Rigid Crow

Choose My Family

Hinata's family is the first group to burst into the room. The doctors and nurses have been hovering about, as have I, but everyone makes way for the overjoyed Hinatas.
     "Shōyō!" his mother cries out in overwhelmed delight, tears already coursing down her cheeks as she runs toward her son. "Oh, my baby!"
     As she tenderly takes exhausted Hinata into her arms, I watch as he turns the corners of his mouth upward ever so slightly. Just by that small gesture, I can tell how he too is so overjoyed to be in the safe embrace of his mother in this moment.
Natsu is shrieking with joy, held tightly in her father's arms. He can't keep the smile off his own face. His eyes shine with tears.
     Not minutes later, Yamaguchi comes barreling into the room, Tsukishima at his tail. Yamaguchi's face lights up when he sees Hinata awake in his mother's arms. "It's true," he whispers in delighted shock. He grabs Tsukishima's shoulder in excitement. "Tsukki, do you see?"
    In shock, I witness a small, relieved smile cross Tsukishima's face. "Yeah, I do," he replies.
Yachi trips in next. She gasps and tears fill her eyes as she sees Hinata awake with his family from across the room. Following that is a sound from her in between a squeal and a sob. She buries her face in her hands, and Yamaguchi hugs her as they both cry.
One of the doctors approaches them and me with a smile of her own. "I hate to break up the happy reunion; I know this is such an exciting moment for you all. However, if you're expecting more visitors, we cannot have so many in here at once. Could I bother a few of you to leave for a little while, please?"
With a last glance at Hinata, I take a step to leave, but Yamaguchi holds me back by the shoulders.
"Nuh-uh," he says, shaking his head. "You get to stay, Kageyama. You're his best friend, and you've been here for him longer than any of us combined have, so you deserve to meet everyone else in here and stay with Hinata." He smiles. "The three of us will leave for now."
I nod gratefully.
     The next to arrive are Noya-san and Tanaka-san. The moment they see Hinata awake, they start whooping and hollering, and are immediately escorted out by a couple of nurses.
Ennoshita, Kinoshita, and Narita visit soon after. Hinata's family steps to the side, all smiles, to let them have their turn. They crowd around the bed, beaming, and talking all at once. Though Hinata is slow with simple functions like answering any questions or even smiling, his eyes give away how happy he is. He looks up to our senpais only a year older than us, even though he's been on the court a lot longer than Narita and Kinoshita. It's endearing how they chatter away one-sided conversations with him so he doesn't have to struggle to speak.
     Not long after they leave, our previous third years arrive sooner than expected.
     "Hinata!" Suga cries, a smile breaking across his face, Daichi at his side. Even Asahi is with them, his face crumpling into something like relief. They hover over Hinata so gently, one might think they're his parents. I can't see Hinata as they stand over him, but I'm certain he's feeling so loved, and right at home.
     Shimizu stands by the door a teddy bear in her hand. Her coming in will break the guest limit, but she hurries to Hinata's bedside, nestling the plushie next to him. "His name is Berry," she tells him softly. "He's always kept me good company. He can be your company now."
     Later in the day, the coaches visit to check in on their player, and a few of Hinata's other friends and family members come to visit, too.
     By the end of the day, it's only Hinata's family and myself here with Hinata again. He's sleeping now, and Natsu is also dozing in her father's arms.
Exhausted by the long day, I consider heading home, but before I can even say anything, Hinata-sama walks up to me and wraps her arms around me tightly. Resting her chin up on my shoulder, she murmurs, "Thank you for being there when it happened. I'm so relieved someone was with him. I'm glad it was you."
"I'm glad, too," I tell her back, casting a glance at his resting figure. "Take good care of him, yeah?"
"Of course," she replies, brushing away a tear. "I'm sure he was glad, too. You've become like a brother to him, Kageyama-kun."
My heart leaps to my throat. I've never had any siblings. I always wondered what it would be like to have any. If Hinata's really become like a brother, brothers must fight, and argue, and annoy each other to no end.
But if those things are true, brothers must also work as a team, stand up for each other, have fun together, help each other out, spend time with each other, and confide in each other. Brothers must not always like each other, but they must always care about each other nonetheless with some kind of love that only brothers share.
If Hinata's really my brother, then I'll go home tonight feeling just a little bit less alone. I'll go home tonight feeling a little better about what family really is. Family doesn't have to be just the parents I got stuck with.
I can choose my family.
Then I choose my teammates. I choose every single one of them. I choose the people who have guided me through life, not those who didn't care to cast a second glance my way. I choose those who have truly shown me that they care about me and who I am as a person, who care about how I feel, and what I do, and what I care about.
I choose Hinata.