Level Pair (Haikyuu!! Winged AU)

Level Pair; Day Two 1/1

We all at certain times in our lives find ourselves broken. True strength is found in picking up the pieces. ~Jeromy Shingongo

"I know it's not even a comparison, but I woke up feeling like this was one of those things that we will all find hilarious later... like that incident with the bats." Shouyou says tentatively.

Kageyama doesn't look up from where he is focused intently on his task, carefully and painstakingly cleaning the deep wounds that used to be Hintata's wings. He listens with half an ear just the same; it is the first time the redhead has really started talking and Kageyama doesn't think he could ignore him even if he wanted to.

"Well, you're right. There is no comparison there." He says distractedly.

"But it feels kinda like that. It's really funny now, but we didn't think that cut on Tanaka's head was going to stop bleeding at the time. I mean, I felt awful at first." He says, and Kageyama wonders if he's just talking so he doesn't have to think. He will roll with it for now.

"You obviously didn't feel bad enough; you and your blind enthusiasm got Tanaka to tell our drill instructor that he walked into a doorframe when, really, he fell out of the top bunk because you released a bunch of bats in the barracks in the middle of the night." He cajoles. The other boy flinches when he brings the wet cloth to his skin still freezing cold from the river and grunts when Kageyama presses the abused flesh just a bit too hard. The first brush of the material had taken the top layer of scab away, revealing disfigured muscle and sinew beneath. It had started bleeding a little again, but Kageyama is sure it will be okay.

"Yeah, that was a bad choice in retrospect... who knew our drill instructor that day would be the one instructor in the whole military who had a scar over his eyebrow for pretty much the exact excuse Tanaka gave. He got unnecessarily salty over the whole thing." Shouyou says a bit wryly and lifts a shoulder in a half shrug, making Kageyama tense for a moment in his work.

"He thought Tanaka was ribbing him and Noya's snort did nothing to help." Kageyama deadpans as he returns the shirt to Hinata's skin. Shouyou huffs slightly.

"It was legitimately an honest mistake; that guy seemed to have it out for us the rest of the year. Tanaka made sure to remind me of that every time we got a diving drill or something." He mutters and Kageyama almost smiles slightly at the sullen sound in his voice before the redhead continues. "Honestly, I'd have pegged Asahi for that kind of reaction instead of Tanaka, but he barely woke up enough to wonder what the heck was going on until Suga hit the light and everyone saw the blood."

"And Daichi wasn't even there. I'll never get how you had the presence of mind to keep a pile of bats in a bag under your covers, but not realize the person you were really looking to spook wasn't even in the room when you let them all go." Kageyama grumbles, secretly relieved that Hinata is responding so easily. He resolves to try and keep the conversation going.

"Daichi's bunk is on the other end of the room next to the door. I didn't know he'd left. And his reaction when he came back was pretty flat, too." He says petulantly.

"That's because he came back to bats flying everywhere while everyone was losing their minds because Tanaka's face wouldn't quit bleeding. I'd have been massively irritated, too." He mutters as he uses Hinata's shirt to gently rinse and work away the last bits of dirt and excess dried blood from the wound, trying to gauge exactly how much damage the redhead sustained.

"Yeah, I guess I maybe went a little overboard." Hinata says sheepishly.

"One bat would have been sufficient, two or three would have been overboard. You released eighteen of those flying squeaky mice. They were still flushing them all out of the barracks two days later." Kageyama says with a touch of indignance, a frown marring his face as he gently works the feathers free of the old blood matting them together against Hinata's back and carefully pushes them all aside to lay the open wound bare. And for the millionth time, he wants to murder that white winged asshole.