Rigid Crow

Here With Us

He's asleep.
They've put a ventilator over Shō's face because he was really struggling to breath on his own, even once he fell asleep.
His fingers twitch with the fever. It reminds me of when he was in his coma.
His family is huddled around him. His parents are weeping. Natsu holds his hand.
The paces of the nurses and doctors have slowed. It's clear to everyone that only one thing can be done now: wait and hope he makes the night.
But that's not all of our worries. The fever is only the first of it. If he gets through this, the possibility of sepsis is what we need to worry about. That could kill anyone, weak system or not.
Please let the fever break. Don't let the pneumonia kill him.
"Forty-two point two degrees," the doctors murmur to each other. They quickly page for another doctor, another medication, another call, another, another, another, another—
"—me go in. Please." I hear Suga's voice outside of the room. The sound of it is a staple, it grounds me. "I have his meds. He forgot to take them this morning. Can't you at least ask him to come out here for a moment?"
     I will my legs to move and I let myself out of the room before anyone comes to get me.
     "Kageyama!" Suga's head snaps to me as the door shuts. He holds out the bottle of meds and a water bottle. "I brought these."
     "You did?"
     "Yeah, right before Hinata's family went in there, I asked if I could go to their house to pick up your meds. They lent me a key, and..."
     "Th-Thank you."
     "Of course. I didn't want to make tonight any worse. You're in enough pain already. If this was even the smallest thing I could do for you, I wanted to."
     "Could you- Uh, well, you don't actually—"
     "No, ask me anything. Really. Look, this is serious. If I need to miss class, I can. If I need to stay up in the waiting room all night, I can. If you need anything, I'll be here. You know that. You're not inconveniencing me."
     "Okay... Will you stay? Here in the hospital? I don't know what's going to happen. And- If it comes to the worst... I can't expect the Hinatas to..."
     "You want me to be here to comfort you if the worst comes to pass. I understand."
     "But... even then... will you be okay?"
     He smiles, clearly touched. "Worry about yourself, Kageyama. I have people to call when I need. But thank you."
     I go back into the room and sink into one of the chairs after taking the meds. I've never felt so emotionally drained. My body drifts off into a kind of half-sleep. I'm not fully conscious, but I still hear the hospital bustle around me.
I wake to Natsu prodding me. "N-Natsu-chan? What time is— Shō. Is he okay?"
"Dunno time." She takes my hand, urging me to my feet. "Nii-san's 'wake."
If I wasn't fully awake before, I certainly am now. "He is?"
"Delirious, dear," one of the nurses says softly. The curtains are shut, but no light comes through them. Shō's parents are asleep against each other. It must be the middle of the night. They've let us stay for the whole time. That proves the gravity of this.
Natsu and I move to his side. His eyes are open, but there's no recognition in them. "Shō? Shō, please..."
He turns his head from side to side, eyes clouded with confusion. After about a minute of this, he falls back asleep.
I shake my head and sigh.
Natsu looks up at me with big, round eyes. "Can I sleep with you?"
"Y-Yeah." I let her on my lap after sitting back down, and she curls into my chest, almost instantly snoring. I, too, go out like a light.
The next time I wake up, it's to the sound of sobbing. When I move, Natsu startles and cries out. I lift her down, blinking the sleep out of eyes. What's happening? It wouldn't— no, he's not— oh, please!
The Hinatas sit crying beside Shō's bed, their heads together as they shake and weep.
Terror seizes my heart. "No— it can't—" My eyes land on him. My knees nearly buckle. "Oh, Shō!"
He smiles weakly at me, the ventilator off his face.
"His fever broke not too long ago," one of the doctors tells me, his tone relieved.
Hinata-sama looks over her shoulder and beckons for me and Natsu. She laughs, tears streaming down her cheeks. "It won't be tonight. He's still here with us." She turns back and takes his hand, kissing it. "I love you so much. I love you, Shōyō, I love you, I love you." She moves to cup his face in her hands, kissing his forehead. "You're my world, love. Keep fighting."
He nods, then starts coughing violently. She rubs his back.
When the fit is over, Hinata-san sits next to his son on the bed. Shō curls into his dad's side.
     Hinata-sama looks toward the doctors and nurses in distress. "How much longer? How long do we have to wait until he's not in danger anymore?"
     Saki-san is the one to speak up. "As for danger of fatality, I would say a couple weeks. Now, the sickness's aftereffects could affect him for weeks or months after that, and the cough could linger, but after these next couple of weeks, the possibility should pass."
     Shō's parents bow their heads. I walk to stand beside Shō. "You did great. I'm so proud of you."
     He blinks back gratefully.
     "I know it's not over, but I know you're going to get through this. Both of us are."
     "Y-Y-Y-Y-Yeah."
     "Good."
     "Nii-chan!"
     Shō's face softens and his body relaxes at his sister's approach. "Nat-s-su."
     I move back to give him space with them.
     "Thank you," I tell Saki-san.
     She shakes her head. "That was all Shōyō-kun. He's strong. He really is. He wants to live. And you're really helping him."
     My eyes burn with the threat of tears. "Do you really think this could happen? Do you think he actually might recover? Have a normal life again? Maybe even have the chance to play volleyball again?"
     The corners of Saki-san's mouth turn up. "If we were talking about anyone else, I'd say the chances are low. But Shōyō has beaten every odd thrown at him so far. I'd love to see him do it yet again."