“...Yes, ma’am.” Daichi’s gaze, which had previously been locked with the woman’s own, drifted to the tiled flooring beneath his feet. He knew he needed to tell her what happened. His stomach turned as he opened his mouth again. He felt the back of his eyes beginning to burn harshly. “Hinata… H-He pushed me out of the way of the car. I… It was…my fault…”
“Sawamura-kun… I don’t think that’s true,” the woman replied, shaking her head. Daichi turned his gaze back towards her, stunned by her words. She continued to speak as she placed a steady hand on his shoulder, her gaze stern like his own mother’s. “I don’t think it’s your fault. I’m certain that Shouyou won’t either. He’s told me about you, about how much he cares for you. He knew that he was taking a huge risk, but he must have thought that you were worth it.”
The captain fell silent. He gave a minute nod and swallowed heavily as tears began well up and slide down his cheeks. He choked out a sob and completely came undone in front of the woman. She drew him into a gentle embrace and rubbed his back comfortingly. “It’ll be okay. Shouyou is strong. He’ll be up and playing volleyball with you again before you know it.”
Daichi doubted that. Not with the condition that Hinata’s legs had been in. They had been completely shattered, and the bone had torn through the muscle. It would take a long time for them to heal.
Once he had calmed down, Hinata’s mother advised him to call his own mother and get her to take him home. The captain wanted to stay there, but he knew that the probability of him being able to get in to see the other boy that night was very slim; it was already very late into the evening, and he wasn’t family. He told her that he’d be fine getting home on his own, but she refused to let him leave the building by himself, telling him that he’d been through a traumatic experience only hours before and that he wasn’t in the best state of mind to be making that trip by himself.
His own mother seemed anxious when he informed her of what happened, and she had all but yelled into the phone that she was on her way to get him. It didn’t take her as long to get there as it had taken Hinata’s mother since the distance from his house to the hospital was much shorter. When his mother entered the hospital, she had immediately rushed to her son, pulling him into a tight hug. Daichi hugged her back, telling her that he was okay.
His mother spoke quietly to Hinata’s for a short time before she felt that it was time for them to depart. Daichi bowed to his teammate’s mother and thanked her for earlier, stating that he’d be returning the next day to check on the redhead. She planned on staying with her son, so she’d most likely be there when he returned. She nodded and told him that she’d be expecting to see him. The captain quietly followed his mother out the door and to her car. The ride home was completely silent.
When Daichi returned to the hospital the next morning, it was with heavy, dark bags underneath of his eyes. He hadn’t managed to get any sleep the night before. Each time he would try to shut his eyes, he’d end up seeing Hinata lying there in the street, bloody and broken. It was pure hell.
He asked the doctor in charge if he was allowed in to see the boy yet and was met with approval. However, he was informed that Hinata was apparently asleep again, resting after having woken up a few hours earlier. His gut clenched tightly as he was told that his teammate hadn’t reacted well to the condition that he was in and had to be sedated, lest he open his wounds.
He was led to the redhead’s room by a nurse and was greeted solemnly by Hinata’s mother. The skin around her eyes was red and puffy, signifying to him that she had been crying. A small, broken sound slipped through her lips as she tried to speak to him, her lower lip trembling. Her shoulders began to quiver, crystal clear tears rolling down her cheeks. The young woman excused herself, quickly moving towards the bathroom. The terror and nausea that Daichi felt at seeing her in such a condition was overwhelming.
Nothing could have prepared the captain for what he saw when he entered the small hospital room. He froze in the doorway, his hand still on the knob as all of his senses dulled. He couldn’t vomit. He couldn’t cry. He couldn’t do anything except stand there and stare blankly at the tiny boy lying on the pure white sheets.
They were gone. His lower legs were gone. Completely and totally gone.
Gone.
Gone.
Gone.
Daichi’s legs felt like lead weights as he struggled to move towards the bed, dropping to his knees next to it. His shaking hands reached up to grab onto one of Hinata’s; it was warm compared to the brunet’s own ice cold ones.
“I’m sorry, Hinata. I’m so sorry.” He apologised over and over again in a quiet, broken voice. This was his fault. If Hinata hadn’t pushed him out of the way, he’d be fine. He’d still have his legs. Nothing that anyone said would be able to convince him otherwise.
He was startled by a tiny hand touching his forearm. He glanced up with wide eyes to find his teammate’s sister standing next to him. Natsu’s eyes were just as red as her mother’s had been, but the tears were still falling, sliding down her round cheeks and dripping onto her red blouse. She didn’t say anything to the captain; she just moved forward and wrapped her tiny arms around his neck, burying her face into his shoulder. She sobbed loudly into his shirt, her tiny body trembling uncontrollably.
He held her against himself, not knowing what else to do. The brunet’s eyes and nose burned as he held back his own tears. He couldn’t cry in front of Hinata’s little sister. She had already seen her mother break down in front of her. She needed someone to be strong for her. She was only five, so this had to be hard for her to understand.
Several minutes passed before Natsu’s sobbing began to slow down, devolving first into soft hiccups and then into erratic breathing. Her grip on him loosened, and he gazed down at her. Her eyes were closed, and her breathing was beginning to even out as she fell asleep.
The third year was finally beginning to calm down as well. He got to his feet and carried her to the large, soft chair that sat next to the window, placing her gently onto it and covering her with the blanket that must have been provided for her and her mother the previous night. He doubted that either of them had been able to get any sleep.
He moved over to the other side of the bed and sat down in the hard, plastic chair situated beside it. He took the boy’s hand into his own again and heard the door open. He looked over to find Hinata’s mother entering the room again. She glanced firstly at him and then over to Natsu.
“Ah… She fell asleep…” she said softly as she observed the scene. She moved towards the chair and picked her daughter up, cradling her head against her chest. “I’m going to take her to get some food. Neither of us have eaten since yesterday afternoon. Would you mind staying with Shouyou, Captain?”
Hearing that title made him nauseous again. Captain. He wasn’t a captain. He didn’t deserve to be captain. He was supposed to protect his teammates, and he failed to do that.
“Yes, ma’am. I have no plans to leave anytime soon.”
She gave him a weak smile and left the room with Natsu in her arms, leaving Daichi alone in silence.
He turned his focus back onto the boy lying in the bed. His face was so peaceful as he slept. He grimaced as he imagined the kind of pain that Hinata would most likely be in when he awoke again.
The air was knocked out of his lungs again as he realised what this meant. Hinata was never going to be able to play volleyball again. Never again. He would never again be able to see the tiny spiker jumping to extreme heights and slamming the ball down on the other side of the court. He’d never see him standing on the court again at all.
He suddenly felt Hinata’s hand twitch in his. The redhead’s eyelids fluttered open, and citrine eyes focused on Daichi.
“Daichi-san?” He spoke in a hoarse voice, barely above a whisper.
“Hey, Hinata,” he greeted the boy back softly. He handed the boy the cup of water that was sitting on the table next to them. He watched as the boy greedily drank the water and tried to put the emptied cup back onto the table. The captain took it out of his hand and set it down for him. “How are you feeling?”
The moment the question left his lips, he regretted asking it. What a dumb thing for him to ask. It should have been fairly obvious how he was feeling.
“I… I feel like shit,” Hinata answered truthfully as he looked down at the place where his legs should have been. He bit his lip and turned his gaze down towards his lap.
There were a few moments of silence between the two before Hinata started to speak again, asking about the one thing that Daichi had been dreading talking about.
“Daichi-san… I’m…never gonna be able to play volleyball again, am I?”
The captain’s heart caught in his throat as he tried to answer. He wasn’t sure how to respond to that. He wanted to tell the boy that it would be okay, but he knew that wasn’t true. For this kid, playing volleyball was pretty much equated with living. Telling him that he’d never be able to play again… It was heartbreaking.
“I…don’t think so, Hinata,” he finally replied in a hushed voice, shaking his head solemnly. He stared at the redhead and could only watch as his face scrunched up in anguish as he heard those words.
Hinata’s lower lip quivered and tears gathered in his eyes. He buried his face into his hands and let out a soft whimper. The monitor that stood next to the bed began to emit a high-pitched squealing sound as Hinata’s heart rate started to spike.
“But I… I don’t want to stop playing yet! I still wanna play with you!” He cried out loudly, his voice shaking. He grabbed onto Daichi’s arm and gripped it tightly as he continued. “I wanna play with you and Suga-san and Asahi-san! I want to play with Noya-san and Tanaka-san! I want to play with Kageyama and Yamaguchi and even Tsukishima!”
Agonised sobs tore from the younger male’s throat, and Daichi felt his heart stop at Hinata’s next words.
“I wanted to take you to Nationals! How can I do that now?!”
The door to the room burst open and several nurses rushed to the bed, trying to get the small teen to calm down. His crying wouldn’t stop, though, and his grip on Daichi’s arm only tightened further. One of the nurses saw no other choice than to inject another sedative into Hinata’s IV.
It took a moment for it to take effect, but the captain soon felt the grip on his arm loosen, and he knew that his teammate was knocked out again. Once the nurses had left the room, he leaned over to whisper something into Hinata’s ear.
“We’ll definitely go to Nationals, Hinata. We all will. I promise.”