The Queen of the Crows {Haikyuu!!}

46

"Totally worth it," Chihiro mutters mutter as she lays in the dorm bed like a corpse. 

"I thank God for your own sake that your cousin is picking you up in the morning,"  Daichi pinches the bridge of his nose. The hard crash from the copious amounts of coffee left her feeling just as bad if not worse than before. Of course she'll never admit it. Her eyes were sunken in and her face was pale, but she cracked all the same jokes and got into just as much trouble.

Daichi sat in a chair by her bedside with his hands folded in his lap. She rolls over on to her side facing Daichi and lets her hair fall over her face. She tries blowing it away but it falls back into place. Daichi leans forward and gently tucks it behind her ear, getting a full view of her teal eyes hidden behind a pair of black frames.

A knock at the door draws Daichi's attention. When he gets the door, he is met by three Seijou players. In the center, Oikawa smiles brightly and gives him a wave. "Is Coach-chan in here? We wanted to see if she's doing okay."

Daichi gestures inside to her curled up form beneath the blankets Sugawara piled on top of her. Oikawa and Iwaizumi walk in with Kyotani being yanked in behind. When Chihiro sees them, she moves to sit up. She shakily pushes herself upright. "I'm doing fine."

"We also brought Kyotani so he could say something to you," Iwaizumi nudges the second year.

"Sorry," he mutters.

"For?" Oikawa coaxes.

"For insu-"

"It's fine," she cuts him off. "Just take this as a lesson and don't do this to others."

He nods before pivoting out of the room. Oikawa crosses his arms. "So what actually happened last night?"

Daichi looks at Chihiro as he speaks. "She put her body under too much stress so she shut down. She started throwing up stomach acid and breaking out into cold sweats and fever." Chihiro cringes at the thought as does Iwaizumi and Oikawa.

"Jesus I bet that match you played against us didn't help any," Iwaizumi frowns. 

"You should really take better care of yourself Coach-chan," Oikawa notes.

"Alright hypocrite, let's get out of here so she can sleep," Iwaizumi dismisses.

"Iwa-chan!"

The door slams shut and there is a moment of silence before Daichi awkwardly clears his throat. Chihiro rolls over lethargically onto her side. She presses her cheek into the pillow. She catches a glimpse of the captain's face. He looked stressed out. His eyebrows knit together and he hunches over the chair. She lift her face a little so she could speak clearly. "Something wrong?"

"Huh?" he looks up and shakes his head, "No."

She raises an eyebrow. "That's a lie. You do know you can talk to me. I mean of course you don't have to if you don't want. I mean I don't want to force because that would be bad and I don't want to make you uncomfortable because that's definitely not what I'm trying to do it's just that I want you to know that you can ta-"

"Chihiro," she stops rambling and freezes. "Thanks. And don't worry, I don't feel forced." Chihiro relaxes back into her pillow.

"So what's up?" her voice is slightly muffled.

He leans against the back of the chair and sighs again. "I'm nervous about nationals. I mean, this is huge." Chihiro nods, indicating she is listening. "I guess I don't want to let anyone down being that I am the captain." he pauses. Chihiro stays silent so he could fill it with his worries and stresses. 

"I mean I know all the guys can do it, that's not the issue, it's just... I'm... not ready for if we lose. I -uh, don't want this to end. But at the same time, these college prep classes are taking a toll. It may not look like it, but the workload really effects me. And... It's all just so much, y'know?"

Chihiro nods. "I totally get not wanting this to end. I don't want it to either. I mean of course you're a third year so it's different. But once you know you're not alone under this pile of responsibilities, it'll feel so much better. I'll do anything I can to make it better. I can try to help you with school work. I mean I probably won't be able to help with all of it, but if I read your notes I'm sure I can try."

"Speaking of grades, everyone has been falling behind recently and we need to fix that quick,"

"Don't worry about it!" she wanted to leap out of the bed and shake his shoulders. "I'll take care of it. I promise. I'll tutor the whole team if I need to!" she proclaims. Daichi gives her a weak smile and rests his hand on her head.

"Don't worry. I believe you. And thank you." he ruffles her hair and sits back. "But you have to take care of yourself in the process. You can't stress yourself too much on our behalf."

Chihiro sighs in response. "I wish I could promise that, but I genuinely forget to when I get wrapped up in things." Daichi grabs his phone off the table.

"The you know what?" he taps his thumbs on the screen rhythmically. "Give me your number and I'll remind you." she rolls her eyes but give him her cell number anyway. "Now you can't forget because I won't let you," he says, feeling accomplished. She rolls her eyes again before shutting them briefly.

He stays silent as she lets herself fall asleep. Her eyes move behind her eyelids before becoming still. Her breathing gets deeper and her body sinks into the mattress. Daichi gets up briefly to use the restroom before sitting back down and falling asleep by her side.

~~~

When Nishinoya knocks on the door and there is no answer, he opens it to find Chihiro curled up and Daichi resting his head on the end of her bed. Both sleeping soundly. He closes the door and goes back on his way. 'Am I missing something? Since when was Chihiro close to anyone?' Nishinoya shrugs and decides not to dwell on it because for all he knows he could be completely wrong.

When Daichi wakes up the next day, Chihiro hasn't moved an inch. He's surprised that he fell asleep where he did. He scoots his chair back and pads over to the door to head down to breakfast. He swings open the door and sees Rin looking off towards Ukai. Rin knocks on his forehead instead of the door before turning back and blinking.

"Oh Daikon! I'm sorry, I didn't see you there. I'm here to pick up Chi-chan." he steps aside and let's her in the room. "I hope she wasn't too much trouble for you. I've only ever seen her this bad once when she was younger."

Daichi shakes his head. "Not at all." Rin approaches the sleeping girl and leans over her bed.

"Hey sleepyhead, time to leave. I can't carry you to the ca-"

"No don't wake her up. I'll take her to your car," Daichi stops her hand from jostling her awake. Rin stands there, surprised, but amused. She can't help but let a ghost of a smirk on as she turns to gather her younger cousin's things.

"Alright, you get her and I'll get her things," she puts Chihiro's things in her duffle bag and slings it over her shoulder as Daichi scoops her up in his arms. She hardly stirs as he adjusts his hold. Her hands fold in her lap and her head falls against his chest softly. He could still see the harsh purple crescents under her eyes against her paler than normal skin. He sighs deeply and glides across the room.

His descent on the stairs is beyond smooth. On his way out the door, several players see the girl in his arms, still asleep and quiet their conversations. They make a mental note to tease the third year later. Sugawara spots the trio and holds the door open for them.

His eyes linger on Chihiro in Daichi's arm with an unreadable expression. But it wasn't happiness.

~~~~

wOW I haven't updated in a hot minute. Junior year has been kicking me in the ass. I don't even know how long I've been working on this chapter bc I have has zERO mOtiVATION