The Crow With Broken Wings

Kept in the Cage

I slowly opened my eyes, a flood of light entering my eyes. I was once again trapped in the white prison I was so used to now - the hospital. I would have thought that each visit would make things easier, but it didn't.

It was different this time, though. I didn't choose to be here. I just...woke up here?

"Hey guys, Hinata's awake!" Nishinoya said, waving his arms in the air. Everyone in the room suddenly turned and fixed their gazes on me. A few of them joined Nishinoya next to my bed - those people were Sugawara, Tanaka and Daichi. The rest of them - Kageyama, Tsukishima and Yamaguchi - stayed sat down.

"Are you feeling okay?" Sugawara said, his face very obviously displaying his concern for me.

I still wasn't fully awake, so I simply let out a grunt and nodded. I looked around the room and noticed that my family wasn't in the room.

"Your family is outside talking to the nurse." Attentive as always, Sugawara addressed my concerns, even without me voicing them.

Just as he said that, a nurse walked in. My mother was outside of my room, but she didn't come in with the nurse. Was she...crying?

"Hinata, how are you feeling?"

My body felt weak and heavy. I was covered in sweat and my head was pounding.

"I'm- " I suddenly coughed, prompting Sugawara to support my body so that I was sat upright.

The nurse paused for a moment, then looked down at her clipboard. She then looked back up and observed the people in the room.

"Uhm, would you like everyone in the room to leave? We have an update on your condition."

Condition? I suppose that's why I am here. But what happened? I suddenly remembered collapsing in the gymnasium.

I gently shook my head. The team already knew I was ill and it took me so long to tell them last time. They deserved to know just as much as I did.

The nurse looked slightly shocked, then looked down at her clipboard again, flipping through the pages.

Kageyama, growing impatient, stood up and walked towards the nurse. "What's wrong with him?" Kageyama said to the nurse with a tone of aggression. The nurse panicked, tightly gripping her clipboard.

Sugawara approached Kageyama to try and stop him from doing anything impulsively. "Kageyama please, let the nurse- "

Before Sugawara had the chance to finish his sentence, Kageyama shoved him aside without even looking at him, almost pushing him over.

"No, I need answers! What is wrong with Hinata?!" Kageyama said, raising his voice.

The nurse scrambled through the papers on her clipboard before dropping it. Sugawara bent down and picked up the paper as the nurse remained stood up shaking in fear. As he was picking up the sheets, his face suddenly became dark. He then stood back up facing away from me, returning the papers to the nurse and positioning himself between Kageyama and the nurse.

Suddenly, someone else entered the room with her hands in the pockets of her lab coat and a lollipop in her mouth. It was Doctor Takehashi, the doctor overseeing my case. She stood next to the nurse, which caused Sugawara to back off a little.

She looked at Kageyama sternly, which made him flinch a little, then she looked at me. I stiffened up a little. She then took a hand out of her pocket and removed the lollipop from her mouth to speak.

"Are you sure you want your friends here for this conversation?" she said to me, though it sounded more like a warning to everyone else.

Tsukishima quietly stood up and began to walk out of the room, with Yamaguchi following closely behind.

I raised my hand to convince them to stay, but by the time I went to speak, they had already left. Daichi also signalled to Nishinoya and Tanaka to leave. I clenched my fists, closing my eyes.

This wasn't what I wanted! I don't want everyone to leave! I don't want to be left here alone again!

I then felt a hand firmly grasp my shoulder. I opened my eyes and looked up to see Sugawara. He had a compassionate yet troubled look on his face. It seemed like he was hiding something, but he kept smiling, trying not to make me worry.

Kageyama quietly sat down on a nearby chair, avoiding eye contact with everyone. Even though it was him that Doctor Takehashi was giving the threat to, he just sat there, slouched in his seat.

I stared at the doctor, patiently waiting for her to speak. She looked at Kageyama for a moment, almost as if she was telling him to sit their quietly.

She then looked to the nurse and nodded, which caused the nurse to bow her head and run out of the room in a panic. Her gaze then returned to me. "Is it okay for these two to still be here?"

I nodded at her. She twiddled the lollipop in her hand for a moment, then she stopped and made eye contact with me.

"I'm afraid to say that you have developed pneumonia."

Sugawara tightened his grip on my shoulder. "Pardon my interuption, but pneumonia is something that goes away naturally after a few days, right? So why does he need to be in the hospital?" His voice shook a little as he spoke.

Doctor Takehashi sighed, looking at the ground. "Normally having pneumonia wouldn't be an issue. A healthy person can normally fight it off with plenty of rest and water." She then looked back up at Sugawara. "The issue is that, because Hinata has leukemia as well, his body isn't able to fight off the pneumonia as well as a healthy person could."

Sugawara paused for a moment before responding. "B-But, surely that just means it will take longer for Hinata to recover, right?"

"Not exactly. You see, Hinata's leukemia is something that can be managed to reduce his symptoms, but his immune system is still weak. Whereas someone healthy can easily fight off an infection, Hinata's body is less equipped to do so. Though it's unlikely, it's possible that the pneumonia could continue to develop in Hinata, so we need to be prepared for every situation."

She stopped and looked at me. I gulped, my nervousness reaching its peak. Sugawara was gripping my shoulder so tight that it should have hurt, but my attention was so fixed on Doctor Takehashi that I couldn't feel it. Kageyama remained silent, though he did seem to also tense up a little.

Doctor Takehashi then spoke again.

"Hinata, this pneumonia could kill you."