Chapter Text
The little rota was kept going over the next few days. The groups changed a little bit, depending on when people were available. Hinata tried to get himself included in as many visits as he possibly could, and no one was going to press him on that point.
When both he and Hinata ended up going in the same group (with Suga, this time) Tadashi was really surprised at how Hinata managed to maintain his usual enthusiasm, but at a level Kageyama could keep up with. Light teasing about how Hinata’s brain would never do something so dumb like swell up too much, to which Kageyama managed to string together enough words to point out that of course his brain couldn’t do that if he didn’t have one to begin with. Suga, Tadashi and even Kageyama’s mother had all burst out laughing at Hinata’s indignant squawk in response. Kageyama’s mother then lightly scolded him, but they could tell that it was only mostly for appearances at any rate.
One week blended into the next, and then several hospital visits later, Kageyama was officially allowed to go home. He’d been in the hospital for two weeks by the time he was discharged. So the next step then was to logically help ease the burden of Kageyama’s homecoming as best they could on his family. Or, as Tadashi discovered, his mother, since that was all the family he had apparently since his father was constantly abroad for work. Another thing he felt a little guilty about once he discovered. Until Tsukki pointed out that literally no one on the team knew Akiteru existed until he showed up at their game against Shiratorizawa, and would Tadashi stop beating himself up over unnecessary things, because apparently it was annoying.
So they kept up the visits, and some of their parents would insist on sending things like food over when they visited to help lighten the load so to speak. Mrs. Hinata had sent at least three curries to the Kageyama household in the time he had been home.
Even after the talk with Yachi and Tsukki, Tadashi still hadn’t built up the courage to see Kageyama on his own. He continued going in the various groups, hiding in the background while the others did most of the talking. But he could still feel Kageyama’s eye on him, no matter how quiet he was.
He wasn’t sure exactly why he was avoiding it. Maybe because he just didn’t know Kageyama that well, as this entire incident had shown. It made him a bit uneasy. Was Kageyama a relatively predictable person? Well, yes. Did Tadashi still have no idea what to say to Kageyama if they were ever alone together? Also yes.
In hindsight, he should have expected someone else to run interference, but he had expected it to be someone like Suga or Ennoshita, which is why he ended up being so blindsided.
Kageyama’s house was nice, but relatively bare. It sort of made sense, Kageyama definitely didn’t seem like the sentimental type so of course he didn’t have that many material possessions. Aside from anything that was volleyball related, naturally. Being in his room the first time while he was recovering had still felt strange though, like he was intruding on something. Hinata was the only one who had been in Kageyama’s room before The Incident, as apparently he sometimes stayed after training or long matches so he wouldn’t have to bike over a mountain. Even Hinata had limits, it seemed.
Today they weren’t actually in Kageyama’s room. Kageyama was propped up on the couch in the small living room, but still in his pyjamas and wrapped up in a fuzzy looking blanket. They were still sticking to going in smaller groups rather than the whole team at once, but the groups weren’t as small as when they were in the hospital. Which meant that there were six of them there today in total, probably the most there had been total. Tadashi was the only first year, he had tagged along with the second and third years instead for a change (and definitely not because Tsukki and Yachi kept looking at him expectantly). All of the third years had come, presumably to keep Tanaka and Nishinoya at bay. As soon as they arrived and saw Kageyama propped up on the couch, they joined him almost immediately, one either side of him, chatting excitably while Kageyama sat perplexed between the two of them. It was pretty reminiscent of how things used to be, and Tadashi could tell the third years were thinking the same thing as they chuckled over Kageyama trying to keep up with Nishinoya describing a scene from one of his favourite action movies in great detail. Tadashi didn't know that his senpai had such a way with words
Kageyama’s mother popped her head around the door leading into the kitchen. “Yamaguchi, would you mind coming in here and helping me with something?”
Tadashi was never one to shy away from offering his help to someone, so he nodded and headed into the kitchen, not for a moment questioning why he was the only one being singled out when half the team had arrived today. He was the only one not engrossed in a conversation after all.
When Mrs Kageyama closed the door behind him with an odd look on her face, that’s when he began to get concerned.
“Sit down, Yamaguchi, please.”
Tadashi sat down robotically at the table as Kageyama’s mother sat down and joined him. What was happening here? Was she angry with him? Her brows were furrowed and her face looked deep in thought before she eventually spoke. She looked unnervingly like her son when she did that.
“Tobio is not the best with his words. It’s always been a struggle of his, unfortunately. It was one of the biggest hurdles he had to overcome in order to make friends, since he either will angrily blurt things out without thinking or he’ll retreat into himself and over think things far too much.”
Tadashi failed to see how he was relevant to this, but didn’t mention anything just yet. After all she wasn’t saying anything that could be disputed.
“He’s been struggling lately with this even more so, given the nature of his illness. He’s much better now of course, and has come on so much and the doctors are thrilled with the progress he’s been making, but that doesn’t undo his issues from before.”
“Mrs. Kageyama,” Tadashi began, “I don’t mean to be rude but, what does this have to do with me?”
Kageyama’s mother pursed her lips. “When everyone else leaves, I’d hope that you might stay behind and talk to Tobio. He’s been wanting to talk to you for a while actually, but he’s not great at articulating these things. So I thought I’d just give you a heads up about it.”
She said it in a very nice, polite manner, but Tadashi could hear the unspoken fact that this was an order, not a request. And he couldn’t really blame her. He had put this off long enough.
So about an hour later when his senpai started to pack up their things, Tadashi turned to Suga and said “I think I might stay just a little while longer, actually.” Naturally, Suga didn’t look surprised at this. Maybe this was something everyone had discussed beforehand, who knew, but the second and third years left with very little protest while Kageyama’s mom showed them out and then disappeared into the kitchen just as quickly.
Tadashi sat on the couch beside Kageyama and tried not to sigh. This was… probably going to be awkward. Why did he think this was going to be a good idea? Where did he even start?
“I… never really... get sick.”
Oh, or Kageyama was planning on doing the talking. Tadashi hadn’t expected that. Then again, Tsukki and Yachi had told him as much.
“I remember... having like, chicken pox as a kid. But other - other than that, I’ve not. I haven’t-” He pauses and closes his eyes, clearly frustrated at how ineloquent he feels. Or at least more ineloquent than usual.
Tadashi laughs lightly to break the tension. “I was always the opposite. Anytime someone came into class with a cold, I knew it was a matter of time before I got sick”
Kageyama nods. “That - never happens to me. Though some - sometimes I do get things like muscle fatigue. From overtraining. Mom says I usually d-don’t know when to quit.”
Fidgeting a little, Tadashi hums. “Yeah, you and Hinata like to stay pretty late most nights.” Then he makes the connection of what Kageyama is trying to tell him, where this might be going. “That night… we’d been practising all week and you guys stayed late like everyday. And then we went straight from school to the training camp.”
Kageyama nods, seeing that Tadashi has put together what he hadn’t put into words as much. “I - I didn’t. I don’t get sick m-much and because we’d… been… working on the toss-”
Tadashi waved his hands frantically. “Nobody thinks you did it on purpose Kageyama! I’m sorry if we made you feel bad about us being worried for you. It’s a natural thing for friends to be worried for each other.”
Kageyama frowns at that. “I’m n-not. Not good at that either.”
Ah yes, the middle school incident. Tadashi never really thought about it from Kageyama’s perspective that much before, only something Tsukki would say to him to piss him off. Maybe he’d get Tsukki to lay off that if it was bothering Kageyama so -
Woah, when did he really start thinking things like this over.
“I wasn’t either.” Tadashi says, deciding to be honest. He’s not sure where it comes from. That’s been happening a lot these days. “I used to get bullied a lot in elementary school. Until I became friends with Tsukki. You’ll learn, don't worry about it.”
“Are we f-friends?”
His answer is less hesitant than it would have been a few weeks ago - Tadashi nods almost immediately. “I think so.”
“Then can - n-no, never mind.”
Kageyama turns from him, looking frustrated.
“Kageyama, what is it?” Tadashi asks softly.
The setter fiddles with his hands rather than responding immediately. A long moment passes. Then, “I got picked for t-the national youth t-team. For a c-camp.”
A stunned silence follows. In any other situation Tadashi knows how they would have reacted to this news. They would have been slightly envious sure, but there was no doubt that no one was more deserving of the role than Kageyama. One of the reasons he irritated people so much was that even beyond his tossing skills, he was ridiculously talented at other aspects of the game. He was one of their best servers after all, much as it pained Tadashi to admit.
But he knows why Kageyama is saying it like it’s something to be ashamed of. So instead of congratulating him, Tadashi’s response is a quiet, “When is the camp?”
Kageyama’s response is hardly a whisper, “December. It’s… it won’t be enough time. That’s what my mom and Takeda think. Th-they haven’t said it to me yet but, I h-heard them talking. They don’t - don’t - d-” he cuts off with a huff of frustration.
“I see.” Tadashi says. Why. Why did Kageyama want to talk to him about this? Why not Suga? Daichi? Hinata? Even Tsukki might have - okay, well maybe not Tsukki.
“The doctors … had said I would be lucky to be… okay by N-Nationals.” Kageyama continued. “It’s not a guarantee, but but it was a goal to w-work towards. But they think that - I won’t - I can’t.”
Kageyama flopped back on the couch, seemingly spent of energy. He collapsed forward with his head in his hands, and then started shuddering slightly. It took Tadashi a few minutes to realise that he was crying.
This is out of his area of expertise, but Tadashi can’t sit here and not comfort someone. It’s not who he is. He moves closer to Kageyama and very, very carefully, puts an arm around him. Kageyama freezes as he does so, and Tadashi knows what he’s thinking of. He’s thinking of that night, though Tadashi is not sure how much of it Kageyama actually remembers.
After a few minutes, Kageyama melts into his hold, and the crying lessens just a little bit. Tadashi lets him mourn an opportunity he could potentially miss, because he can’t blame him. Volleyball is everything to Kageyama.
“You know,” Tadashi says softly, “the thing about you, Kageyama, is that you’re a force to be reckoned with. Meningitis usually has a ton of complications you know? Especially if you don’t catch it in time. Deafness, epilepsy, loss of motor control… I looked up a lot of that stuff up when we were waiting to see how you were going to be. Back when we weren’t sure if we got you to the hospital in time. If… If I had got to you in time.”
“I really thought… I was going to die.”
The admission is both surprising and it isn’t. He remembers Kageyama frantically asking him if he was going to die that night, but he didn't think he could remember that. Tadashi hadn’t been able to answer it at the time because they didn’t know.
“It’s… I don’t remember everything. I remember thinking…. It was bad. I was cold, and my head…. Everything hurt to look at. And I remember you. And Ennoshita. But, your v-voices. It was like, listening to a radio that wasn't t-tuned in properly or, or something. I couldn’t tell where y-you were and I thought I was dying and I just - everything, it was all just, and now I can’t and -”
He cuts himself off with a cry of frustration, and Tadashi feels for him. He waits a few moments and Kageyama calms himself again.
“They told me how bad it was. How lucky I was. I shouldn’t be so upset about the camp. I should be grateful... to be alive. I'm lucky.”
“Kageyama,” Tadashi says because the other boy needs to know this, “You’re allowed be disappointed if you can’t go to the training camp. You’ve worked so hard. You deserved a spot there.”
And Kageyama broke. He mourned something he had worked for, and wouldn’t get to see the results of. He cried over the trauma of the entire experience. Of not knowing if he was going to survive, to not knowing the side effects, to losing a spot at something he'd worked so hard for.
Tadashi sat with him, gently stroking his back and offering general words of comfort. He didn’t understand why he was the person Kageyama felt comfortable doing this with, but he wasn’t going to question it too much.
Once he’d recollected himself, Kageyama gave a choked sob that could have been a laugh. “Sorry. This wasn’t even what I wanted to talk to you about.”
Tadashi freezes a bit in response. Here it comes, what he’d been dreading… Kageyama couldn’t go to the camp and it’s all because he didn’t wake up sooner, ask if he was okay earlier when Kageyama had seemed off...
“I wanted to…. To thank you.”
And like that, his brain stutters to a halt. “Thank me?”
Kageyama nods. “I t-talked with Ennoshita. About what happened. I don’t r-remember much but. I remember you being there. You could have just gone back to sleep. You didn’t have t-to - didn’t need to check on me -”
“Kageyama,” Tadashi says in surprise, “of course I was going to make sure you were okay. I just wished I’d checked you were okay before going to bed. If I’d not woken up or just gotten up a bit later….”
The other boy shakes his head. “There’s no point t-thinking about that. You woke up, and you h-helped me. A-and I, I just wanted to thank you. That’s all there is to it.”
“Okay,” Tadashi agrees. Kageyama is right. There’s no point in dwelling on what happened back then. It’s time to focus on now, and the future.
“Y’know Kageyama,” Tadashi begins, “You are one of the most tenacious people I know. I’m not saying its a guarantee or that it won’t be hard, but I really think you could make that training camp. And there’s absolutely no way you won’t be better in time for Nationals.”
A long silence followed. For a while, Tadashi wasn’t sure if Kageyama had fallen asleep (intense crying sessions are a lot more exhausting than they had any right to be, in Tadashi’s experience) but then the setter broke the silence in a very quiet voice. “Do you really think that I might be able to do that training camp?”
“Absolutely,” Tadashi replied without hesitation.
(Kageyama’s mother came into the living room about twenty minutes later. Both boys were completely dead to the world, Kageyama’s head on Tadashi’s shoulder. She wrapped a blanket around the two, and went back to preparing some ramen for when the boys woke up).
*-*-*-*
It wasn’t easy.
Then again, none of them had expected it to be.
The weeks passed and Kageyama gained more of his strength back. His speech improved, though sometimes he still had to think for awhile before answering someone or saying something. His coordination was slower than usual as well, but Tsukki commented that Kageyama’s coordination being slower meant he was probably something closer to human now than he was before the meningitis.
When Kageyama returned to school after several weeks off, the other first years helped as best they could. Unfortunately none of them were in his class so they couldn’t help on that end, but they started to have lunches together, all five of them. Tsukki had half-heartedly protested at the idea, but even Hinata could figure out that Tsukki was just doing things for show at this point. Kageyama returned to volleyball, only doing light exercise at first before working his way up to full on training.
The month of November passed with small milestones. Kageyama returning to school. To practise. The first time he called Hinata dumbass again. When he accidentally called Tsukki by the nickname only Tadashi got away with, and the expression of regret immediately after. The first time he had a conversation without any pauses.
It was hard, but at the end of November, Kageyama came into practise late one afternoon. He’d mentioned at lunch he was taking a half day in the afternoon and would be back to practise late, but hadn’t specified what for.
And more shocking than that was the fact that Kageyama Tobio was actually smiling. He marched right up to Coach Ukai and Mr. Takeda with no preamble before handing Mr. Takeda an envelope with a deep bow. Mr. Takeda opened the envelope and looked over the contents, Coach Ukai doing the same over his shoulder. They both smiled the more they read of it.
Ukai laughed heartily, “We can’t really argue with doctor’s orders, can we? Takeda, can you…?”
The teacher nodded enthusiastically, “I’ll make the call. Well done Kageyama! I know you’ve been working hard to make this happen.” He clapped Kageyama on the back before rushing off to the office, presumably.
Tadashi and Hinata went rushing over to Kageyama as soon as he left, Tsukki slightly behind them but acting like he wasn’t overly interested. Hinata was the one to ask what they were all thinking, “Does that mean….?”
Kageyama grinned even more. It was odd to see such an expressive look on his face. “I’ve been cleared by my doctor. I can do the training camp!”
The second and third years had come over to investigate and as soon as the words had left Kageyama’s mouth he was tackled by Nishinoya and Tanaka, who got yelled at by Suga and Daichi for not being gentle with Kageyama, as come on, he’s only just been cleared by the doctor. To which the second years argued that if a doctor said Kageyama could play volleyball with other volleyball nerds, then of course that meant they could tackle him if they wanted to.
Tadashi laughed as the arguing continued to go in circles. Logic was something that really wasn’t going to work on Tanaka and Nishinoya.
*-*-*-*
The week Kageyama was off to the training camp, Tsukki was at the first year training camp, and apparently Hinata gatecrashed it too. That left Tadashi the sole first year left behind. He’d unfortunately gotten used to that by now, but it didn’t stop him from working any harder. He spent most of the week on his serves - if he was only going to be on the court for a few moments, he was going to make every second count.
The first years now had a small group chat going, so Tadashi and Yachi were getting all the news from both camps. Tadashi wasn’t sure how the Miyagi first year camp seemed to be the more eventful of the two but when someone turns up to it uninvited and is forced to be a ball boy for a week, it does sort of make a better story. Also Hinata had a habit of sending long, overly detailed texts while Kageyama’s texts about the Youth Camp were a lot more spartan. When they returned the following week, again, Hinata launched into a long stories with each and every detail about his week at the camp, while Kageyama only really answered questions when asked.
After the camps, December seemed to fly by. The winter break was just around the corner, and their last training session before the break was going to be on the -
Oh.
Oh.
*-*-*-*
Tadashi had enlisted Sugawara to help him in the beginning, and when he’d informed the third year of his idea he’d only been too eager to help. They slowly got the rest of the team involved in their plan, and by the day in question, everything was in place.
During morning practise, no one acknowledged anything, and they just had a regular training session. The trend continued throughout the day, where they had a typical lunch the five of them without mentioning anything unique about the date, up until the evening practise which was slightly… different than usual. They all got changed in the club room together, and walked into the gym shoulder to shoulder, some of them barely containing their excitement.
When they entered the gym, Tadashi could sense the exact moment that Kageyama noticed something was off. He wasn’t sure if it was the Christmas decorations, or the small table of food and presents.
Everyone turned to the youngest member of the team and grinned, while Kageyama just looked around in confusion. “Are… are we not practising?”
Daichi laughed at that, “We thought given the last few months, we might end things on a slightly different note before the holidays.”
Kageyama looked slightly panicked at that, looking at all the presents. “But I didn’t even think to -”
The usual suspects rush over to him, and Tanaka slaps him heartily on the back, “Don’t worry about it, this is really all about you anyway, birthday boy!”
For a moment, the look on Kageyama’s face is so stunned that Tadashi internally panics - had they gotten his birthday wrong??
“This.. This is for me?” It’s been a while since Kageyama stumbled over his words, and they know it isn’t a lasting side effect of his illness this time.
“It is.” Suga nods enthusiastically. “We can’t take all the credit though, it was Yamaguchi’s idea.”
Tadashi blushes as the other first year looks at him in shock. He hadn’t expected Suga to put him on the spot like that!
Fortunately the moment is broken of course, by Hinata who grabs at Kageyama, tells him to stop being dumb and can they start eating the food already?
And like that, chaos descends - but a good kind of chaos. Karasuno is after all, infamous at this point for how chaotic and messy they can be. So it makes sense this also translates to birthday celebrations.
They eat food, there’s a cake, they open presents - some birthday presents for Kageyama but there’s also a few Christmas presents swapped as well, along with some presents for Ennoshita’s upcoming birthday. They never do get around to practising, though Tadashi can tell that Hinata and Kageyama are probably thinking of how they can squeeze a few tosses in after this.
A few hours later Tadashi slips away for a moment, as Tanaka and Nishinoya loudly argue over whose present Kiyoko liked more and some of the third years try to mediate. He sits just outside the door of the gym, and after a few minutes, someone comes out and joins him.
“Thank you,” Kageyama says quietly. “For… everything.”
He needn’t say more. Tadashi knows what he’s being thanked for.
So instead of asking what Kageyama means, he just smiles and responds, “Anything for a friend.”