The Sun with A False Eternity

The Return to School

  Nobody had much to say on the way back, quite like on the way there. Even if Kageyama had wanted to talk, there was nothing he could say that could describe the way he was feeling. So he kept everything to himself, closing his eyes and for a few moments wishing it all away.

When the setter arrived home, his mom was making dinner, and the scent overwhelmed Kageyama as he stepped through the door. It made him slightly nauseous, and he passed by the kitchen without even saying hello. He roughly chucked his bag on the floor, not caring where it landed.

He wandered over to his unmade bed and flopped on it. He covered his eyes with his arm, sighing. The day had felt so much longer than any other Monday, and he was more than ready for it to end. His mind was at war with itself, he couldn't decide whether he was tired or not. His brain felt permanently exhausted, but his body was rejecting rest. After a few minutes of debating, he decided he had to get up and do something; he would suffocate if he sat there any longer.

As much as he tried, he couldn't grasp the concept of his homework. His mind kept drifting in too many directions, and he had to read each sentence a minimum of three times before he finally knew what it was saying.

"This is stupid!" Kageyama exclaimed aloud, slamming his head into his desk. A sharp pain shot through his forehead and he heard his pencil snap. He sat up to see he had slammed directly on top of the pencil, breaking it in half.

"Is everything going alright in here?" The door to Kageyama's room opened, and he looked over to see his mother standing in the door, looking baffled.

Kageyama set his head back on the desk, more gently this time. "Yeah," he didn't feel up to talking, and he could sense that his mother had a lot to ask him about. He tried to signal with his body language that he wasn't up for conversation, but he heard her step into the room anyway, shutting the door behind her.

She walked up to the teenager and rested a hand on his shoulder, forcing him to look up at her. "How's your friend doing?" She looked concerned, and Kageyama didn't blame her.

"Fine," Kageyama couldn't quite meet her gaze, and instead focused on a strand of hair that fell out of her loose ponytail. The truth was that he didn't know. He had no idea how Hinata was doing. People kept trying to reassure him that he was fine, that this was just a false alarm, that everything was going to work out and there was nothing to worry about. However, something about the way they said it, the way they couldn't look at him directly in the eyes, the tone of voice, something about their words always made Kageyama suspicious that there was something bigger going on.

"Okay well... Keep me updated alright?" Kageyama knew his lie didn't go across well, but he appreciated that his mother didn't press it. He nodded, and she ruffled his hair before leaving the room to finish dinner.

Kageyama set his forehead back down on the desk, barely avoiding the lead that had come out of the pencil. Focusing was pointless, homework felt like the least important thing in the world at the moment. His chest ached and he couldn't quite figure out why. He scrunched up his face, trying to distract himself from it.

Everything will be okay, it has to be. Kageyama knew nothing could keep Hinata down for long; the small middle blocker would be fine. Before either of them knew it, he would be standing back on the court, as powerful and intimidating as ever. Karasuno just wasn't Karasuno without Hinata. He'll be back on his feet soon.

----

"Morning Kageyama!" Sure enough, running up was exactly the person Kageyama had wished it would be. The second the dark-haired teenager saw him, everything fell back into place and his nerves settled. The small ginger rushing towards him filled him with a hope he wasn't sure he'd be able to describe. Hinata always just had a presence that Kageyama was sure everyone around him could feel. It made whatever they were doing at that moment feel like the most important thing in the world.