Commotio Cordis | TsukiYamaKageHina - Angst (With happy end)

Chapter 1: CPR

This is also posted to my YT channel (NerdyNekoma) in a Podfic format.

For all who prefer listening to the fanfic, I'll add the link to the notes at the end.

Thank you for giving this fic a try. ENJOY!

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Kageyama knew the moment his fingertips touched the ball that it was off. He had made a mistake when positioning and it slipped.

His eyes narrowed and he let out a small gasp for air, holding his breath and tensing to salvage the toss. Ushijima still got it and made the point.

Kageyama listened intently as the ball hit the floor, his blood rushing in his ears. It was an off sensation. His breathing got louder than the cheers surrounding them.
For a brief moment, everything was oddly calm to him. The glare of the light blurred the crowd around them. His eyes strayed over the mass of people briefly.

Somewhere among them were his boyfriends. Yamaguchi and Tsukishima had come to cheer them on and on the other side of the net waited Hinata, his eyes glowing intensely with the hunger to win.
And even though he knew they were there, had spotted them just a few minutes ago and came face to face with the orange-haired as he attempted to block his spike, now he could see neither of them as the light blinded him.

Suddenly there was a hand on his back and with the touch the noise returned, louder than before. He flinched.
"That was a good toss. Could you aim a little higher for the next one?" Ushijima requested.

Kageyama nodded with a small bow. He liked Ushijima. In high school, he hadn't given their rivalry much thought but now as his setter, he appreciated the directness of the spiker.
He was easy to work with and not deterred by Kageyama's... odd nature or intensity for the sport. He shared it.

That was what he appreciated most since going pro. The players on this court, both on his side of the net as well as on their opponent's side understood. They were consumed by the same passion burning him from the inside.

The raven took a deep breath to re-calibrate. For a brief moment, he closed his eyes listening to the sound of the whistle that would start the game again. It tore the air and at once his eyes snapped open.

His vision was limited once more to the court and for a moment it worked. He processed the movements of all the players present with his usual speed and adjusted his position accordingly. He passed the ball precisely again and again as it flew between the players, always just short of touching the ground.

The longer the rally went on the louder his heartbeat and consequently, the rushing in his ears seemed to become. His vision shrunk further.

As soon as he noticed he gritted his teeth and forced himself to see past it. At once the sensations from the crowd crashed down on him and upon his next step he stumbled. He managed to regain his balance but was too late for the block to be efficient.

The signal of the whistle ending the set echoed in the hall and cheers erupted from the MSBY fans.

Kageyama barely heard them over his own breathing. He followed his teammates to the bench and reached for a towel.

"Don't despair we have another set to go. Their attack combo over the middle is strong but not unstoppable," their coach began instructing them.
The setter listened patiently, straining his ears to catch everything over his wildly beating heart. A few words got lost but he understood the adjustments to their strategies. The encouragement was mostly lost on him anyway at this point.

It felt like he didn't have the energy anymore to react to everything. His only focus was on the game everything else, basic needs, emotional processing, or an assessment of what was happening could wait.