Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Aoba Jousai High School

The bell rang through the building of Aoba Jousai High School, informing the students that the school day has ended. Some packed up and headed home while others went to their club activities. Waiting outside of class 3-6, Iwaizumi leaned against the wall as he waited for Oikawa as he walked out of class.

“So we have a practice match today? Who are we playing against?” Iwaizumi asked while the two walked to the gym for volleyball.

“You forgot already, Iwa-chan? My my, someone’s showing signs of memory-”

“Finish that sentence and I swear I’ll throw you out the window.” Iwaizumi cut in.

“So mean, Iwa-chan!” The caption pouted. “We’re playing against Tobio-chan today so it’ll be a fun match.”

“Ah so Karasuno huh? Should be an interesting match.” The ace replied as he looked toward the captain. But when he looked over, something wasn’t right. Oikawa was limping?

“Oi, what’s wrong?”

“Hmmm? What do you mean?”

“You’re limping. Is your knee bothering you?” Iwaizumi asked.

“Umm it is. I forgot my knee brace in the locker room after practice yesterday. I’ll be fine.” Oikawa assured him. “The weather’s changing and that really makes it hurt.”

“Well if you say so.” The ace replied, taking the captain by his words.

Aoba Jousai Gymnasium

“Don’t Mind, don’t Mind! We’ll get the next set!!” Matsukawa called out after Karasuno won the second set. The practice game was going well and moving onto the third set. First set went to Aoba Jousai, winning 26 -24 and the second set went to Karasuno, winning 25-27.

“It seems the practice match is going well, isn’t it Ukai-kun??” Takeda commented as Ukai carefully watched both players on each side.

“Yeah it is, but this is the last set and we both know Oikawa is going to do everything in his power to win this set.” Ukai commented. “Speaking of which…”

“It’s Oikawa’s turn to serve.” Takeda finished as they watched the captain get ready to serve. A serious expression on his face, he was determined to win this practice match.

“Oi, make sure you don’t push yourself too hard if your knee is bothering you.” Iwaizumi’s voice ran through his head.

“I’ll be fine, Iwa-chan! It’s feeling a lot better now.” Oikawa reassured as he put his knee brace back on.

“Oi! I’m being serious, Shittykawa!” The ace hissed while the captain sighed.

“You don’t have to worry about me, Mom. I’ll be fine.” Oikawa said as he stuck his tongue out after calling Iwazumi his Mother.

“WHY I OUGHTA!!”

Before this set started, that moment played in his head. His knee has been bothering him all day and it didn’t help he had left his knee brace in the locker room after practice yesterday. The weather changing didn’t help it either, but even after he put the brace on, his knee was still bugging him. Even if his knee is bothering him, he was still going to play with all his force. He was NOT going to lose this match.

“Oikawa, nice serve!”

“We’re gonna take this set now!” Oikawa exclaimed as he jumped up with full force.

Pop

Oikawa managed to hit the ball, but as soon as he jumped, a wave of pain came over him. His eyes widened as he fell back the ball hitting the net. Landing on the floor, the captain held onto his knee. Well tried too. What just happened? He was fine a minute ago, but now he’s in a lot of pain, most of it coming from his knee. He also felt…weak. He could feel his body trembling, why was he shaking so much?

The team blinked as they watched the ball hit the net; not seeing their captain had fallen to the ground. Actually, no one saw him fall. It wasn’t until something hitting the floor, the situation caught the five player’s attention. And it wasn’t the ball. Turning around, all five looked behind them.

“OIKAWA!!” Iwaizumi screamed. The team ran over to their captain, on the ground and holding, well trying to, his knee. An expression of pain was written all over his face. The coaches didn’t see what happened, but became alerted when they heard the scream. Standing up, they saw the players freaking out, screaming for the nurse, someone to go get the nurse.

“Uhm...did something happen?” Asahi asked as they heard the whistle blow for a timeout. Karasuno watched as both coaches rushed over.

“Sounds like someone might have gotten hurt.” Sugawara answered, hearing the team members yelling to get the nurse.

“Only question is, who got hurt and how.” Daichi questioned as the team watched.

“Oikawa?!” Iwaizumi panicked as he rushed over to the fallen player, putting his hands onto his shoulders. Slowly, the ace, with the help of two players, helps the captain sit up. But only to have him fall against Iwaizumi, who could feel the other shaking.

“STOP FREAKING OUT AND SOMEONE GO GET THE NURSE!!!” Coach Irihata screamed at the players.

“YES SIR!!” Two members rushed to find the nurse in panic.

“I-I’m fine really. It’s nothing. Do-don’t worry about me, I’ll be fine. I just missed my landing that’s all.” Oikawa tried to assure everyone. Iwaizumi growled and hit the fallen captain on his head. “Iwa-cha-chan!”

“OI! You aren’t fine! Stop trying to tell us you’re okay when you aren’t! You’re shaking like a leaf and you look like you just saw a ghost! Lean back on me and try to stay awake. You look like you’re going to pass out.” The ace hissed as he made the team captain lean against him. Even though he already was.

“Is everything alright?” Daichi asked as he walked over.

“Uh no. Something happened to Oikawa-san, but we aren’t sure what it is.” Shinji answered as he looked toward the Karasuno’s captain. “But it appears it has to do something with his knee.”

“Is there anything we can do to help?” Daichi offered as the player shook his head. Just as the player did that, the gym doors busted open and the nurse rushed in. Everyone got out of the way as she rushed over to check on Oikawa.

“Is there anything we can do, Daichi-san?” Tanaka asked as the captain shook his head.

“No. The nurse just arrived, so all we can do is wait.” Daichi answered as the team looked over as the nurse examined Oikawa’s knee. Hearing him answer her questions and maybe even hissing a little when she touches his knee.

“I wonder what happened?” Nishinoya wondered as he took a sip of water.

“Whatever happened…it can’t be good.” Suga replied as he watched the nurse do her thing.

“Someone hand me my cellphone. It’s in my bag.” The nurse asked as Kindaichi did what the nurse asked.

“Oi, what’s wrong?” Coach Irihata questioned as everyone shrugged.

“Yes I need an ambulance to Aoba Jousai High School. I have a student who needs to be brought to the hospital for further examination along with a drop in blood pressure.”

“EHHHH???” All of Aoba Jousai shouted.

“D-Did they find out something?” Suga jumped from the sudden screaming.

“A-A-AMBULANCE???”

“DROP IN BLOOD PRESSURE??”

“O-OIKAWA-SAN’S DYING???!”  Three players panicked.

“OI! HE AIN’T DYING SO CALM THE HELL DOWN!!” Iwazumi shouted.

“YES SIR!!”

‘ An ambulance? Further examination? Drop in blood pressure? ’ Oikawa thought as he looked down at his knee, now being elevated and had some ice on top to help with the swelling. ‘ What did I do? Is it that serious? ’

“N-Nurse! What’s wrong?” Mizoguchi asked as the nurse got off the phone.

“The ambulance will be here in ten minutes. Someone needs to go gather his things.” The nurse started before turning to the two coaches. “There’s obviously something wrong with his knee but I can’t tell what it could be. He needs more testing done and possibly an X-Ray or MRI scan depending on what the doctor’s might think.”

“What do you think it could be?” Coach Irihata asked.

“It could be anything. Though I can say he did not dislocate his knee. But the doctors will see when they examine him.” The nurse answered while looking at the coaches.

“We will go wait for the ambulance!” Daichi called out. Turning around, Karasuno stood in a line.

“Um…yes that would be helpful.” Coach Irihata didn’t know what to say. The team gave a nod and rushed outside. “Well I wasn’t expecting that.”

“Don’t think any of us were.” Coach Mizoguchi agreed with a nod.

The whole ten minutes that they waited for the ambulance to arrive, Oikawa was silent the whole time. The thought of something being wrong with his knee freaked him out. He just laid there against Iwazumi as they waited. The ace knew something was up, but didn’t bother to ask. All he did was rub Oikawa’s hands comfortingly as they waited and held him close.

“THE AMBULANCE IS HERE!!” Tanaka hollered, informing Aoba Jousai that the paramedics had arrived. They rushed into the gym with a stretcher and got all their information from the nurse. Iwazumi felt his hand being squeezed and looked down, seeing Oikawa’s hand starting to crush his hand. Finding out what was wrong with the captain’s knee was coming closer and closer. Leaning down, Iwazumi kissed the back of Oikawa’s ear.

“It’ll be okay. I’ll stay by your side as much as I can.” The ace whispered as Oikawa gave a nod. He wasn’t in the mood to talk at all, this surprised Iwazumi. This situation was really scaring him.

“Alright, which knee is it?” One of the paramedics asked as the two bent down, one had what looks to be a brace. The captain pointed to his right knee and the brace was placed on. Oikawa hissed a little as they buckled the brace, feeling the pressure on his knee was not a pleasant feeling.

“Alright we’re going to lift you onto the stretcher and strap you in, especially around your right left so it doesn’t move. Alright?” The second paramedic asked. Oikawa gave an understanding nod. Iwazumi had to move since both medics requested him to do so as they lifted the captain onto the stretcher. Kindaichi handed the ace Oikawa’s bags, without being told; they all knew the ace would be going with the injured player. He gave a nod as thanks.

“Ready 1, 2, 3 and lift!” Oikawa hissed as they lifted him up and onto the stretcher. The amount of pain his knee was giving him was unbelievable. Iwazumi was by his side as soon as he was placed on the stretcher, he placed a hand on the captain’s shoulder and squeezed it reassuringly.

“It’ll be okay. The doctor’s will find out what’s wrong.” Iwazumi tried to assure Oikawa who looked at him and gave a weak smile.

“Will you be following us?” One of the paramedics asked the vice captain.

“I’ll be riding with him. I’m not leaving his side.” Iwazumi answered, giving the paramedics a look that read ‘ I’m coming with you or you will regret it. ’.

“Now Iwa-chan, be nice.” Oikawa stated, raising his voice for the first time since this whole thing happened.

“That is fine. We just have room for one and anyone else that would like to come will have to follow us.” The medics explained.

“I will be coming too.” Coach Irihata spoke up. “I need to make sure our captain is alright.” Giving a nod, everyone followed the paramedics outside.

“Oikawa-san,” Hanamaki started after they loaded him into the ambulance. “Don’t worry about us and just focus on your knee. We’ll take care of things here. We’ll meet you at the hospital after we’re done here. Okay?”

Oikawa gave a nod. “Okay.” Giving his team a thumbs up. From afar, Karasuno watched.

“I hope it’s nothing serious.” Yachi spoke up after no one said a word.

“It might be, if they have to bring him to the hospital.” Kiyoko commented.

“Then he could be dealing with a serious knee injury.” Daichi explained as some of the others nodded.

“What kind of knee injury?” Hinata asked, not really knowing what kind of injuries to think.

“Well there is something called Jumper’s Knee.” Suga started as he began to think. “And there’s patellar tendon rupture and then the more serious-”

“OKAY I THINK I’M GOOD!” Hinata interrupted. The thought of him hurting his knee with both those things Suga explained scared the middle blocker.

“Ehh sorry Hinata.” Suga apologized as he scratched the back of his head. The voice captain looked to Daichi who looked to be concentrating on the situation that was happening. “Daichi? What are you thinking?”

“Hmm?” The captain asked as he looked down. “Oh uh just thinking. I want to go and wait at the hospital with Aoba Jousai. I want to make sure he’s alright.”

“I was thinking the same thing.” Keishin commented as he stood next to the two. “If we learn what his injury is, we can learn from what he did to cause it and make sure our players don’t do the same thing.” Daichi and Suga both gave a nod.

“Alright! We’re in! You can get in now and sit next to him. I’ll be taking his vitals.” The paramedic said to Iwazumi who gave a nod. The ace climbed in first and sat next to Oikawa. The first thing he did was grab the captain’s hand and squeeze it.

“Don’t worry…I’m going to be by your side the whole time. It’ll be okay.” Iwazumi stated as Oikawa gave a nod followed by a smile.

Then the doors shut.

Chapter Text

It felt like an eternity.

It was suppose to be a twenty-minute ride to the hospital, but it didn’t feel that way. On the way there, neither Iwazumi or Oikawa spoke. The only time Oikawa spoke is when the paramedic taking his vitals asked him questions. But other than that, the ride to the hospital was silent. The ace held the captain’s hand tightly the whole way there, only letting go when the paramedic asked for him to do so. But even then, he placed his hand on Oikawa’s shoulder.

This situation was making them both nervous, but they both knew they weren’t the only ones.

They felt the ambulance come to a stop and soon the doors were opened. They’ve arrived to the hospital. Iwaizumi climbed out first and they pulled Oikawa out just as the coach parked and rushed up to them.

“We’ll need you two to go into the waiting room while they run his tests.” A paramedic informed them.

“Can’t one of us go back there with him? Can’t leave him behind!” Coach Irihata protested.

“Unfortunately, it’s hospital policy sir. We have to follow them.” The second one answered.

“But-”

“Iwa-chan,” Oikawa started, looking over to the ace and head coach with gentle smile. “I’ll be fine.”

“You’ll be by yourself!” Iwaizumi exclaimed. He did not want to leave his boyfriend alone while they ran tests on his knee.

“They’ll probably be rushing me from test to test.” The captain explained. “It’ll be okay. The doctors will take care of me.”

“Come on Iwazumi.” The coach started as he turned around. “We better get to the waiting room. The sooner we get there, the sooner the doctors can figure out what’s wrong.” Letting a sigh out, the ace gave a nod.

“Fine.”

“Iwa-chan.” He turned around to face Oikawa. “A worried expression doesn’t fit you.”

“Go get tested!” Oikawa stuck his tongue out as the paramedics rolled him into the ER as the ace and coach went into the waiting room. The two sat down and the waiting began.

“…what do you think could have happened?” The ace asked fifteen minutes after they sat down, breaking the silence. The coach groaned in response before opening his eyes.

“Could be anything. But if the nurse couldn’t determine what was wrong, then it’s probably something serious. But I’m praying it’s nothing serious…we need him.” He answered as he sighed. “But at the same time, we need to prepare ourselves when it’s something serious.”

“I think it’s still too early to think that but at the same time, I agree.” The ace sighed. He really didn’t want to think anything serious had happened. But seeing the amount of pain Oikawa was in when he saw him on the floor, something was telling him there might be something wrong. He hoped his gut feeling was wrong.

“You’ll have to step up and be captain until he can return.” Irihata commented that made the ace look up. Him? Captain? Sure he was vice captain, but he couldn’t do what Oikawa could do. There was no way.

The ace didn’t say a word.

The two continued to wait in silence until they heard the doors open forty-five minutes after they had arrived. The two looked up and saw Aoba Jousai enter the waiting room. And to the surprise of Iwaizumi and Irihanta, Karasuno was behind them.

“What are you all doing here?” Coach Irihanta asked Karasuno.

“We wanted to make sure Oikawa-san is going to be alright.” Takeda explained. “I mean we were there when it happened so we at least wanted to know how he was doing.”

“We haven’t heard anything yet. He’s in testing right now so we may not find out what’s going on for a while. So everyone get comfortable. We appreciate you staying.” The coach informed them as everyone gave a nod.

“Yeah when the results come in, we can learn from him and improve our players.” Ukai explained as he sat next to the coaches.

“So will we. There’s no way we’re having another player injure themselves over something that could have been prevented.” Mizoguchi agreed as he leaned back.

“This is going to be a long night.” One of the players said. Walking up to Iwaizumi, Suga sat down next to him.

“How are you holding up?” Suga asked.

“…I’m worried. I don’t want anything serious to happen to him.” The ace whispered, only enough for him and the vice captain to hear. The Karasuno Vice Captain  smiled softly and placed a hand on the other’s shoulder.

“We just have to wait and see what the doctor’s find. I’m sure if anything is wrong, they’ll be able to fix it.” The gray haired player assured the worried ace.

“Yeah but how long would the recovery be? Would he back in time for anything?” Iwaizumi asked. “I don’t know if I could take his place as captain…I can’t do what he can do.”

“It’s a learning experience. When Daichi became captain, it was very much a learning experience. Even now, he’s still learning.” Daichi, who sat next to Suga, gave a nod.

“Yes. You learn along the way.”

“Yeah I guess…I just don’t want his job forever. He’s someone that can easily fill it.” Iwaizumi replied as he closed his eyes. ‘You better be okay, you idiot. I can’t be the captain. ’

Four hours later…

Oikawa was finally rolled into a room after going under multiple tests. He was finally given some pain medicine for his knee and ice to help the swelling. He also felt a lot better after he was given something for the drop in his blood pressure, but the captain was tired . All he wanted to know were his results and go home for the night. He also wanted Iwaizumi but knew he would have to wait until the doctor gave him his results. He also hoped to be home tonight because he thought he heard them say to possibly keep him overnight because of his blood pressure dropping. He did not want that.

There was a knock on the door before it opened. Turning his head he saw a doctor walk in with what looked to be a chart.

“Good evening…” The doctor quickly looked at the chart. “Oikawa Tooru correct?”

“Yes.”

“Good, didn’t want to give the wrong person their results.” The doctor said as he sat on a rolly chair. “I’m Doctor Imayoshi, I’m the doctor on call. Okay so…you were told what the possibly could be, correct?”

“Nope.”

“Alright then. Well your x-ray showed nothing which is why we had an MRI done and that did in fact show us something.” Dr. Imayoshi started as he opened the chart. “And they’ve shown that you have completely torn your anterior cruciate ligament or ACL.”

Oikawa’s eyes widened. Completely torn his ACL? He…he didn’t believe it. This was a serious injury. A serious sports injury.

“No…” No, all he managed to get out. He was in shock! The doctor nodded his head with a sigh.

“Unfortunately those are the results. And I wish I could have given better news to an athlete like you. But I’m sure you are aware that the one-”

“Way to fix this is by surgery…yeah I know.” Oikawa cut in, already knowing the answer. But he wish he didn’t know the answer. The captain just looked down into his lap.

“Um pardon me, but are you all here for Oikawa Tooru?” A voice asked. Everyone looked up to see a nurse.

“Yes we are.” Coach Mizoguchi answered. All of Aoba Jousai stood up suddenly.

“Are his results in??” Coach Irihanta asked as the nurse gave a nod.

“CAN I SEE HIM??” Iwaizumi exclaimed, making a few members jump in surprise. Including the nurse who gave a nod. The ace rushed toward the room. He couldn’t wait another minute to be by Oikawa’s side. He needed to know what was wrong.

After being pointed in the direction by the nurse; having realized that he had no idea where the room was; he stood in front of the door. Iwaizumi took a deep breath, he couldn’t let Oikawa see he was nervous or that would make him nervous as well. That and the captain would forever remind the ace what kind of expression he had on his face. Taking a few more deep breaths, Iwaizumi gave a nod and opened the door.

Hearing the door open, Oikawa looked up and Dr. Imayoshi looked behind him. Iwaizumi saw a shocked expression on the captain’s face, but that soon changed to pain as the ace entered. The sudden change in expression alerted the ace. Something was wrong.

“I-Iwa-chan…” Oikawa started but was soon hit by emotions as tears started to form in the corners of his eyes. Iwaizumi rushed over to him and held him close. Oikawa returned the embrace and broke down crying into the ace’s shoulder. “Iwa-chan…”

“I’m here now. It’s okay.” Iwaizumi replied as he held the crying captain.

“I will be outside to inform your coaches about the results.” Dr. Imayoshi informed them as Iwaizumi gave a nod. The doctor closed the door and was greeted by three coaches. “Who is Oikawa Tooru’s coach?”

“We are.” Coach Irihanta replied as him and Mizoguchi raised their hands. “What are his results? We’re going crazy here!”

“Well we found nothing on his x-ray but his MRI did.” The doctor started. “But the MRI showed that he has completely torn his anterior cruciate ligament.” All the coaches’ eyes widen.

‘He completely tore his ACL? It’s a complete tear? B-But…wait why didn’t I look into this? I should have asked for a doctor’s note. No the doctor’s report. I knew something was wrong with his knee and I didn’t look into it to prevent something like…like this from happening! ’ Coach Irihata thought to himself. Blaming himself for something he thought he could have prevented if ONLY he had asked for some sort of report.

“And I’m sure you all know what his only option is at this point, correct?” Dr. Imayoshi asked as they nodded. Irihata snapped out of his thoughts.

“Sadly yes we know.” Ukai replied as he crossed his arms. “Kid’s gonna need surgery.”

“That is correct. But we need his caregiver here to schedule his surgery.” The doctor informed them.

“I’ll call his brother.” Coach Mizoguchi said as he walked away to head outside. He entered the waiting room and both teams stood up.

“Well??”

“How is he??”

“It’s a serious injury. He’s torn his ACL. I need to go call his brother.” Mizoguchi briefly explained as he pulled his phone out and walked outside. Leaving both teams in shock.

‘His ACL? That is a serious injury. ’ Daichi thought as he looked at Karasuno, shocked and disbelief expressions on their faces. ‘I feel bad for Aoba Jousai. Their captain is out. And probably for the whole season and to make it worst, he’s a third year. ’

“Alright everyone.” Dr. Imayoshi started as he walked out with the coaches. “Visiting hours are over. We’ll be keeping Oikawa over night just to keep an eye on his blood pressure.”

“Where’s Iwaizumi-san?” Kindaichi asked as the teams started to walk out of the waiting room.

“He’s staying with Oikawa tonight.” Coach Irihata explained. “Him and Oikawa managed to convince the doctor to let him with Oikawa. And I want to say I heard Iwazumi say piss off.”

“Of course he would say that.”

After saying their goodbyes and asking to keep them updated on how Oikawa, Karasuno loaded onto the bus.

“Everyone listen up,” Daichi started as all the players got onto the bus. “We need to talk.”

“What’s the matter, Daichi-san?” Takeda asked as he sat in the driver’s seat.

“About Oikawa’s injury. Everyone is aware of how serious it is correct?” The caption asked.

“Umm…no?” Hinata raised his hand.

“Well first off, it’s a serious knee injury. And in volleyball, you use your knees. Basically it’s an important ligament in our knees that helps to control our movement. When it’s injured like Oikawa’s, it cannot grow back and the only way to repair it is by surgery, which is most likely what is going to happen. The recovery time is long and painful so he will probably be out for the season.” The caption explained.

“And we care why?” Tsukishima asked.

“Because it could happen to any of us.” Daichi answered with a serious expression on his face.

“Which is why,” Ukai cut in. “Tomorrow we’ll be keeping a close eye on everyone’s movements to see what needs to be fix to prevent knee injuries. There’s no way we’re having any of our plays out with a knee injury that could have been prevented.”

“YES SIR!”

Aoba Jousai Gymnasium

“Alright everyone, gather around.” Coach Irihata ordered as the team did so, standing in front of both the coaches. “About Oikawa’s knee injury.”

“How serious is it?”

“Very serious. He will most likely be out for the season.” The head coach explained which made everyone’s mouths drop open. “Before you say anything, his injury will need surgery and he will need a few months to recover. Getting your knee back in order takes time and doesn’t happen over just a week. As much as I would like that, it’s not possible. So be warned…there is a chance we might not make it to nationals this year.”

“We will!” Kindaichi exclaimed. “We’ll make it to nationals and win for Oikawa-san! Show him that we’ll be fine without him when he leaves!”

“We know but that’s why Irihata-san said chance . We might make it and we might not. But while Oikawa is out, Iwaizumi will take his place as Caption. Hanamaki.” Coach Mizoguchi called out.

“Hai.”

“You will be vice captain until then.” Irihata announced

“EH? V-Vice captain?”

“So much for being the calm one of the team.”

“YOU SHUSH!!” Hanamaki hissed after hearing Watari’s comment.

“It’s just for now, like we said.”

“There’s no way I could be vice captain! Iwaizumi does a better job than I do!” Hanamaki exclaimed.

“But Iwazumi is captain right now and we need someone to be vice captain. This is a big change, we know.” Mizoguchi explained. “Do we like this change? No. But we have to accept it for now.”

“Anymore questions, comments or considers?” Irihata asked as the players shook their heads. “Good. Head home and get some rest. Practice will resume tomorrow at normal time.”

Back at the hospital

Oikawa had fallen asleep in Iwaizumi’s arms. It had been an exhausting afternoon and he was finally getting some rest. The ace hadn’t let the captain go since he entered the room, which was about an hour ago. He wasn’t going to let him go, not now, not ever. Iwaizumi heard a knock on the door and Dr. Imayoshi entered.

“I’m sure you’re the only one who hasn’t heard the results yet?” The doctor asked as the ace gave a nod.

“No I haven’t been told.”

“Well he’s torn his ACL.” The doctor replied.

“What? His ACL?” Iwaizumi asked in disbelief as the doctor gave a nod.

“Complete tear.”

“Complete??” Again, the doctor gave a nod. Iwaizumi looked down at Oikawa, sound asleep on his chest.

“We are just waiting for his caregiver to arrive so we can schedule a surgery-”

“Schedule it ASAP. The sooner he can have it, the sooner he can recover and get back on the court.”

“We will keep that in mind. He’ll be released first thing in the morning. Have a good evening.” Iwaizumi wished him a good night too before looking back down at Oikawa.

‘ …Why didn’t I realize something was wrong earlier? Hell why didn’t I stop him from playing today! Why didn’t I stop him? Just…damn it I’m an idiot! If I had stopped him from playing, he wouldn’t have torn his ACL! Damn it! ’

“Mmm…Iwa-chan.” Snapping out of his thoughts, Iwaizumi looked down to see Oikawa cuddling closer to him. Letting out a sigh, Iwazumi smiled softly and held him close.

“I’ll be by your side the whole time, babe. It’ll be a tough road but we’ll get through it together. I promise.” He whispered before kissed the top of the captain’s head.

One week later

The surgery had been scheduled for a week later and it’s been a tough week for Oikawa. Accepting the fact he had torn his ACL and going to have surgery to repair it was hard. He didn’t want to accept it because of how long the recovery was going to be. When he returned to school the day after he was released from the hospital, he was quiet. He wasn’t his usual bubbly self. Everyone, especially the girls, came up to him and wished him luck on his surgery. He put on a small smile for them, but it only reminded him that his surgery would be coming soon.

He had a meeting with his teachers to inform them that he would be out for about a week because of the surgery and asked if Iwaizumi could bring him his work after school. The teachers agreed that they would give all his work to Iwaizumi. They also wished him luck on the operation and a quick recovery. After his meeting with the teachers, he heard one make a comment saying, “ Now that he’ll be out of volleyball for a while, he can focus on his studies. ” He wasn’t all to happy to hear that comment; he had good grades and was in advanced classes. Even if he was out of volleyball for a while, that wasn’t going to stop him from helping the team out with practice.

Speaking of the team, it was tough walking into the gym every day. Knowing he couldn’t play was hard. Sitting on the bench and watching the others play made him antsy. He was desperate to get back on the court, but he knew how little of a chance he had. He just HAD to get injured during his third year, his final year playing for Aoba Jousai. During practice, he would help the coaches coach the team, point out the mistakes and tell them how to fix it. That was the hard part. Having to explain something instead of showing. But he had to do everything he could to not involve his knee. He also watched how Iwaizumi and Hanamaki took up their new roles. They both struggled, neither of them were used to this. Especially Hanamaki who never had this type of new responsibility before. But Iwaizumi was slowly adjusting.

It was the night before he was going to be admitted into the hospital and just two days before his surgery. He was in his room, Iwaizumi with him. It was Saturday night and the two had just come home from volleyball practice. Since finding out about the surgery, Iwaizumi planned to stay the week and help Oikawa at night since the ace had to go to school and practice. How else was the captain supposed to say on top of his studies while recovering?

“Uhhhhhh. Coach killed us today.” Iwazumi groaned as he leaned his head against the bed, seeing that he was sitting on the floor. Oikawa laid in bed reading Volleyball Monthly. “Anything good in there? Has the breaking news of your surgery reached them?”

“No. But I’m sure it will after the surgery.” The captain replied with a sigh.

“Oi, I’ve told you a hundred times, don’t worry about the surgery. We’re going-”

“This whole week I haven’t been able to accept it.” Oikawa cut in.

“Accept what?”

“The surgery. The whole week I haven’t been able to accept it and…” Iwaizumi turned around and his eyes widened. Tears were falling from Oikawa’s eyes. “It finally hit me just now that I’m going to have surgery in two days. I’m being admitted tomorrow night and have surgery the next day. I’m not going to be able to play volleyball for who knows how long. Or even if I’ll be able to for the remainder of the year! I screwed up and now I’ll probably be never able to play the same way again.”

He covered his eyes as emotions overflowed him. Iwaizumi had seen Oikawa cry before but this…this was different. The future about whether or not he’d be able to play again with Aoba Jousai before they graduated was unknown at this moment. Recovery was going to take six to nine months. Iwaizumi stood up and took the emotional captain into his arms, holding him as tight as possible.

“You listen to me and you better listen well, Bakakawa. You will play again, you understand me? You’ll work hard in therapy but you better not overwork yourself, you hear me? Don’t ever think that you’ll never be able to play volleyball again because you will. And you better come back because I can’t take being captain for the rest of the year. No way in hell. That’s your job! Listen…you’re going to come back stronger than ever and help us win Nationals, okay? While you recover, we’re going to get Aoba Jousai to nationals this year and you’re going to be there, leading us and showing everyone that no matter what is thrown in your way, we’ll always come back stronger than ever!” Iwazumi exclaimed. “We need our captain.”

Oikawa listened to the ace and every single word that he said…he was right. Oikawa was going to be able play volleyball again. He was going to return as Aoba Jousai’s captain. He was going to lead them when they went to nationals. He was going to be twice as strong than he already is. He sniffled and laid his head on Iwaizumi’s shoulder and hid his face in the ace’s neck. “What would I do without you, Iwa-chan?”

“Hell if I know.” That made Oikawa chuckle.

Aoba Jousai Gymnasium

“Iwa-chan, what are we doing here?” Oikawa asked as the two walked toward the gym. It was the next day and the night that Oikawa was going to be admitted into the hospital for surgery the next day. The captain was nervous but for some reason, Iwazumi asked to stop by the school for some reason.

“I forgot something in the gym after practice. I wanted to grab it before we left for the hospital. It’ll be quick I promise.”

“And you asked me to come why?”

“Well coach wanted to wish you luck before you went in so that’s why.” Iwazumi explained as they arrived to the gym. “Like I said, it’ll be quick and we’ll be on our way to the hospital in no time.”

“Take your time actually, I’d rather not rush to get there.” Oikawa admitted.

“Alright well come on. We can’t be standing out here all day.” And with that said, the two entered the gym.

“About time you two showed up!” A familiar voice chimed. Looking up, Oikawa eyes widen. All of Aoba Jousai was standing before him ALONG with Karasuno.

“W-What’s going on?”

“Isn’t it obvious?” Iwazumi asked as he crossed his arms. “They’re here to wish you luck for tomorrow.”

“I-I can understand our team but… Karasuno too?”

“We were there when you injured yourself,” Daichi started “It was only right for us to send you off along with your team.”

“And we aren’t the only ones.” Suga added as he and Watari held up three envelopes while walking over to the captain. The captain took the envelopes and opened them up.

‘Oikawa! Wish you a speedy recovery and hope to see you on the court again! ~Nekoma High ’

‘Don’t let your knee injury prevent you from playing a future game with us!! Best of luck! ~Fukurodani Academy ’

‘Wishing the best of luck on your upcoming surgery and long recovery. Come back soon so you can face the Iron Wall with your stronger knee. ~Date Tech High ’

Pictures of Nekoma, Fukurodani and Date Tech were in the envelopes, wishing him good luck on his surgery. He wasn’t aware of that the news of his surgery had spread so fast. Oikawa read over them again until he became overwhelmed by emotions once more. He had no idea he had this much support behind him. Looking up to both teams, he bowed.

“Tha-thank you everyone. You…you don’t know how much this means to me.” Oikawa thanked all of them as a few tears fell from his eyes as he bowed. Seeing someone step forward, he straightened up to see Kageyama.

“Oikawa-san,” Kageyama started before he bowed before him. “Please recover soon and return to the court so we may play against each other again!” Oikawa whiped a tear away and gave a nod.

“I’ll come back as fast as I can.” Oikawa agreed with a nod and thumbs up. “I’ll be looking forward to the day when we can play again, Tobio-chan.”

“GOOD LUCK OIKAWA-SAN!!” Aoba Jousai and Karasuno bowed.

Hospital

“Alright and there! IV is in.” A nurse said as she announced that she had placed in Oikawa’s IV. “Now you get comfortable and just relax.”

“Thank you for taking care of my brother.” Oikawa’s older brother thanked as the nurse bowed before leaving. “You look miserable.”

“And you look like you aged another ten years.”

“Nice glasses, where do you teach?”

“Somewhere where it pays better than your current job.”

“Are you two always like this?” Iwaizumi asked as he sat next to Oikawa who gave a nod.

“Yeah, he likes to make fun of me when I look miserable.”

“Oh so 24/7.”

“So mean Iwa-chan!” Oikawa pouted as his older brother laughed as he sat down.

“Alright, remember what the nurse said. Relax and try to get as much rest as you can because tomorrow is the bad day. You two watch TV, no making out. I’ve got some work to do so I’ll be doing that. Oh by the way, Irihata-san handed this to me. He forgot to give it to one of the players to give to you.” Oikawa took the envelope and opened it.

‘Many will say to return to the court fast and for a speedy recovery. We wish you the best of luck in your recovery from your ACL surgery. ~Shiratorizawa ’

Just in the corner, Oikawa saw something what looked erased. He looked closer and only chuckled when he made out the fainted words, ‘You should have come to Shiratorizawa. ’

“Aww Ushiwaka-chan, even when I’m in pain you still manage to remind me that I should have come to your school.” Oikawa smiled and he leaned his head against Iwaizumi who chuckled.

“Managed to get his famous words in?” Iwaizumi looked as he looked at the picture.

“Looks like it but he was probably told to erase it.”

“Of course.”

The next morning

“Take slow deep breaths, Tooru. We don’t need you to pass out before surgery.” It was the next morning, just a little before eight in the morning. The nurses were getting Oikawa ready to head into the back. But as the time came closer and closer, the more nervous he became. He barely slept last night, the thought of something going wrong during the surgery kept him up all night. Iwaizumi did his best to calm the worried captain down before sleep took over him and only then  did his nerves become worse. He felt sick and as if he was going to pass out.

“Oi it’ll be okay.” Iwazumi added as he rubbed Oikawa’s hands. “The doctor’s will take care of you. Nothing’s going to go wrong. Just keep taking deep breaths and you’ll be fine.”

“I can’t help but be nervous.” Oikawa whispered as they heard a knock on the door before it opened.

“Good morning. Oikawa Tooru?” The caption nervously nodded. “I’m Doctor Kasamatsu, I’ll be your surgeon.” Oikawa gave a nod. The doctor went over how the operation will go and how long the surgery itself will take. Just the basic information, but Oikawa didn’t listen. He just held onto Iwaizumi’s hand and squeezed it. “And which knee is it?”

“Right knee.” Iwaizumi answered.

“Alright,” Dr. Kasamatsu answered as he took a marker out. “If you would please remove the blanket that’s covering your right knee, Oikawa-san, so I can mark it.” The captain did what he was told and his knee was marked.

“We should be getting ready to bring him back within the next couple of minutes. I will go check on my team and a nurse will come get you when we’re ready okay?” The three of them nodded and the doctor left.

“I feel like I’m gonna be sick.”

“Don’t throw up before you have surgery or they’ll have to push it back.” His brother commented as he rubbed his little brother’s back.

“I don’t want to go through this.”

“And neither do we but it’s your only option if you want to get back to playing volleyball. Us, Karasuno, Nekoma, Fukurodani, Date Tech and Shiratorizawa are expecting you to go through this surgery and make a recovery so you can play again. Don’t forget, we’re aiming for nationals and you’re going to lead us.” Iwaizumi reminded him as the nervous captain took a deep breath and slowly let it out. It was the final few minutes before he was going to be brought in.

“Are we going to go eat after he goes back?” Iwaizumi randomly asked.

“OI! Don’t talk about food!! I haven’t eaten since last night!” Oikawa hissed.

“Well we aren’t having surgery so we can eat.”

“So mean, Onii-chan!” The brunette pouted as his older brother patted his head.

“Hey I have to give my little brother a hard time before he goes back.”

“Still mean.” Oikawa pouted. The door opened and a nurse came in.

“We’re ready for you. Here’s a surgical hat for you to put on and then we can head into the back.” The nurse informed him as she handed him the hat. Oikawa’s older brother helped put the hat on as he could see his brother shaking a little.

“Alright little bro,” His brother started as he hugged him. “We’ll see you in a few hours okay? Don’t worry about a thing and enjoy your nap because whoa do you have some bags under your eyes.” Oikawa gave a nod as the two let go. Iwaizumi bent down and kissed the brunette on the forehead before hugging his head.

“You’ll be fine, alright? No need to panic. I’ll be by your side when you wake up okay? I promise you.” Iwazumi whispered as Oikawa gave another nod. Already feeling the tears. They pulled apart and the ace whipped the tears. “You’ll do great okay?”

“Okay.” Iwaizumi leaned down again and gave him another kiss on his cheek before leaning his forehead against his head. “I love you, Tooru.”

“I love you too.”

“Alright you lovebirds, as much as I don’t want to ruin your moment, he has to go into the back.”

“You showing up ruined the moment.”

“OI!” Oikawa and Iwaizumi chuckled. The nurse pushed the bed out the room and the ace held the captain’s hand until the last moment where they had to let go. The two watched as Oikawa was rolled into the operation room.

“He’ll be okay. They know what they’re doing. They trained for this.”

“Yeah I know.” The ace answered as he turned around, his hands going into his pockets. “Let’s go get something to eat. I’m starving.”

“Sounds like a plan.” He agreed as the two went to cafeteria. Iwazumi looked back at the door, the light was still off.

‘I promise I’ll be by your side when you wake up. I’ll make sure of it. ’

In the operation room

A block was put on his leg, which took about ten minutes, and once that was done, he was rolled into the operation room.

‘I’ll be by your side when you wake up okay? I promise you. ’ Iwaizumi’s promise echoed through his head as he entered the room.

‘You better keep your promise, Iwa-chan. I’m expecting you there. ’ Oikawa thought as the anesthesiologist placed the mask over his face.

Then Oikawa closed his eyes.

Chapter Text

Waking up out of a deep slumber, he slowly opened his eyes.

Oikawa’s vision was blurry; he couldn’t tell where he was at all. Was he still in surgery or was he out? The room wasn’t bright but dark; so maybe he was out of surgery? Or did it just end and they were preparing to move him into recovery? Letting out a groan, he squeezed his eyes shut. Man was he feeling tired. Who knew surgery could make you feel so sleepy. Even if you didn’t do anything the whole time.

“Hey, good morning sunshine.” He heard someone whispered as that same someone softly stroked his cheek. Who was by his side? He turned toward the direction of the voice and touch to see someone standing next to him. Above him stood a blurry figure with spiky dark hair standing next to him. The figure caressing Oikawa’s cheek slowly came into vision.

Iwaizumi stood there with a gentle smile on his face as he watched Oikawa start to wake up.  “I kept my promise, didn’t I?”

“I-Iwa-chan?” The captain asked as the ace nodded while he moved his hand from Oikawa’s cheek to his forehead.

“Hey.” Iwazumi whispered again.  “You’re out of surgery.”

“I-I am?” Oikawa asked as the ace gave a nod as he looked at the clock.

“Yeah about an hour ago. Doctor said he was able to fix everything.” He explained as he stroked the top of the captain’s head. “You did great.”

“You…you kept your promise.” Oikawa whispered as the ace chuckled and bent down, placing a kiss on the captain’s forehead.

“I told you I would, didn’t I?” The dark brunette stated with a chuckle. “How are you feeling?”

“Exhausted.”

“Yeah I can imagine, you just came out of a three hour surgery. Get some rest, we should be getting the discharge papers soon and we can head home.” The aced explained.

“Where’s…Onii-chan?” The captain asked, noticing his brother wasn’t in the room. The brunette should be getting sleep and he was feeling his eyes grow heavier by the minute, but he needed to know where his older brother was.

“He just left to take a call. He’ll be back in a few minutes. Get some rest, Tooru. You look tired. I’ll be here when you wake up.” The captain finally gave a nod and began to close his eyes again. Iwaizumi watched as Oikawa fell asleep just as his brother came back in.

“Has he woken up yet?”

“Yeah he just woke up, but he went back to sleep.” Iwaizumi answered as he looked up Oikawa’s older brother.

“How’s he feeling?” Oikawa’s brother asked as he walked over and placed a hand on his brother’s forehead.

“Tired. So I told him to go back to sleep.” The ace answered as the brother moved the blanket that covered his brother’s leg to reveal a blocky brace that went up to his thigh and down to his ankle. The brother let out a whistle.

“I’ll be damned. How long does he have to wear this?”

“Probably a few months.” The ace guessed as he watched the brother cover his leg back up.

“I should probably go see when he’s getting discharged. Make sure his things are packed and ready to leave, Hajime.” Iwaizumi gave a nod as he stood up to double-check everything in Oikawa’s bag. Everything was in there, but he did a quick search through the room and bathroom. They had everything. The dark brunette walked back over to his sleeping boyfriend and grabbed his hand. Squeezing it and placing a kiss on the top of his hand.

‘ He looks exhausted for someone who just came out. Can’t image what kind of pain he’s gonna be in once that block wears off. ’ Iwaizumi thought as he laid his head to the side and stroked Oikawa’s forehead. ‘ But I’ll be by your side this whole week to help you out. ’

Half an hour passed and a nurse entered with a wheelchair and coming up behind her was Oikawa’s brother. “Alright, discharge papers have been signed and he is free to go.”

“Well first we have to wake him up.” His brother commented as he noted his brother was still asleep. Iwazumi, the closest to the sleeping setter, gently started to shake him.

“Oi time to get up. Oikawa, you need to get up. You’re being discharged.” Iwazumi only received a grunt in response. The ace knew this would probably happen because of how tired he was. “Oi, don’t make me hit you.”

“Mmmm…so mean Iwa-chan.” Oikawa groaned in his sleep.

“Oi, you’re asking for it. You might be crippled but that won't stop me from hitting you upside your head!”

“Oh that won’t be necessary, dear.” The nurse said as she walked up and picked up Oikawa’s hand, the one that had the IV. “I’ll wake him up.”

The nurse removed the tape that was over the needle and slowly removed the needle from his hand. Oikawa hissed as he felt the needle leave his hand. Thanks to the burning feeling, the captain opened his tired eyes.

“Good morning sunshine. Enjoyed your nap?” The nurse asked as she placed a bandage over Oikawa’s hand. The captain whined.

“Oh be careful, nurse. His skin bruises easily.” Oikawa heard his brother comment and if he wouldn’t be so tired, he would have made a comment. But he groaned and laid his head against Iwaizumi who could see just how tired he was. “Wow you weren’t kidding, he does look exhausted.”

“If you could please grab the clothes he came in and we’ll get him up and into the wheelchair.” Iwazumi reached back for the bag, pulling out his Aoba Josai t-shirt and a pair of PJ bottoms that had aliens all over. The ace handed them both to Oikawa’s brother who was the one who was going to help dress the setter. Iwaizumi slowly helped the captain sit up and very gently helped him move his bad leg.

“How much pain medicine did they give you? You look out of it.” His brother commented as he helped putting the t-shirt on, but only received a groan in response.

“His nurse in the recovery room said he had three shots and asking for a Mr. Iwa-chan.” The nurse replied while she walked over with the crutches and passed Iwazumi who looked away as he blushed.

‘ He probably won’t remember waking up but…he really did ask for me? ’ Iwazumi thought as he crossed his arms.

“Well no wonder he looks out of it. Oi, Tooru, are you ready to leave?” The brother asked as Oikawa blinked but gave a nod. “Alright. I’m going to help you stand up and you’re going to walk to the wheelchair all right? Hajime will help you sit down and we’ll go home. Takeru is waiting for his Uncle Tooru to come home.”

The captain just gave a nod and on the count of three, his brother helped him up. The crutches were placed under his arms and slowly, the nurse instructed him how to walk: Crutches first, then feet. It took a few minutes but Oikawa made his way to his boyfriend who took the crutches and slowly helped him down into the seat. As soon as he sat down, Oikawa leaned back against the back of the wheelchair while Iwazumi fixed the footplate for him.

“Alright, we are set!” The nurse informed as the ace stood up and took the captain’s bag from his brother. They followed the nurse out of the room, Oikawa looked like he had fallen back asleep but was probably just resting his eye. The ace only chuckled as they walked outside, Oikawa’s brother already ahead of them to pick up his car to return them home.

“So do the two of you play for Aoba Johsai’s volleyball team?” The nurse asked as Iwaizumi looked back at her and gave a nod.

“Um yes we both do.” He answered as she gave a nod.

“I’m sure it’s going to be hard for him to not be able to play for a few months. But if he’s determined to get back on the court, he’ll fight his way back there.” The nurse replied as the car drove up. Iwazumi nudged the tired captain who opened his eyes and saw they were outside.

“Oi, when we get home, you can sleep as much as you’d like.” Iwazumi commented as Oikawa just gave a nod.

“Alright, once he gets home, make sure he doesn’t take the brace off for two weeks. Keep his stitches dry, don’t let them get wet. Also when he gets home, make sure he eats something light, such as a soup. Anything heavy such as a sandwich, you’ll be seeing it again later on.” The nurse explained to the brother as Iwazumi helped Oikawa get comfortable in the front seat and buckling him up. “If he has any problems, please do not hesitate to call us.”

“I will. Thank you for taking care of my brother today.” He thanked as the two bowed. “Alright he in?”

“Yes.”

“Alright, let’s head home!”

As soon as they arrived home, Oikawa was helped up to his room and the moment his head hit his pillow, he was out like a light. Iwaizumi had left for just a minute to grab some pillows to elevate his leg when he saw Oikawa already asleep. The ace only chuckled and elevated the captain’s leg who let out a whine. But he stayed asleep.

‘ Probably doesn’t want to be moved for a while. The block isn’t supposed to wear off for another eight hours. Oh boy, that isn’t going to be pleasant. ’ Iwaizumi thought as he turned the lights and laid next to Oikawa. The ace didn’t get much sleep last night because he was up trying to calm the captain down and roughly got about four hours of sleep. He tried to nap during the three-hour surgery, but the chairs were uncomfortable and his phone kept going off every fifteen minutes. Throughout the day, Karasuno, Nekoma, Fukurodani, Date Tech and Aoba Johsai have all been texting the vice-captain for updates on Oikawa. He pulled out his phone and saw he received a few texts from the captains of the teams and decided it was time for the last update of the day.

Alright this is the last update for the day. Oikawa is home now and as soon as he got into bed he went to sleep. Anyone from Aoba Johsai that wants to come visit, come sometime after practice. Not sure how long he’ll sleep. We’re supposed to get word soon when he starts therapy but that won’t be until probably tomorrow. Now I’m off to sleep. It’s been a long day.

-Iwaizumi

The ace put his phone back in his pocket and snuggled up to Oikawa, taking him into his arms before falling asleep immediately.

“I’m home!” Takeru called out as he walked in through the door and took off his shoes.

“Welcome home, sport!” Looking up, Takeru saw his Father leaning up against the wall. “How was school?”

“Is Tooru home?? How is he feeling?? Did they take anything off?? Does he still have his leg??” The eager child asked as the man chuckled while looking at his watch.

“Yeah he’s home. We got home about three hours ago. He’s pretty tired at the moment and I’m sure he’s still asleep at the moment. I went to check on him and Hajime about an hour after we got home and they were both asleep.” His Father explained. “And no, they didn’t take anything and yes he still has his leg. They did surgery inside his knee.”

“So he didn’t get his leg removed?”

“Nope. Just had his knee repaired. Why don’t you go see if he and Hajime are awake? I’m sure Tooru will be happy to see you.”

“Okay!”

“BUT,” Takeru stopped as he rushed up the stairs and turned around to his Father. “Don’t touch his leg. You’ll know which one it is because it has a huge brace. Can’t miss it.”

“I won’t!” The child rushed back up the stairs and headed to his uncle’s room. Cracking the door open slightly, Takeru looked in and saw his uncle and Iwaizumi in bed and fast asleep. The child opened the door just a bit more and stuck his head in.

“Tooru?” He whispered. What he expected was not receiving an answer. But…

“Hmmm?” Tooru’s voice came. Slowly, he opened his eyes and blinked a few times. Takeru softly gasped and rushed over to his uncle’s side. “Mm? Takeru, good morning.”

“It’s not morning anymore, Tooru. It’s afternoon!”

“Hmmm? It is?” Has he been asleep all day? He had no idea. But a small smile crossed his face when the captain turned his head and saw his nephew. “Can you turn on the lamp for me?”

Click

“Are you okay, Tooru? You look really sleepy.” Takeru asked as he took note on how tired Oikawa looked, despite being asleep for three hours. The captain chuckled and patted his nephew’s head.

“I’m okay, just still very tired. But I’m glad I got to see you.” Oikawa replied with a smile. “I haven’t seen you since I left last night. How was school?”

“It was good. OH!” Digging into his book bag, the child pulled out a piece of paper and handed it to him. “For you! I drew it today!”

Chuckling, Oikawa took it and saw it was a childish drawing that said ‘ Get well soon Tooru! ’ “I wanted to make you something to help you get better faster!”

“I appreciate it, Takeru. This makes me happy.” Oikawa smiled as he patted his nephew’s head. “I’ll get Iwa-chan to put it on my board when he gets up, okay?”

The child gave a nod as he watched his uncle place his card on the nightstand next to him. They both heard a groan that came from Iwaizumi who sat up and gave a yawn.

“Oi, why is the lamp on? Why are you awake?” Iwazumi questioned as he looked down to Oikawa who smiled tiredly at him.

“Takeru is home.”

“Yo!”

“Yo. What time is it?” Iwaizumi greeted as he dug into his pants and brought out his phone.

3:37pm

“Three thirty. Well we had a nice nap. Wonder if the team is coming to visit.” Iwazumi wondered as he checked his messages.

“I’m going to tell Dad you’re up, Tooru!” Takeru commented as Oikawa chuckled while rubbing his eyes.

“Eh if you want. But I’m probably going to end up falling asleep again soon, Takeru.”

“Oi, you need to eat something before you fall back asleep.” Iwaizumi commented as he looked down at the captain. “You haven’t eaten since last night and need to get your energy back.”

“Fine, but at least let me get a little bit more sleep, Iwa-chan. I’m still so tired.” Oikawa whined as he gave a pouty face toward the ace who was busy reading his messages.

“Alright fine, but you’re going to take a quick nap and then eat. The team is coming over after practice to see how you’re doing.”

“Sounds,” Oikawa gave a yawn. “Like a plan.”

“Should I tell dadl to start making dinner, Hajime?” Iwaizumi gave a nod as he closed his phone.

“Yeah go on. By the time he wakes up I know he’ll be hungry.” Takeru gave a nod and rushed out the room, closing the door behind him. Iwaizumi leaned over the captain, who had fallen back asleep, and turned the lamp off. He also lay back down and snuggled him close, burying his face into the captain’s shoulder.

A few hours later

“Oi, what did you first years get for Oikawa?” Hanamaki asked as they all prepared to head over to visit Oikawa. Practice had ended and they just finished cleaning up the gym.

“Huh? We just got him a bear dressed as a doctor.” Kindaichi replied as Kunimi held up the brown bear dressed in a surgeon’s outfit that had a balloon attached to it with, ‘ Get Well Soon! ’ written on it.

“Good. Second years, what did you get?” The wing spiker asked as Mad Dog held up a basket.

“Kyoutani’s Mom baked him some goods last night so this is his gift from us! Oh and also a card that Yahaba picked up during lunch.” Watari answered as Yahaba held up a card.

“What did the third years get for him?” Yahaba asked as Matsukawa held up a bear dressed in a volleyball uniform that held a ball.

“We saw this on the way to school this morning. So we got it.” Matsukawa replied.

“Is the coach sending him anything?” Watari asked as Yahaba nodded and held up an envelope.

“They’re sending the card with us. Come on, let’s go. Iwaizumi-san said he’s awake now and doesn’t know how much more longer he’ll be up.” The setter replied as the team gave a nod, packed up the rest of their things and headed to Oikawa’s home.

Iwaizumi had just brought down his and Oikawa’s dishes when he heard a knock at the door. Handing the tray off to Takeru; who wanted to help as much as possible, he went to the door. Opening it, a smirk crossed his face when he saw Aoba Johsai in the doorway.

“Yo, he just finished eat-”

“Oi! There’s the team.” Oikawa’s brother cut in as he walked up. “Tooru is in his room. You’re all welcomed to come visit him whenever you like.” The team bowed and thanked him.

“Alright follow me. How’d practice go?” Iwaizumi asked as the team removed their shoes and followed the ace up the stairs. Matsukawa and Hanamaki filled him in on how practice went, what they still need to work on, the improvements they’ve seen and the drills they ran. Walking up to the door, Iwaizumi gave one knock and walked in.

“You have visitors.” He announced as Oikawa looked up and saw the team walk in. Somehow managing to fit into his room.

“How are you feeling, Oikawa-san?” Kindaichi asked as him and the first years sat on the floor.

“Tired.”

“How’s the pain?”

“I actually don’t feel anything right now. They put a block on me so I can’t feel anything.” Oikawa explained with a chuckle.

“But that block should wear off sometime tonight and you will be in a lot of pain.”

“Don’t remind me, Iwa-chan.” The captain pouted.

“Well as much as we’d like to stay longer, we’re going to have to get going soon. But we brought you get well soon gifts and all the years brought you something different.” Matsukawa explained as the first years stood up and presented him with his bear.

“Aww look how cute it is.” Oikawa commented as he accepted the bear. “Iwa-chan, look it’s your twin.”

“OI!” As much as he wanted to hit him right then and there, Iwazumi held it back because later on, Oikawa would be in a lot of pain. The second years stood up and presented their present to Iwazumi.

“This is for everyone, but Kyoutani’s Mom made these for Oikawa.” Watari explained as the ace looked in the basket.

“And this is a card from us also.” Yahaba added as he handed that to Oikawa who opened it.

“Please tell her we said thank you. But he won’t be eating this until tomorrow just because we were told he needed to eat something light.” The ace explained as Kyoutani gave a nod.

“I will pass it on to her. She will be grateful to hear that.” Kyoutani answered as Oikawa finished reading the note in the card.

“Thank you all for the card. Definitely something I’m keeping near me when I’m having a rough day.” Oikawa smiled as he placed it next to his nephew’s card.

“Alright now our turn.” Hanamaki said as him and Matsukawa stood up and presented him with the second bear. Oikawa smiled and accepted it.

“Also, the coach told us to give you this.” Matsukawa added as he handed him the envelope. Smiling at his teammates, Oikawa gave a nod.

“Thank you everyone. I do appreciate you all coming to visiting and the gifts are very thoughtful. I’ll do my best to get back onto the court as soon as possible!”

It was the middle of the night, roughly around two in the morning. The house was silent, everyone fast asleep. Oikawa and Iwaizumi were both asleep, Iwazumi holding onto Oikawa who was suddenly awakened. Blinking a few times, the reason why he suddenly woke up became clear to him.

He needed to use the bathroom.

“Mmmmm…Iwa-chan,” Oikawa whispered as he nudged his sleeping boyfriend. “Iwa-chan.”

“Hmm?” Slowly, the ace woke up and looked up at Oikawa. “Hm? What is it?”

“I need help getting up. I need to go to the bathroom.” Iwazumi gave a nod while he yawned, sitting up and crawling out of bed. Oikawa turned on the lamp to help the ace find his crutches better. As Iwazumi grabbed the crutches, he heard a sharp gasp come from Oikawa. Turning forward the captain, the vice-captain saw Oikawa grasping onto the brace, his eyes closed and biting down onto his lip.

“Tooru?!” The ace rushed over to his side and kneeled down, taking one of the captain’s hands into his, squeezing it. “What’s wrong? Tell me what happened. Take a deep breath and slowly let it out. I can tell you’re hurting.”

“I-It hurts so much, Iwa-chan.” Oikawa whispered, taking a deep breath before looking at Iwaizumi. “I think I moved wrong.”

“Here, let me get you your pain medicine and some water. I’ll be right back.” Iwaizumi replied as the ace rushed downstairs to grab a bottle of water. He made it back in record time and opened the bottle after he handed the medicine to the captain.

“Here, this should help you with the pain.” Iwaizumi said as he checked the time and wrote it down while Oikawa popped the pain medicine in his mouth and washed it down with water. “…Are you okay? Do you need anything else? Should I go get your brother?”

“I’m fine, Iwa-chan. I think I just moved wrong.” Oikawa answered as he finished taking another sip of his water.

“Okay good. Don’t think I could get any sleep while in the hospital again. Damn that was a nightmare.” The ace commented as he crawled back into bed.

“Yeah the beds were uncomfortable. But um…Iwa-chan?”

“What?”

“I still need to go to the bathroom.”

“…Oh right. Sorry. Here.” Iwaizumi remembered as he got up to get the crutches. Oikawa gave a small giggle.

“Thank you Iwa-chan.”

Three weeks later

“So how did therapy go this morning?” Iwazumi asked as he met with Oikawa outside of his class at the end of the day. The captain walked out with his crutches, someone carrying his bag out for him and handing it to Iwazumi as the two headed toward the gym.

“It went well.” Oikawa answered as they reached the stairs. The ace went down a few steps before he stopped and let the captain get onto his back. Since going down the stairs wasn’t such a good idea, Iwazumi offered, well more like demanded, to carry the captain up and down the stairs.

“So what did you do?”

“I was only there maybe for about an hour and we didn’t do a lot actually.” Oikawa explained as he laid his head on his boyfriend’s shoulder. “I got on this exercise bike and they told me to go as far as my knee will let me.”

“How far was that?”

“Not that far. Barely. But I had to do that for ten minutes, both forwards and backwards. Then there was this table I had to lay on and push myself up. I think I did that for ten minutes too. And then he gave me like a shock therapy treatment for a little bit while he went to look after his other patients.”

“Shock therapy?”

“Yeah it was weird. And then the last thing he did was massage my knee which was relaxing a little. But then…he bent my knee.”

“Ouch. That couldn’t have been pleasant.”

“You have no idea how much it hurt.” Oikawa whined as they came down to the first floor. Slowly, the ace put the captain down on the floor gently and handed him his crutches before the two continued towards the gym.

“So how many times a week will you be going?” Iwaizumi asked as he held the door open for the captain.

“Three times a week after school starting next week. So I won’t be able to attend practice for those three days.” He explained as he entered. “Thank you Iwa-chan.” He smiled.

“Doing what I can to help you. Better go tell the coach about next week. I’m going to get changed.”

“I am. Besides, my goal is to be back by Inter-High.” Oikawa answered as Iwazumi stopped and looked over his shoulder.

“You do realize Inter-High is next month right? Are you going to be even be able to get down the stairs by then? Yet along spike?” The ace questioned. It was May and he was aiming to come back by Inter-High? That only made a month difference from here and then.

“Hmmm…yup!”

“Oi, you listen here and listen to me closely, Tooru,” Iwaizumi started as he walked back over to the captain. Iwaizumi was usually serious, but when he used Oikawa’s first name, he was very serious. “You better not overwork yourself trying to fix your knee or you’ll cause more problems. Look, we all want you back by Inter-High, but is it possible? No, that’s less than two months after your surgery.”

“Don’t worry about me, Iwa-chan. Just focus on getting ready for Inter-High. I promise I won’t overwork myself.”

“Look, you need to take is slow. Slow and steady wins the race.” The ace placed a hand on the setter’s shoulder, squeezing it tight. “You focus getting back to the court safe and with a stronger knee. Not an unstable knee.”

Iwazumi turned and walked into the locker room to change for practice.

Chapter Text

Two months post surgery

It was the final week before Inter-High and Aoba Jousai was squeezing in as much time as they could. This year they were going to beat Shiratorizawa Academy; losing was not an option. For the past eight weeks, Oikawa did his best to help out the coaches; looking what needed to be worked on and what was fine; who were their strongest and weakest players.

But also for the past eight weeks, the captain had been attending physical therapy for his knee. His goal was to return to the court for the Inter-High Preliminaries and everyone knew that. Did they believe him? The first years had faith, second years had some faith but the third years and coaches didn’t. It was too soon, just two months after his ACL surgery; his knee still needed time to heal. The captain had just gotten off his crutches a month ago and still needed help down the stairs.

Everyone knew just how bad Oikawa wanted to return to the court, they all wanted him back, but in reality, it was too soon.

It was a rather hot summer Wednesday morning; Oikawa was going in late to school because of his two-month post surgery appointment with his doctor. The captain hoped that the doctor would take his brace off and give him the okay to start training again.

“Oi Tooru, you need to take it slow.” His brother said while driving him to his appointment. “I know you want to get back on the court ASAP, but I don’t think Dr. Kasamatsu will let you start training.”

“Onii-chan,” Oikawa whined. “Have some faith!”

“I do have faith. Faith that it’ll get through your thick skull that it’s too early.”

“So I guess that means you have a thick skull too then.” The captain smirked.

“ Tooru. ” His brother said in a tone that told the captain to stop.

“Well we’ll see what the doctor says then.”

“I’m telling you what he’s going to say. It’s too early!”

“Oh Iwa-chan sent me a text.” Oikawa announced as he felt his phone vibrate, seeing Iwaizumi sent him a text.

‘ Good luck at the doctors. Better not get your hopes up. Tell me when you get back. –Iwaizumi ’

“Tooru, please listen to me.” His brother sighed as the captain texted the vice-captain back. They just pulled up to the hospital and his brother placed a hand on top of Oikawa’s. “I know how much volleyball means to you. I really do. I mean I played it back when I was in high school, Takeru is starting to play volleyball; you’re coaching him! But understand that you’ve only been in therapy for a little over five weeks. You just got off your crutches, which is great, but you still need help getting down the stairs. All I’m saying is don’t get your hopes up.”

Oikawa didn’t say a word but looked away while looking down. Deep down he knew, his brother was right. It was too early, but he just wanted to return as soon as possible. Sitting on the sidelines was driving him insane and he couldn’t keep trying to describe how to properly do something without showing the other plays how to do it. Letting out a sigh, he opened the car door. “I know.”

After getting an x-ray of his knee, they were brought back to a room to wait for the doctor. Tooru ended up playing on his phone while his brother looked over some papers he brought with him.

Knock knock

“Good morning, Tooru-san.” Dr. Kasamatsu entered the room, greeting Oikawa and giving a nod to his brother. “How are you doing this morning?”

“Good. Tired.” Oikawa answered as he put his phone up as the doctor quickly read over his notes.

“So I talked to your physical therapist and he says things are going good with the therapy. He says he’s adding to your menu for your therapy.”

“Oh wonderful. Has he taken the massages off yet? Those are the worst.”

“Nope.”

“Damn it.”

“Tooru.”

“What? They are! It hurts when he bends it.” Oikawa pouted.

“Stop whining. It can’t be that bad.”

“You try having surgery on your knee, keeping it straight for three weeks and having it bent for the first time since then.”

“Nah I’m good. I’m also not careless and took care of my body when I played volleyball.”

“So mean Onii-chan!” Oikawa pouted again as his brother stuck his tongue out at him. Dr. Kasamatsu blinked as he watched the two bicker before clearing his throat. The two stopped and looked over at the doctor as he opened his chart.

“As I was saying, you’re over all progress is going excellent. If you could, please lay on the table, I want you to lift your leg as high as you can.” He asked as the captain gave a nod and did so. He lay on the table as the doctor raised his hand up. Slowly, Oikawa lifted his leg and touched the doctor’s hand. “Good!”

“Congratulations little bro. You can use your leg.”

“Shush!” Oikawa hissed as he sat up. “So how much more longer do I have to wear this brace?”

“Well I am very happy with your progress and so is your therapist, I think it’s safe to say that you can take it off. But I say go easy on the stairs, take one step at a time.”

“About time! Ugh finally!” Oikawa rejoiced, after two months he can finally take his brace off and not have to wear that bulky thing anymore.

“Great. Now we can see your pretty scar.”

“Onii-chan!!” The captain whined as he pouted. “You know I hate my scar.”

“Don’t worry about it. It’ll shrink soon and you won’t be able to notice it.” The doctor replied as Oikawa let out a sigh of relief.

“That’ll take a year.” Oikawa shot a glare at his brother.

“It’ll take a while but I assure you, it will shrink.”

“Good because I hate looking at it.”

“So dramatic.” His brother rolled his eyes.

‘I’m going to ignore you know.’ “Hey um doctor? I have a question.”

“Yes?”

“Since I’m doing so well in therapy and you’re happy with my progress, would I be okay to go back to training for volleyball? Inter-high is next week and I want to lead my team to nationals.” Oikawa explained with a straight face. Dr. Kasamatsu didn’t say a word as he listened to what the setter had to say. As soon as he finished, the doctor gave a sigh. ‘ Oh no… ’

“Tooru-san, I’m sorry but I’m going to have to say no. It’s too early for you to go back. You still have a long way to go, recovery can take up six months to a year. Your knee is still fragile, one wrong move and you could be finished. Your volleyball career would end. Give it time, keep working hard in therapy and I’m sure you’ll be back on the court in no time.” The doctor replied as he placed a hand on the captain’s shoulder. Oikawa didn’t say a word but just gave a nod. The doctor gave his shoulder a squeeze before adding something else or talking to his brother. He didn’t hear it.

Hopping off the table, they exited the building after scheduling the next appointment. His brother threw his brace in the back of his car while the captain climbed into the front and buckled up.

“Tooru?” He heard his brother call his name while he got in.

“I know…I got my hopes up. You don’t need to bring it up.” He answered, not letting his brother say another word. Oikawa’s brother sighed and patted his shoulder.

“I wasn’t going to say that. You’re doing great though, Tooru. You’ll be back.”

“…yeah I guess.” Oikawa whispered as his brother sadly looked at him. “Can we go now?” Giving a nod, they headed off to Aoba Jousai.

“Tooru!” The brothers had just arrived to the high school and Oikawa just got out of the car. Turning around, Oikawa looked at his brother. “I’ll pick up some milk bread on the way home tonight, okay? Cheer up. You look miserable when you aren’t your usual annoying, chirpy self.”

“RUDE!” Oikawa exclaimed and glared at his brother. “You’re annoying too!”

“Well guess it runs in the family. See you tonight, little bro!” His brother said as he drove off. Oikawa watched and let out a sigh before heading toward class.

“Oi! Where’s your brace?!” Iwaizumi exclaimed that afternoon. School had just ended and the ace was surprised to see the setter without his brace.

“Doctor said I didn’t have to wear it anymore.” Oikawa explained as he walked up to him.

“Is he crazy?! YOU’RE LIMPING!”

“He said at the previous appointment I would have a limp for awhile.” The captain explained as the two headed toward the gym.

“How’d you get up the stairs?” Iwaizumi questioned as they made it to the stairs.

“I have both of my legs, Iwa-chan.” Oikawa chuckled as he took each step at a time. Iwazumi just staying three steps ahead of him, ready to catch him in case he fell.

“So what did the doctor say?” Iwaizumi asked as they reached the gym. Oikawa stopped; not taking another step after the ace asked him that question. Noticing he stopped, the dark brunette turned around and raised an eyebrow.

“Oikawa?”

“. . .I’m still weak.” He whispered as he looked toward the ground.

“What? Who says? Tell me who said that and I’ll beat the living fuck out of them!” Iwaizumi hissed as he made a fist. There was no way in hell he was going to let anyone call his boyfriend weak. “Who was it!”

Oikawa didn’t answer for a few minutes before he looked up. “I did.”

“Oi, you aren’t weak.”

“My knee is still fragile! Two months and I still can’t play, let alone train! I’ve worked hard these past few weeks and…why!” Oikawa ranted. Iwazumi just stood there and listened as the captain let his frustrations out. It was obvious that he was frustrated, but the ace just shook his head. He walked over and flicked the captain on his forehead. “Ow! Mean Iwa-chan!”

“First off, I would have slapped you, but I don’t want you to fall. Second off, you aren’t weak. You’re still recovering. Did you really think that after just five weeks of therapy you’d be back and training with us before next week?”

“That was my goal.”

“Look, I may sound like a broken record, but you have to give it time. You’ll be back in time for either the spring tournament or nationals.” Iwazumi reminded him as he turned around. “Come on, the team’s waiting.”

“…How do you know I’ll be back in time?” Iwaizumi stopped as he opened the door. “How do you know that?”

“Huh?”

“Iwa-chan…we’re third years.”

“Yeah thanks for the reminder.”

“I might not recover in time before we graduate!” Oikawa suddenly cried. Iwaizumi’s eyes widened when he saw tears starting to fall from Oikawa’s face. “I won’t make it in time.”

“OI!” The ace started as he walked over from the gym door and back to the captain, slapping both of his hands onto the setter’s cheeks and lifted his head to look at him. “Don’t you fucking dare say that ever again!”

“I’m never going to make a full recovery.” Oikawa cried as he put his hands over Iwaizumi’s and gripped them hard as he lowered his head, tears falling.

“Yes you are! Yeah it’s going to take a while to come back but you’re gonna come back stronger than before. Who said they were going to lead us to nationals? You did! You better not back down on your promise you made to us. You are going to lead us there and we’re going to beat the hell out of Shiratorizawa.” Iwaizumi reminded him as he gripped the captain’s face tighter.

“Why, Iwa-chan?” The setter asked after a few minutes of silence between the two players.

“Why what?”

“Just why? Of all the fucking injuries I could have gotten, I had to fucking tear my damn ACL, one of the most serious knee injuries I could get. I got it of all years, my last year in high school. Why now? Why not last year?” Oikawa cried harder. “Why now?”

“Tooru,” Iwaizumi started as he wiped the falling tears away and leaned his forehead against the setter’s forehead. “You aren’t listening to me. You will make a comeback. You’re still recovering from surgery, which was not even three months ago. You’re still training your knee to get back to where you used to be. We didn’t get where we are now by just starting now. We’ve trained since we were kids, we worked hard to get where we are. You have to work hard to get your knee back to normal. Look, I know it’s hard. You want to play, I want you to play, Makki and Mattsun want you to play, the first and second years want you to play, coach wants you to play. Hell, Karasuno and all of them want you to play! They’re expecting you to be back on the court when you’ve healed. FUCK, USHIJIMA IS EXPECTING YOU TO FUCKING HEAL SO HE CAN PLAY US! YOU’VE ALWAYS WANTED TO BEAT HIM RIGHT? SO WHY THE FUCK WOULD YOU WANT TO GIVE THIS UP NOW? YOU’RE JUST TWO FUCKING MONTHS POST!”

Oikawa stared at Iwaizumi, breathing hard after his rant. Looking down, he closed his eyes as more tears fell. He was right…it’s only been two months since the surgery. His team is expecting him to lead them to nationals. Karasuno, Nekoma, Fukurodani , Date Tech and Shiratorizawa were expecting him to return to the court as soon as his knee grew stronger. He loved volleyball too much to give up on his recovery. He opened his eyes and looked up at the ace.

“You’re right. I can’t give up now. I’m sorry Iwa-chan.” Oikawa apologized as he hugged him. “You’re right, they’re expecting me to lead them to nationals. We’re going to beat Ushijima this time.”

“You’re going to come back, Tooru. It’s going to take time, but I know you’ll come back. We have faith you will. We’ll play our hardest and win Inter-High for you. Then when you come back, you’re going to lead us to nationals. Got it?”

Oikawa gave a nod. “Got it.”

“Good, that’s the Tooru I know.” Iwazumi replied as he held the setter close.

“Iwa-chan?”

“Hm?”

“Thank you. I don’t know what I’d do without you.” Oikawa whispered as he laid his head on the ace’s shoulder. Iwazumi chuckled and tightened his embrace around his boyfriend.

Inter-High came and went, Aoba Jousai losing in the final round of the preliminaries to Shiratorizawa. The whole match, Oikawa did his best to help coach his team, encouraging them and yelling when they screwed up. When they called for time-outs, he did what he usually did as if he was in the game. But in the end, they lost. Again. Not winning a single set, coming close each time.

That next Tuesday when practice resumed, Aoba Jousai stepped their game up and trained harder. They were going to win the playoffs and go to nationals. That was still a few months away so everyday, all the players trained hard. Iwazumi lead all the practices, since Oikawa had been out, his leadership skills had improved significantly, especially after their loss to Shiratorizawa.

Also stepping up his game was Oikawa. In the beginning, he took his therapy seriously. But the loss to Shiratorizawa made him even more determined to return back to the court. He still remembered the look Ushijima gave him for the first time since his surgery. Although he didn’t say a word, the captain of Shiratorizawa’s expression read, ‘ Good to see you here, but not glad to see you aren’t on the court. ’ or something similar to that.

Both sides did the best they could. The spring tournament was coming and coming fast.

Four months later

Dr. Kasamatsu’s office

“Well by what your therapist has been telling me and by the looks on your x-rays, I would say you are okay to return to volleyball.” Dr. Kasamatsu announced as Oikawa’s face lit up.

“YES!” Oikawa cheered, he was beyond excited to finally return back to volleyball. After six long months, it was finally happening. “Now Aoba Jousai is going to the nationals!”

“I will certainly have to come and watch you all play at the spring tournament.”

“Wait...are you saying I can-”

“It’s a two week short notice, I’m sure your team has been training since inter-high, but yes. By what your therapy was telling me, he’s pretty confident that taking part in the spring tournament will be good. Just be careful on how you jump and land.”

“Of course!” Oikawa hopped off the table and bowed to the doctor. “Thank you very much for fixing my knee!” The doctor just chuckled and patted the captain’s head.

“It’s my job as a doctor to do so. You should go see your therapist, he’s in today.” Oikawa gave a nod and again, thanked the doctor for everything. Walking out of the office and into the lobby, Oikawa’s brother waited for him.

“So what did the doctor say?” He asked as he put his phone down. Oikawa smirked and gave him a thumb up.

“I’m good to start training again! Dr. Kasamatsu is expecting me to take part in the spring tournament.” The captain explained as the two walked out and headed toward therapy.

“Tooru, why are we going to therapy? You don’t have it today.” He asked as the stopped in front of the door.

“I’m just going to see him and thank him for his help. I’m sure I still have to come, but he did a lot for me.” Oikawa replied as he walked in. “Yahoo~ Dr. Kazuya!.”

Looking up from his papers, the therapist chuckled and got up from his desk. Walking over to the setter before bowing to one another. “Well I take it Kasamatsu told you the news?”

Oikawa gave a nod. “He did! I wanted to thank you for your help these last few months. I must have been difficult to work with.”

“Well you kept me busy I’ll be honest,” The therapist chuckled. “But you worked hard and now you’ll be leading Aoba Jousai to nationals after you win the spring tournament.”

“Um it’s okay for me to take part in the tournament right?” Oikawa questioned, a little hesitant to take part in fear that he’ll hurt his knee again. Dr. Kazuya gave a nod as he went back to his desk, pulling out a white kneepad before handing it to the setter.

“Yes it’ll be alright. Just be careful when you land and jump. Also for at least a few months, I want you to wear this brace. It’ll help and I’m sure having a white pad and black kneepad is your signature look.” He chuckled as Oikawa smirked and took the brace, taking it out and putting it on. “I’m expecting one hell of a game, Tooru-san.”

“And you’ll get it!” Oikawa announced as he bowed again before exiting the room and into the hallway where his brother waited.

“Tooru.” His brother said after they entered the elevator. The captain looked over to his brother.

“Hmm?” He hummed as the setter’s older brother looked over to him and gave a gentle smile.

“I’m proud of you. These last six months haven’t been the easiest, but you worked your way back to the court. I know you wanted to get back in time for inter-high and it was hard seeing the doctor telling you it was too early. But now, you’re going to be leading Aoba Jousai to nationals when you win.” The older man explained as Oikawa gave a chuckle.

“Thanks Onii-chan. That means a lot to me. You were one of my biggest encouragement to work hard to get my knee working again.” The setter explained as his brother chuckled and ruffled his head. “HEY RUDE!”

“I am still going to annoy you till the end.” Oikawa gave a groan at his answer.

Aoba Jousai Gymnasium

Taking part in some early practice before the real practice started, Iwazumi served the ball toward his water bottle. The ball never hit the bottle because someone saved it and spiked it toward Iwazumi.

“Oikawa?!” The ace was shocked to see the setter and that he saved the ball. What was more shocking, Oikawa was in their practice uniform. The setter smiled and gave a peace sign to the wing spiker.

“Yahoo~ Iwa-chan.”

“Why the fuck did you do that?! Are you crazy!” Iwazumi was furious. How could Oikawa be so careless? Was he that desperate to return to the court? But the setter just laughed which made the ace even more furious.

“I just got back from the doctor and was given the okay to start training again.” Oikawa explained as he bent below the net and walked over to Iwazumi whose mouth dropped open.

“Wait a minute, the doctor say you could play?”

“Yup! Dr. Kazuya and Dr. Kasamatsu are expecting me to play in the spring tournament.” He explained as he winked at the ace. “So this means you’re back to vice-captain.”

“…Good because I could not handle being captain anymore.” Iwazumi smirked before he picked up the volleyball he missed and threw it at Oikawa who caught it. “Glad to have you back.”

The setter smirked. “It’s good to be back.”

Two weeks later

“OI! THE GAME’S ABOUT TO START!!” Hinata called out as Karasuno walked to their seats to watch Aoba Jousai vs Date Tech.

“Slow down Hinata, the game hasn’t started yet. We still have time.” Asahi reassured as the team walked to their seats. Kageyama was one of the last to take a seat, but noticed something on the court. Or rather…someone. Chuckling, he stared at that person as they warmed up.

“Kageyama?” Suga asked as him and Daichi followed. “Everything alright?”

“Hm? Um yes. I just noticed something while watching Aoba Jousai warming up.” The first year answered as the two third years looked and right away, they noticed too.

“So he’s back.” Daichi chuckled.

“Who’s back?!” Hinata asked, overhearing the three talk. Suga chuckled and pointed. All of Karasuno looked and Ukai smirked.

“Well well well,” He started as he leaned foreword and watched the person lead stretches. “Look what we have here.”

“The Grand King is back!”