Rigid Crow

We're Okay

     "What happened?" are the first words that leave my mouth when I wake to the harsh lights of a hospital room.
     Personnel rush to my side. "He's awake," they announce to someone else.
     I try to sit up, but a pain in my stomach causes me to fall back with a gasp.
     "Easy, there," a nurse tells me. "You're lucky to be alive. Your middle's been stitched up after an incision. You aren't going anywhere, Kageyama-kun."
     "I... what?" I remember the game, the sudden, terrible pain, and then passing out shortly after being loaded into an ambulance. Septic shock. That's what Kuroo had said.
     The nurses explain what was wrong with me, why those things could've happened, and how long recovery time should be. "Why didn't you seek medical help when you started experiencing the pain?" one asks when they finish.
     "I thought it was just stress..." I confess, feeling like shrinking.
     She shakes her head. "That's either some crazy pain tolerance or just about the most reckless thing I've seen this week."
     "This week?" I ask. It seems funny to say, but I'd think my near death would be a little more interesting then the surprise of someone's week.
     She shrugs. "This is a hospital. We've seen ten times the amount of stupid people you've ever met."
     "Chi-chan!" her coworker reprimands.
     "You can't deny it! Anyway," she turns back to me and smiles, "we're relieved you're alright. You had us worried for awhile there. There are some people waiting here who are quite worried about you. The Hinatas?"
My heart leaps. "They're here? For me?"
She nods. "Yes, but, um, before that, I need to ask you... are you still in relation with your parents?"
     "I... don't know. Why? Are— Are they here, too?"
     "No. It's just that we looked you up to find rates concerning the operation, and while you were under your family name for insurance up to a point, your name isn't there any more. I just wanted to make sure you were aware." Sensing the tensity in the room, she says, "I'll go get the Hinatas now."
     As she and the other nurse go to get them, my heart squeezes. My parents cut me off? They didn't tell me? No. No, this can't happen. How am I supposed to pay for an operation like this without insurance?
"Tobio-kun!" Hinata-sama rushes in, followed by her daughter, then her husband, who pushes Shō in a wheelchair. When they reach my bedside, Hinata-sama gingerly wraps her arms around me, stroking my hair. "You will never know how relieved I am that you're okay."
Shō stares at me for a second, his face distraught, his eyes shining with tears. He grabs my arm and sags, bending until his face presses against the bed.
"I'm so sorry, Shō," I whisper.
He sniffles. "You'd b-b-b-b-better be."
Natsu and Hinata-san also give me short hugs, and after checking to see how I'm feeling and making sure I'm really alright, they and the nurses leave me and Shō to talk.
Once Shō composes himself, he pulls out his computer from a side pocket on the wheelchair to speak. "How ironic. They were afraid that I would get sepsis, but it turned out to be you."
It's strange having him at my bedside instead of me at his. I don't answer. My midriff aches.
"I can't believe you," he says, shaking his head. "I told you to get help if it got worse or kept up, but you didn't, and that decision almost killed you."
     "I'm sorry."
     "That's not enough! Can you imagine how I felt when I heard you'd gone into life-saving surgery?"
     "Yes, actually!" I burst back. "I absolutely can! I've felt that way ever since you hit your head! For months and months and months. How dare you compare your single night of panic to my near eternity of fear and stress!"
     His eyes fill with hurt and anger. "I can! You put yourself at risk! I didn't! This is your fault! If you had only done something when I said to, you wouldn't be in this freaking mess!"
     "You think I don't know that? You think I haven't been here since you all came in wondering what the hell I'm gonna do?"
     His face fills with confusion. "What do you mean?"
     "What do you think?" I bury my face in my hands. "I just found out my parents didn't just kick me out, they cut me off. I no longer am on any insurance, and they didn't care to freaking tell me. I can't pay for this operation. You think I haven't been beating myself up over this? Something that might've been prevented if only I'd said something?"
     He pulls my hands away from my face. His expression is pained, but compassionate. "You're concerned about money? Tobi, you almost lost your life. What's important is that you're okay, you're alive. We'll find a way to come up with the money. You just focus on recovering."
     I groan. "That, too. I won't be fully recovered until the end of the month, they expect."
     "A month? Oh, wow, what are you going to do with that lost time?"
     "I know, right? I—" Realization strikes me. "You're being sarcastic. That does not come across on your virtual voice, you know."
     He smirks. "I'm just saying, that seems like a long time, but you can still train in small quantities as you get better. It will be a loss, but you'll make it up. You're amazing. You'll go pro no matter what." His grin lessens, but it's still there. "I've lost a lot of time, but I'm still going to play volleyball when I'm recovered." His eyes suddenly fill with tears. "You almost didn't have that. And I know it isn't my fault, I know, but when I asked my nurses about it, they said one of the biggest factors to the ulcer and it rupturing was chronic stress. You've stressed over me, and— and—" His tears fall. "I'm just so relieved you're okay!"
     I take his hands away from the keyboard and hold them firmly. "Hey, hey, don't cry. It's fine, I'm fine now."
     This only makes him cry harder.
     "Aw, don't do that."
     "C-C-Can't st-st-s-s-st-stop."
"We're okay."
He sobs. "W-We're o-okay."