Gone Ennotana

He's Missing

Daichi's POV

The next morning, Daichi Sawamura got up from his pallet and stretched. He looked over the dorm the volleyball team shared. Nishinoya was moving around in his bed, suggesting he would be up soon. Everyone else was still asleep, except for the owner of an empty pallet by Kinoshita and Narita. That was odd. Ennoshita had never been a very early riser before. Then the captain shrugged, figuring the second year just woke up really early and went to wash while there was plenty of hot water.

Daichi took a shower, but didn't see or hear anyone else in there. He frowned. 

Sugawara walked in. "What's wrong, Daichi?" he asked. Daichi smiled at his boyfriend. 

"Nothing, Suga. I just haven't seen Ennoshita yet this morning, and he's not much of an early riser."

"He's probably just eating breakfast. You worry too much."

"Yeah, yeah, all right Mom," Daichi teased.

After breakfast, the team drifted back to the dorm to gather up for the first practice game. Hinata and Nishinoya chattered so fast and so loud their conversation was virtually incomprehensible.

Beside him, Suga surveyed their children. "Hey, where's Ennoshita? He's always on time."

Narita and Kinoshita looked at each other. "He wasn't at breakfast. We thought he was here already." They waited a few more minutes, but no one came.

"Where would Ennoshita be? Did anyone see him at breakfast?" Suga asked, getting more agitated. Everyone looked at each other and shook their heads.

Daichi stepped up. "Did anyone see him at all this morning?" A chorus of no was the response. He looked at Suga, worried.

"He's too responsible to just run off. When was the last time anyone saw him?"

"The backwoods punishment run last night," Hinata said. 

"Me and Tsukki saw him taking a short break at the top of the hill right before we headed back," Yamaguchi said. 

"Did anyone see him again after that?" Daichi questioned. No one had.

"Everyone stay here," the captain said. "Suga, you're in charge. I'm going to talk to Coach Ukai." He strode off.

He returned quickly with Ukai Keishin and Takeda Ittetsu in tow. "We're going to look for Ennoshita, guys," Ukai said. "I talked to Coach Nekomata. The other teams will continue as normal; we don't want a panic. We may be overreacting, but that's better than finding out we underreacted."

Daichi spoke up. "Everyone split up and go in pairs. Search the buildings. He might have just been practicing alone and lost track of time."

Suga's POV

Everyone nodded determinedly and started picking partners. Suga's internal mom radar beeped. He looked at Tanaka. "Hey, Asahi, will you go with Noya? I want to talk to Tanaka," the setter said quietly. Asahi intercepted the libero, who happily linked arms with his bigger boyfriend as they walked off.

Suga walked up to the wing spiker. "Hey, are you alright?" His face was pale. Ryunosuke chewed on his lip.

"Suga, how do you know when you like someone? I know this is a weird time but..."

Sugawara blinked. Aww, my babies are growing up! He internally fanboyed. "You want to always be near them," he answered. "You want to protect them, or they make you feel safe and protected. They are beautiful to you, no matter how they look at any given moment. You love everything about them, even their quirks and odd traits."

"That's how I feel about Ennoshita!" Tanaka blurted out. "But I thought he was just a really good friend!"

Suga put a comforting hand on the younger boy's shoulder. "Then let's go look for him. He's here somewhere, don't worry."

They checked the trail they ran yesterday. Tsukishima noticed scuff marks on the loose stones on the edge of the trail. When they carefully looked down the slope behind it, Tsukishima saw something else.

"Blood," he said flatly. "And a medium size shoe print beside it."

"Well, at least we know he's probably somewhere near here," Suga said, trying to look on the bright side. "Don't worry, everyone, we'll find him."

Despite his words, they didn't find Chikara that day.