Level Pair (Haikyuu!! Winged AU)

Level Pair; Opening 1/2

OPENING 1/2

If we remembered every day that we could lose someone at any moment, we would love them more fiercely and freely, and without fear- not because there is nothing to lose, but because everything can always be lost. ~Emily Rapp, The Still Point of the Turning World

Tobio Kageyama can feel the bright sunlight against his eyelids and dimly notes that it is making his head pound that much worse. Getting to sleep in is a scarcity that comes maybe once or twice a year and something that if he was honest, actually put him on edge because of how unusual it was-but having a headache was completely ruining the moment.

Wait... headache.

Kageyama has the abruptly keen impression that he is missing something and jerks awake with panic. He can see a tall oak stretching out above him as he lies sporting a splitting headache that bleeds out from his temples and he recognizes none of his surroundings. There's a gap in the branches that allows the sunlight to filter through, making him squint. Though he doesn't know why, his first thought is Hinata.

Disregarding the pulse of pain that sparks through his head and the irritating question of why, he jerks upright only to cringe slightly at the way his one wing pulls painfully. The main pivot sends him a warning in the form of shooting pain when he stretches it out and he frowns darkly. That damn joint is going to be the death of him in twenty-four hours, he just knows it. But the pain is easily forgotten because Hinata isn't here.

In a flash, he recalls with hazy clarity the last thing he can remember. They'd been out on a regular scout mission like they'd been doing for years. Hinata'd been lamenting how long they had left before they got home and that he hoped they'd make it in time for dinner. Kageyama had pointed out that while the redhead might have been more agile and quick off the gun, he wasn't as good at sustaining that maxed out speed over an extended distance, so if they did miss dinner, it would be the smaller boy's fault. It was nothing more than a jibe and he knew Hinata's stamina could easily rival his own, but he knew it would get a rise.

Their conversation had quickly dissolved into easy bickering, something that was far closer to normal than not. Really the only time they weren't jabbing back and forth was if something serious was going on or they were around Kageyama's father. But they'd both been caught up in the banter... and Kageyama never saw it coming.

A flash of white feathers-such a contrast to his and Hinata's black wings-blindsided him and a heavy impact hit him in the back of the head. He remembers now.

He remembers faltering completely, seeing nothing but stars and dimly hearing Hinata yell. Whoever the white-winged jerk was that had grabbed him, he'd let go and turned on Hinata. Kageyama had dropped the few meters to the canopy below them, still in a daze.

He remembers.

He remembers seeing Hinata's black wings beating madly, clashing with the large white ones of their assailant. He remembers hearing Hinata yell and how he knew by the strain in that sound that he was in serious pain. He remembers the uppermost branches biting into his arms as he lost sight of them, and then even, quiet blackness. He is covered in scratches and bruises, he definitely messed up the main joint in his one wing somehow, and he is fairly confident he hit his head harder than is good for him, but what happened to Hinata?

He stumbles to his feet, taking note of the few leaves and branches that lay next to him. He'd definitely crash landed. He follows the trail of small twigs and snapped leaves that highlight his trajectory and immediately begins beating his wings. Ignoring the pain in the one, his splitting head, and his aching body, he pushes off the ground and heads for his point of entry. He has to find Hinata, and the best place to start is the last place he saw him.