The Crow With Broken Wings

Another Feather Falls

I skipped into the court. This morning, I received a text from Kenma, telling me that Nekoma would be visiting to do some practice matches. It had been a while since I'd been with my own team properly, so I wasn't quite caught up on the news.

Sugawara turned to face me and he waved with a smile before approaching me. "It's nice to see you in such high spirits, Hinata!"

"Yup!" I replied in a chirpy tone. "It's been so long since I've seen Kenma!"

Sugawara's smile dropped a little. He almost looked...nervous?

"Say Hinata," he said putting an arm behind his head. "You message Kozume a lot, don't you?"

"Yeah, I do," I replied, tilting my head a little in confusion. "Why?"

"I don't mean to pry, but..." Sugawara looked around cautiously, trying not to catch anyone's attention. "Does he know?"

My heart dropped a little. It had completely slipped my mind. I broke eye contact with Sugawara, scratching my chin.

"Well, I guess I was hoping he wouldn't notice?" My voice shook a little.

Sugawara started to look concerned. "Won't he notice when you're not on the court playing?"

"T-That's true." My face scrunched up a little. How did I not think of any of this before?

Sugawara paused for a moment, and then kindly smiled at me. "Well, it's not for me to decide, but I think it would be best to tell him instead of him finding out by accident." He once again placed his hand on my shoulder. "As your friend, I'm sure he'll understand."

I smiled at Sugawara. "I'll make sure to tell him in person as soon as he gets here!"

"Let me know if you need me." Sugawara smiled, then got called over to Daichi to practice.

I helped Yachi with doing some smaller tasks - collecting stray balls, getting water for everyone, cheering people on - all at my own pace. The team had to keep telling me to slow down at first, but I soon found a sensible rhythm to work at. I'm so glad the team has taken such good care of me.

"Oi, Captain," said a deep voice suddenly. The whole team turned and looked at the entrance.

The Nekoma team had arrived!

Daichi and the others quickly jogged up to the team to greet them. I wanted to go over to, but I didn't have my uniform on, so it was very obvious I wasn't participating. I began to get anxious, thinking about what they would do when they noticed. My legs became frozen and I couldn't move.

Kenma looked around at the team members, then scanned the court and made eye contact with me. I shakily raised my hand to greet him, and he reciprocated. He seemed to want to come over, but something stopped him. Perhaps he didn't want to draw attention to me?

The Nekoma court got settled in, and while everyone was busy, Kenma approached me.

"Hey Kenma! It's been a while!" I said cheerily.

"Shoyo, why aren't you in uniform?" Kenma asked, immediately cutting through my façade.

I gulped. I hadn't quite prepared what I wanted to say, but I knew the longer I delayed, the more likely it was that the others would notice us.

Kenma suddenly grabbed my arm and dragged me outside.

He turned to me. "There, a bit of privacy," he said bluntly. "Now, what's wrong?"

I avoided eye contact, trying to figure out what approach to take.

"I uhh...I'm not feeling well I guess?" I said, placing my right hand on my left arm.

"'You guess'? What's that supposed to mean?"

I gripped my arm more tightly. Kenma may not be the best at conversations, but he sure was good at analysing people.

"I guess I'll just go ahead and say it." I closed my eyes and made both hands into fists, my arms both stiffly by my side.

"I have leukemia." I said slightly raising my voice because of nerves.

Kenma remained silent, so I opened my eyes. His eyebrows were furrowed slightly.

"Leukemia?" He looked down to the ground for a moment, then back up at me. "Is it serious?"

I shook my head. "The doctor told me that it's unlikely to really effect me severely. I was in the hospital for a few days for some treatment, and now I just go in every so often to get more treatment. I feel a little weak every now and then, but I've been feeling better lately." I looked down at the floor. "I just can't play volleyball for a little while."

Kenma stared at me for a moment. "Well, in any case," he said, looking off to the side. "Thank you for letting me know. I hope you feel better soon."

"Don't worry! Something like this won't take me down!" I said beaming and bringing my fist into my chest.

Kenma smiled softly. He then turned and walked back into the court. I followed closely behind him.

Kuroo jogged over to Kenma. "There you are! What were you and shorty doing outside?" He then looked directly at me with a raised eyebrow. "And why isn't he in his sports gear?"

Before I had the chance to get nervous, Kenma spoke up. "He's not feeling well." He said, completely avoiding eye contact with Kuroo. "Now let's go," he said as he started to walk off. Kuroo looked at me for a second, then followed after Kenma without saying a word.

Sugawara slowly approached me. He raised his hand up to cover his mouth and whispered into my ear. "How did it go?"

"It went okay! I don't think Kenma really knew how to react, but I said what I wanted to say and it seems that he's going to keep quiet about it."

Sugawara smiled at me, then ruffled my hair a little. "I'm proud of you, Hinata. The past few weeks haven't been easy for you by any means. But despite all that, you've faced it like a champ." He turned his back to me, then looked back at me. "Anyway, I have to go and join the others."

"Of course! Do your best out there, senpai!" We both smiled at one another and turned the opposite way to jog to where we needed to be.

I took a few steps towards the score board where Yachi was. Suddenly, the room began to spin. I stopped abruptly, trying to regain my balance. I couldn't really see straight, but I think Yachi began to approach me. My head felt like it was being clamped and I could feel my legs giving way.

Before I knew it, everything was pitch black. I heard muffled voiced. I tried to concentrate on what they were saying.

"H...up...nata...wake...Hinata, wake up!" I opened my eyes slowly. My body felt completely void of strength, yet I was upright. I could feel someone holding me, though their arms were shaking.

"Hinata, are you okay?" Yachi said in a panicked voice. It seemed like she was talking right into my ear. I could see the Nekoma team looking at me.

Suddenly, I realised that I had collapsed into Yachi's arms, with my head resting on her shoulder. I pulled back quickly, slightly flustered.

"Y-Yachi?! I'm so sorry!" I said, flailing my arms. I tried to bow in order to apologise, but my head was still somewhat foggy, and I lost my balance a little. Yachi quickly placed her hands on me, helping me to the ground.

"Don't move around so much! You just collapsed." She then placed the back of her hand on my forehead. "You're burning up!"

The Karasuno and Nekoma teams both jogged towards me, with the members of my team doing so a bit more hastily.

Before they got to me, I blacked out.