Coffee | KageHina

Chapter 15

"So, you're the friend my brother's so fond of," Miwa chuckles as she crosses her arms to her chest, smirking at the ginger head in front of her. Hinata starts getting bashful, rubbing his neck in a nervous manner, and letting out a few giggles. He blinks in surprise as he just processed Miwa's words and looks at her in surprise.

"He...talks about me?" Miwa chuckles and nods. "Yeah. You were his first friend."

This shocks Hinata, his mouth agape as he thinks. How long was he lonely?

Miwa sighs as she leans her shoulder against the wall, a small smile on her face. Hinata felt familiarity when sees her smile and his mind wanders back to Kageyama. "Where is he?"

Miwa purses her lips, her eyebrows slowly furrowing as she sighs heavily through her nose. She fixes her posture as she looks at Hinata with a serious look. "Has Tobio told you anything? About his health?" Hinata gives her a confused look and that was all the answer she needed.

She sighs as she continues. "Tobio's in the hospital."

The words processed over and over in Hinata's head. He was too shocked to say anything, moreover, he didn't want to believe those words. Miwa looks at the ginger head sadly as she shifts uncomfortably in her spot. She understood what Hinata was feeling all too well.

"He has IBD, Crohn's disease, in fact. He's been sick since the start of his first year, two years ago. It was during a practice match when the symptoms started becoming evident." Miwa explains with a sad smile. "He would rest at home, only participating in practice matches, and was only allowed to do 1 game a year. Back then, he was still healthy, the disease was still mild in his body."

"But after his first game in his third year, his condition got worse. He passed out during a volleyball match and was sent to the hospital for examination. The symptoms were getting worse and because of his health, he was kicked out of volleyball."

Hinata felt his heart shatter into pieces as he listens, his vision getting blurry as he feels his eyes sting. "I used all my money for hospital insurance so I didn't get to pay his tuition fee, therefore he also got kicked out of his old school. Luckily, I found a much cheaper school. Thank God, right?"

"He was supposed to take online classes instead, but he wanted to attend school in real life. I allowed him to. He was fine at first but because of his stubborn attitude, his condition got worse."

Hinata's eyes widen in realization, a huge pang of guilt hitting him as he swallows down the lump in his throat. Miwa notices the reaction and gives him a small smile. "I don't blame you or him. I could never do that. He was just trying to be happy and you helped him make his life better and I'm grateful for that."

Though Miwa's words were comforting, the guilt doesn't dissipate. Hinata purses his lips, his fists clenching on his sides as he can't help but blame himself for being the reason why Kageyama's suffering is much worse than before.

"Hey." Hinata flinches when he feels a soft hand pat his head. He looks up and sees the older woman smile at him reassuringly. "It's not life-threatening, so he'll be okay. He just needs to stay at the hospital for a while for daily examinations."

From those words alone, Hinata feels himself calm down a little, releasing a quiet sigh as he lets himself be at ease. He looks at Miwa with pleading eyes. "Can I go visit him?"

Miwa smiles, letting out a breathy chuckle as she retracts her hand. "Sure. I was going to go see him anyway." Hinata grins happily as he thanks her a lot of times. She chuckles at his enthusiasm, giving his head another pat.

"Besides, I think he'll be happier to see you."

~~~~~

Hinata was agitated the whole ride to the hospital. He was excited to see Kageyama, but the dread feeling deep down never leaves. He grimaces as he tries to force bad thoughts out of his mind, trying to convince himself that Kageyama was okay. His sister said it herself, it wasn't life-threatening. But for some reason, he couldn't shake the feeling that it wasn't the truth.

"We're here." Miwa's voice echoes around the car and the view of the hospital comes into Hinata's view. He lets out a shaky breath as he unbuckles the seatbelt, following after Miwa who already left the car.

They step into the hospital and the smell of medicine hits Hinata's nose. He winces at the smell, trying to ease his nerves and shaking hands as he waits for Miwa to finish talking to the nurse.

He sees the nurse point to a hallway and Miwa bows her head before she motions to Hinata to follow her. Hinata quickly, awkwardly bowing to the nurse before he follows behind the older woman.

With each step Hinata took, he feels an uncomfortable heavy feeling on his stomach. His eyes squint slightly in discomfort, unable to shake the feeling away as it grows stronger the more they get closer to Kageyama's room. The feeling was too unsettling and strong that Hinata finds it hard to breathe. He grits his teeth as he tries to calm himself, taking slow deep breaths as he walks.

"We're here," Miwa calls out as she captures Hinata's attention. The ginger head turns to the side and sees the door that was labeled "009".

Hinata swallows thickly as he slowly raises his hand to the handle but stops midway, hesitance washing over him. He feels a hand on his shoulder and he turns to look at Miwa, seeing her smile at him in reassurance.

Hinata nods at her, feeling himself calm down a little by her comfort. He takes a deep breath before he turns the handle, opening the door slowly. Cold air immediately hits his skin as he enters the room.

He nearly feels all his air getting knocked out of his lungs when he sees the sight.

Kageyama was laying on the hospital bed, unconscious. The heart monitor beside him wasn't on and there wasn't any breathing tube attached to his mouth, though Hinata notices that there was a needle taped to his hand and attached to a tube that was connected to an IV bag.

The way Kageyama was so pale and skinnier than before makes Hinata tense up, trying his best not to break down in front of Kageyama's sister.

"Don't worry, fatigue is one of the symptoms," Miwa speaks beside him as she sees her little brother unconscious on the bed. "Sometimes he sleeps for only 30 minutes, sometimes 10 hours, or sometimes he doesn't sleep at all."

Hinata understands now. About why Kageyama would always fall asleep during class, why he would buy coffee all the time, and how he seems tired all the time. It all makes sense now. Why didn't I realize sooner? Hinata sucks in his teeth as he can't help but be irritated with himself for not helping him sooner.

Miwa averts her eyes from her brother and she looks at Hinata with a smile. "You can stay here if you want, wait for him to wake up. I was going to check up on him but since he's still asleep, I'll get going first. I still have work to do."

Hinata nods and his posture fixes as he speaks to her like she was his boss. "Yes! I'll keep him company! Have a safe drive, Miwa~san!" Miwa chuckles as she heads to the door. She takes one last glance at her brother before waving goodbye to Hinata.

"Don't stay up too late! You have school tomorrow!" Miwa reminds him before she leaves, leaving Hinata alone with Kageyama.

Hinata looks over his shoulder, eyeing the sleeping man sadly. He grips the chair beside the bed and takes a seat. He examines Kageyama's facial features closely. The bags under his eyes were now evident due to his pale skin, the outlines of his lips were shaded with white. His lips were parted slightly, snoring quietly as his eyelashes flutter against his cheekbones.

Hinata's eyes dart from Kageyama's face to his hand laying beside his hip. Hinata feels his hand twitch, the urge to grab the hand that was just laying on the bed was strong. Hinata purses his lips as his hand slowly travels to the bed, his fingertips lightly touching Kageyama's knuckles.

His fingers twitch at the sensation before he slowly clasps his hand with Kageyama's. He ignores how his hand felt cold and just softly squeezes his hand, hoping the unconscious man would notice the motion in his sleep.

Hinata sighs as he waits for Kageyama to wake up, keeping his hand on top of his.

He doesn't care if he has to stay up late to wait, as long as it's worth the wait, then he's willing to stay awake for him.