The Sun with A False Eternity

Some Good News

  "Guess what guess what guess what?" Something crashed into Kageyama, knocking him off-balance. He stumbled, trying his hardest not to fall into the grass and leaves on the side of the path, but was unsuccessful. He plummeted to the ground into a sitting position, cringing when he felt the morning dew soak into his pants.

"What was that for?!" He shouted, standing up and brushing soggy leaves off himself. They were nearing the end of September, and October's wet and chilly presence loomed, drawing ever closer. It had been nearly two weeks since Hinata's visit to the hospital, and he had become more and more restless every day. Kageyama always kept one eye on him during practices, ensuring that the first year was doing what he was told; over the few weeks, he had gone from sitting quietly to nearly leaping out of his seat every time someone did something cool. Kageyama also noticed Coach Ukai keeping an eye on him, and panic flashed across the older man's features every time Hinata did something potentially dangerous.

However despite all that, the time went by completely uneventfully. Kageyama received no update about his friend's health, leading him to assume that Hinata was okay. There was only one way to know, however, and that was for Hinata to get back on the court. Kageyama was getting impatient, he wanted to know if his friend was alright one way or the other. When he looked up from cleaning himself off and saw Hinata smiling brighter than ever. Kageyama's eyes widened when he realized what the other boy must have been smiling about. His anger at being pushed over disappeared instantly.

"Are you... You... Able? Able to?" His breath caught on every word, and he felt time freeze. He broke into a grin when Hinata nodded excitedly, pulling something out of his pocket and holding it up for Kageyama to read. It was a small note, with just a few words on it. But they were the words that felt like they put everything back in its proper place.

Shouyou Hinata is clear to take part in strenuous activities again. Kageyama read it a few times in excitement. This meant that Hinata was officially back, and officially okay.

"I gotta go tell Coach!" Hinata took off at a run, his shorter legs stretching out as far as they could to make as many big strides as he could on the way. Kageyama called after him and raced to catch up. The race felt even more significant than usual, and Kageyama didn't realize just how much he had missed them. Since the doctor had banned him from any exercise too physically exhausting, they had walked to the gym together instead of running. It was peaceful and quiet, but that wasn't what Kageyama liked. He liked that Hinata made him challenge himself. Before, the young setter was driven by nothing other than his ambition and self-hatred. Since Hinata had come into his life he had another motivator. Hinata forced him to grow like never before. He forced them to grow together in their play styles, and he forced Kageyama to grow as a teammate and a person. He didn't like to admit it, but he didn't know where he would be without Hinata.

They arrived at the gym quickly, panting. Hinata looked more worn out than usual, but he hadn't exercised for two whole weeks so it was understandable. The ginger looked at Kageyama, his eyes lit with exhilaration.

"I won! Ha! Two weeks without exercise and I'm still better than you!" He challenged light-heartedly.

Kageyama turned up his nose in indignation, "you had a huge head start! You're just a cheater is all!"

"Whatever!" Hinata twisted around, stretching, then he began to head over to change. "Coming?" Kageyama nodded and followed, beyond excited to get back to practice. They changed quickly and rushed over to the gym, where they were greeted with a stern look from Daichi.

"And what do you think you're doing?" The captain glared down at Hinata, who immediately held out the note he brought with him and held it out to the third year, who grabbed it and looked at it closely.