The Sun with A False Eternity

A Visit and Some Texting

The teen looked considerably worse than when Kageyama had last seen him. He was lying down in the hospital bed, the grey sheet covering him up to his neck. He was facing away from the entrance, his ginger hair just as messy as his last hospital visit. Only an inch or so of skin peeked out from under the blanket; it was pale and cold looking.

He doesn't look well. Kageyama blanched, trying to not let his fear overtake him. He walked over to the bed to see if Hinata was awake. When he got closer, the middle blocker stirred, opening his eyes slowly.

"Wha...?" He spoke quietly, his speech slurred. He sounded completely out of it. "What am I... Kageyama?" Hinata bolted up, shaking his head rapidly. "Where am I... Oh." His voice trailed off as he looked around, and Kageyama could see the realization reflected in the boy's eyes. "Oh."

"I'll go get the nurse," Hinata's mother looked like she wanted to get up, but the child who was resting on top of her was preventing that. Takeda seemed to notice this.

"Don't worry, I'll go," he began to make his way out of the room, shutting the door behind him. Kageyama turned back to Hinata, who looked miserable.

"Mom..?" He breathed, his voice sounding hoarse. "What happened?" Kageyama didn't interrupt, he was intent on figuring the answer to the question out as much as his friend was.

"Well," the woman sighed, pausing when the child in her lap shifted. When the girl seemed settled she continued: "You woke me up at around one-thirty. You said you felt lightheaded, and you couldn't stop your heart from beating too fast."

Oh. Hinata's eyes widened. Apparently he didn't remember the events at all.

"I figured it was just the repercussions of your strenuous amounts of exercise over the past few days and told you to go rest in the living room. That was my mistake," Hinata's mom sighed, the weight of it sounding like she had never regretted anything more in her life. "I went to check on you a little while later, and you were hardly responsive. You muttered something about needing to talk to your friend Kageyama here before you passed out completely. I quickly woke Natsu and we rushed over here." She finished the story rapidly as if recounting it pained her.

"What time is it?" Hinata looked around, feeling for something. "Where's my phone?"

"It's about three-thirty," Hinata's mother moved slightly to check her watch. "And it's over there, on the stand." Kageyama went over to where the lady was pointing and grabbed the little yellow flip phone, handing it to his friend.

"Thanks," Hinata yawned, looking exhausted.

"No problem."

The silence that followed was awkward, and Kageyama didn't know how to break it. He just stood there, hand stuffed into the pockets of his jeans, unable to make eye contact. He couldn't help but blame himself for the teen's current condition, after all, he should have said something. It was too late for that, however.

They stood there until a nurse came in, holding a clipboard and looking slightly startled at the number of people in the room. Takeda walked in behind the nurse lady.

"We should probably head out," he looked at Kageyama, and his eyes looked almost apologetic. "I was just worried, but now I realize we'll probably just be in the way here. Maybe we can come back tomorrow? Unless you think you'll be released by then?" Takeda scratched his head nervously. "Anyway, I'm glad you're alright Hinata, we'll talk more later, okay?"

The tall teen watched as Hinata nodded, looking dejected. "Okay Mr. Takeda."

"Kageyama, are you ready?"