The Summer Side of Volleyball (On Hiatus)

Ch.8 ~ Caring

3rd POV

"Alright everyone line up."

After Yaku started waking up, Lev took him back to their air-conditioned room so the boy could rest, much to the Liberos protest but he didn't have a choice or the energy to fight off Lev who carried him back to the room.

Once the practice game finished, everyone got a 30 minutes break before conditioning started. "It's time for conditioning. For today that will entail sprinting down on the beach. The sand will make it harder to run so please be careful. Now let's head on down!"

"Yes! We finally get to see the ocean!" Noya shouts running ahead.

"Yeah!" Hinata runs after Noya, being followed by Kageyama who yelled insults as well as telling him to be careful.

The beach was relatively empty as the group reached the sand, coach yelling to the players who tried to jump in the water. "No swimming yet! We're here to train remember. Now we'll do this in waves. We'll start with Karasuno's starting lineup and move from there. So lineup! And! The winner in each wave gets a box of popsicles to do what they wish with."

The group lines up, Kageyama and Hinata next to each other, each sending competitive glares to one another. "I'm winning those popsicles."

"Ha! In your dreams. I'm going to win them!" Hinata fires back, although even if he won the popsicles he'd still share them with the team. But still, it's the fact that he is the winner, that counts.

They have to sprint about 110 meters (361 feet) across the beach, which is about the length of a football field. "Ok! Ready....set...go!" The group takes off down the beach, Kageyama, and Hinata in front with Noya close behind.

It's harder on the sand, but Hinata is able to pull ahead slightly, running as fast as his legs will carry him. He's almost there.

Suddenly, his foot loses its grip on the sand, rolling his ankle and sending him to the ground in pain. He groans, bracing himself with his arms as he lands hard in the warm sand. The rest of the group quickly passes him as he slowly tries to stand up. He puts pressure on his foot, wincing and falling again into the sand. "Dammit." He whispers to himself, knowing that he now lost to Kageyama. He heard Takeda start the next wave and sighed, staying on his hands and knees, looking down at the sand below him.

"Oi, what happened." He looks up quickly, seeing none other than Kageyama standing in front of him. He looks at him confused, turning and looking over to see Noya win the popsicles.

"What? But you could have won! Why did-"

"It's not a real fair race if you fall and get hurt. When I win. I'll win when you're doing your best." Hinata looks up at him bewildered as the second wave passes them. "Now come on. I'll carry you back." He mutters the last part but Hinata heard him clearly. Kageyama helps the boy stand, before turning around and letting him hop on his back, carrying him to the rest of the group.

"Hinata! Are you ok? What happened." Suga comes over to the boys with his box of popsicles since he won in his wave. Of course, he decided to share his, same with Noya.

"I think I just twisted my ankle. I'm sure it's fine." Kageyama sets him down on a chair the coaches have for themselves.

"Are you able to stand on it?" Hinata pushes himself out of the chair to try again. He slowly sets his foot down and puts as much pressure on it again, stumbling forward, after a little pressure, falling into Kageyama who caught him.

"Tch, careful dumbass. You're going to get even more injured." Hinata winces in pain as Kageyama sets him back in the chair.

"Let's hope it's just a sprain. We'll have you ice it when we get back to the hotel." Daichi says as he walks over while unwrapping the popsicle Suga handed him. Hinata nods and watches as the rest of the waves take their turns.

Once the final wave went it was time to go back. The coaches decided to keep the conditioning short for the first day since everyone is still pretty tired. But tomorrow is when it's going to get intense. The races ended with the winners, Noya, Suga, Kuroo, Teshiro, Iwaizumi, Kyōtani (Mad Dog), Bokuto, Komi, Tednō, and Semi. Most winners shared the prize with at least one person. Kuroo shared with Kenma only. Bokuto gave Akaashi the entire box who then proceeded to share it with the whole team. Iwaizumi shared with only the 3rd year's of his team, per Oikawa's request. So then Kyōtani shared with the rest of the team. By the time they were walking back to the gym to gather their stuff everyone had at least one popsicle. Some more than one.

But now it was time to head back to their respected hotels, giving the boys some time to shower and relax before dinner.

♥♥♥

"I can walk you know..." Yaku mumbles, head resting against Lev's chest as the giant carries him bridal style back to their room.

"I know, I wanted to carry you." Lev glances down at the boy who looks absolutely wrecked, skin still too hot. Although Yaku complains, they both know he doesn't have the energy to walk back to the room.

Lev pushes open the door and lies Yaku on the bed, then goes to the mini-fridge to grab a cold bottle of water. "Maybe you should take a cold shower or bath. You're still way too hot." Lev places a hand against the boy's forehead, feeling the burning skin. Yaku groans and slowly sits up so he can drink some water.

"I can barely stand." He mumbles before taking a long swig.

"Then a cold bath?" Yaku sighs and hesitantly nods, watching Lev disappear into the bathroom while he finishes off the bottle.

The bath is done shortly, Lev coming back and helping Yaku to the bathroom. He acts as a crutch, letting the libero hold onto him as he strips his clothes and steps into the frigid water, hissing as it touches his skin. "Shit that's cold."

"You don't have to stay in for long. Just try to go all the way under twice to cool your body." Yaku nods and takes a deep breath, climbing into the tub in one swift movement and dunking his head. He came back up for air, gasping as a response to the freezing water. "You ok?" Lev asks, concerned as Yaku breathes heavily. The boy nods before sliding back under the water, staying there for a moment before rising and letting out a shaky breath.

Lev brings his hand to the boy's forehead, feeling the cold water against his hand before feeling Yaku's warm skin. "Your still pretty warm. Go under two more times." Yaku groans but does just so, going under the water two more times before he's shivering.

Lev helps him out of the bath and get dressed before bringing him back to the bed. "Here drink some more water." Lev hands him another water bottle, glancing at his phone where he looked up what to do when you overheat. "And then it says here that you should elevate your feet to get the blood flowing to your heart." Yaku sighs and nods, while also reaching over and grabbing the TV remote.

The two end up laying on the bed, Yaku upside down looking at the TV, while Lev sits against the headboard, holding his legs up for a few minutes so blood can flow to his heart. After only a few minutes though, Yaku falls asleep, his breathing soft and even, chest rising and falling. Lev smiles, gazing at how relaxed the boy is before moving Yaku so his head is against the pillows, keeping the blanket off his body to make sure his body stays cool. He then simply sits next to the boy, watching television as Yaku sleeps peacefully, body recuperating from the intense day he had.

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Ummm hi!

So yeah, it's been a while. I kinda took a break from this book. Writers block and I also had way to many books going on so I needed to get things situated and get closer to finishing one of my books.

But i'm back! Hopefully i'll start updating every other week!

But ya anyway, here's a chapter. Is it good? Who knows but I mean... i'm trying.

Anyway sorry for disappearing and hope y'all enjoy.

1445 words