Chapter Text
Chapter 1: The Switch
She was walking home after a busy day of collage. It was the typical start of the week and it was going good. There were no new projects anytime soon, and she was up-to-date with all her homework. She aced the French test that morning, and at lunch her favourite manga site updated the newest chapter of her current obsession. It was untranslated, but that wasn’t a hurdle for her.
{Your-Name} chuckled while moving around other people on the sidewalk. Her muscles were sore from volleyball training she had just completed, but the burn was a good reminder that it was for her scholarship, and it was volleyball afterall.
She blinked while brushing some of her {Hair-Colour} hair behind her ear to place in her earphones, bluetooth-connected to her phone, to avoid dangerous wires.
Once there were no more people along her path, she relaxed. She was on the safe stretch walking to her family home in the calm neighbourhood of white picket fences. Everywhere the houses had white fences; tall, short, fancy, plain and a few broken and aged.
Dropping her gaze to her phone, she caught a glimpse of her {eye-colour} on the black screen before it lit up to reveal a Haikyuu poster.
This anime was interesting and it sparked her love of the sport. She wasn’t going professional or seeking to further herself in the sport, but it was needed for her scholarship that she do at least two sports, a winter and summer one or something similar. With her enjoyment of the anime she thought why not try the volleyball team, and it was one of the best choices she ever made.
Next to stitching pillowcases together to make a nest-like-bed to hold her burrito-form to sleep in, that is. To this day she couldn’t find the reason she could only really sleep wrapped up and swaddled like a burrito. It was comfortable. And she could easily swap blankets for winter and summer use.
The ‘nest’ also contained an unhealthy amount of plushies that a 22-year old could have, but that's besides the point. There were more on various shelves around her room as well.
{Name} continued to walk the empty streets with a bounce in her step, glad that she was finally alone after dealing with so many people the whole day, from strangers to classmates and teachers. The only few friends she had were the evil extroverts that pulled her from her anime isolation.
Music drifted in her ears at a soft enough volume that she could still hear around her. Current pop songs, older rock songs and even anime songs played in random order.
The next song was actually the opening song for Haikyuu season 1. It was catchy and she couldn’t resist singing along. She was nowhere near pop-star or Disney princess level in singing, but she could hold the note. She enjoyed singing with baking tools with her friends when messing around in the kitchen.
She was a few more blocks away from her house when it happened.
She was walking, neither fast or slow, when she slipped.
Not trip and stumble forward.
But cartoon style slipped.
She hardly registered the path in front of her suddenly changing to the sky. Her black sneaker-covered foot on her left leg was also in her line of sight.
And then her head was hitting the floor.
Her vision blurred sharply. The green ivy covered wall on her left and the white car on her right merged with the sky above. Nausea climbed the back of her throat and all sounds just vanished.
She blinked her {eye-colour} eyes to try and get them to focus but the black spots danced and completely stole her vision.
It gave it back in strange flashes, the green, blue-white and red colouring was there.
Then it was different.
Blue sky was clear above a large multi-level building. The brick was this strange tan-grey and looked rough. The sound was still gone but started filtering back in the form of panicked yelling.
The pain was still there and seemed to increase again before her vision went dark one last time.
-Meanwhile-
It was a typical day in Inarizaki High.
Students milling about while doing their after school activities. Some students were together in their respective clubs, others doing extra work or cleaning their classrooms. Some even just hang around to wait for friends.
One such group was the powerhouse volleyball team.
As it was still the beginning of the new year, there wasn’t too much pressure on matches and training just yet. The team had already met their new 1st-years and been assigned positions and numbers.
Like every other Monday, they head into the official Boy’s Volleyball Club storeroom to talk about training plans for the week. They unfortunately drew the short straw and their room was located on the second floor of the outside sports building.
The building was large and light earthy grey, almost a sandy-brown. It was 3-floors tall, with stairs and walkways on the outside, and rooms next to each other like a housing flat.
The balconies were only blocked by two simple red horizontal metal poles that reach from cement column to cement column.
It happened when they arrived on their floor.
The famous Miya twins were arguing at the back of the team. The faux blond had apparently stolen some of his twin brother’s lunch earlier and was trying to deny it. The faux silver haired twin however knew his brother well and had even caught him fleeing the scene.
Their arguing was common and was normal background noise for the team that had already dealt with it for a year or longer in some cases. The first years were quickly getting used to it after only a week.
Their fighting however was changing, it was getting louder and more physical. Both twins were holding the other by the collar of their blazers while hurling insults at the other.
Kita Shinsuke, 3rd-year and current Captain, had enough of the squabbling and turned with a glare to face the twin, “Will you two behave or not?”
His voice was cold and emotionless but the threat was real. The team had moved out of the way of his gaze, leaving the twins the only ones in his sight.
Fearing repercussions for their actions, the two 2nd-year boys pushed each other away. Osamu, the one with the silver-grey hair dye moved till his back was all but flattened against the wall.
Atsumu, the blond, however ended up leaning against the metal railing.
That simple railing, that gave way the minute his body weight was against it.
Osamu felt as if time had stopped, in fact the whole team felt the world freeze sharply around them. Unlike Kita’s kind coldness that he shows on the court, this was painful, it was fear gripped around their hearts.
Osamu watched as the body of his twin brother kept moving, the metal pole behind him dislodged from the wall. Atsumu’s face would forever be carved into his memory of his face twisted between expressions.
Atsumu’s earthy golden-brown eyes looked at him, terrified and confused before shifting to fear.
Then he was gone.
Not even a split second later there was a hard thud from down below on the ground.
Osamu was still looking at the spot his brother, his twin, had suddenly vanished from, when Aran ran past him. The movement gave him back his ability to react as the rest of the team and him gathered around the side with a cry of various names for their friend. Being careful of the missing railings they looked down in horror.
Atsumu lay on the ground perfectly still.
The setter was never that still.
Everyone was holding their breath, still in disbelief over what they had just witnessed, when they saw it.
Something that sent them all running to catch up with Aran, who was already at the bottom of the staircase.
There was blood, a small trail of it, creeping away from Atsumu’s head. Osamu felt ice and nausea pool in his stomach as it registered that it was his Tsumu’s, his Brother’s, blood that was there.
They raced down the stairs, barely avoiding tripping over each other and falling, before rushing to Atsumu.
Aran was already there, a spare shirt pulled from his bag and pressed against Atsumu’s head. Osamu knelt beside his twin and with shaking hands tried to feel for a pulse. He remembers they did a First Aid Course just last year but at that moment he was too scared to focus and remember the training.
Akagi-senpai spoke about getting a teacher and took off running but Osamu was focused in Atsumu who had yet to make a sound or move, even when he slept he was never this still. He vaguely heard people talking around him before some hands were on him and moving him away.
He looked at Suna with disbelief and betrayal as his friend moved him away from Atsumu, but Suna with a fearful frown on normally bored face, remained calm with a simple “Let Kita-san do it.”
Osamu looked back and saw that their captain had taken his place, feeling for a pulse, helping Aran apply pressure while snapping orders to the others about things his brain wasn’t understanding.
The next few seconds? Minutes? Hours? Osamu really didn’t know. All he knew was that the teachers showed up. Sending the team back to give them room, but Aran and Kita remained with Atsumu. Suna and Akagi were holding him. A body on each side, as he could do nothing but watch. He tried to fight them but he felt weak. He had no strength to even lift his arm up.
There were other students who came, drawn by the commotion, but the teachers sent them away quickly enough.
Eventually the ambulance arrived but due to space and ‘legality’ reasons, Osamu wasn’t allowed with. The vice-principle instead went with, as Atsumu was technically still a minor. Osamu could only watch as the vehicle drove off, lights flashing and the siren wailing occasionally.
Kita, however, wasn't staying put while his friend was hurt. The team hardly needed to be convinced before they were legging it to the hospital. Since it was technically afterschool they could leave when they wanted to, practice be damned.
The coach wasn’t even surprised as he watched his team book it to the school gates. He could just yell out a warning to be careful before they were gone from his sight.
5 hours.
That was how long the team had waited in silence. Waiting, jumping at the sound of the door before calming down when it wasn’t for them.
The Vice-Principle wasn’t shocked at the arrival of the team and instead instructed them to be mindful of others and to be quiet. He went back to making phone calls and emails.
Osamu was sitting a few seats away from the team. His large form hunched over his knees that he brought to his chest. The heels of his shoes barely touched the seat as he continued to stare at the doors that held the surgery rooms.
Kita moved over and sat next to him. Osamu didn’t even pay attention. His cold earthy grey eyes refused to look away from the large swinging doors.
The captain however knew his kouhai, he knew and could see the guilt eating the twin silently from within. “Osamu.”
He didn’t even blink to acknowledge Kita, only when the older one placed a hand on his shoulder while calling his name again. “Listen Osamu, this was a freak accident, none of this was yer fault, the teachers are already inspecting the railing to find out what went wrong.”
Osamu looked at him as the occasional tear fell down his face, “I pushed him.”
Kita shook his head, “No Osamu, listen to me, I was watching the whole time. I've seen you two really push each other and that didn’t happen. If anything this was my fault, I made you both jump away from each other.”
Osamu made a choking sound as his legs left the seat and returned to the floor, “Kita-san! No, we wer’ the ones fighten’ we should of been careful!”
Kita frowned before bringing his hand up and placing it on Osamu’s head, messing with his hair softly, “It was all a freak accident. All of it!”
Osamu didn’t have a chance to say more when someone rushed into the waiting area. The lady wasn’t the tallest, but was not that short either, with waist length black hair. She was dressed in a simple outfit of jeans and a white button up. Her panicked-expression sweeped the waiting area before resting on the figure she was looking for.
Osamu stood the minute she had entered but didn't take a step before his aunt was colliding into him, speaking a mile a minute. Asking things between what happened, any news and how he was.
Osamu didn’t have a chance to answer before his aunt was turning her worried gaze from him over to the vice-principal who made the mistake of standing up. Her expression shifted from worried into something ferocious. Like a lion about to defend her cubs.
Kita watched with mild worry as Osamu’s aunt tore the teacher a new one. Her voice was raging and increasing in volume that it drew the attention of some nurses. The one had to come over twice to remind them of where they were and to behave.
“Why is yer Auntie here?” Akagi asked Osamu softly while watching the lady continue to tear into the teacher but much more quietly.
“Ma an’ Pa are in Tokyo for work, they will only be back in 3 days.” Osamu whispered back before taking his seat once more. Kita left the seat next to him clear for the aunt once she was done with her current task.
She moved to sit, and with a simple motion had Osamu resting on her shoulder. Her smaller hand held his in a tight grip as she joined him in watching the surgery doors. Most of the team got permission to remain there, but some had to leave but not without promises for updates as soon as they got any.
Eventually a doctor did arrive for them and was a bit shocked to be swarmed by the members of Hyogo’s powerhouse team. The Aunt didn’t mind but had asked if they would be able to handle any news.
“Let’s start with the good news,” the doctor, Dr Haruka, said while looking down at his clipboard. “Miya Atsumu, 16, was brought in earlier with a head injury after falling from the second floor.”
He took a breath but his voice remained neutral, “Such a fall is normally fatal but by some miracle he survived with only a large cut on the back of his head and bruising around the brain. No active swelling or bleeding which is a good thing.”
“The more challenging news is that even the smallest bit of damage can have dire consequences and we are unsure as to what it could be yet.” He looked up from his notes, “Miya-san is lucky to be alive but until he wakes up we won’t know the details of his injury.”
The unspoken words of ‘if he wakes up’ was heard in the minds of everyone present as the tears they were holding back started to flow. Osamu shook while his arms wrapped around his stomach, dread was drowning him alive as he tried no to throw-up. He didn’t even feel Aran or his aunt slip their arms around him as they led him to the room his brother was in.
His aunt and him entered first.
Atsumu was laying down in the white hospital bed, still as stone. There were tubes and wires everywhere. There were drips of medicine and even a blood bag that looked new. Atsumu’s head was covered in a lot of bandages that made his dyed hair stick up in odd angles. The only sound in the room was the heart monitor that was beeping away.
The team gathered around their fallen friend, leaving the sides of the bed for the family as they got comfortable around the room. The aunt didn’t stay long and after a soft tearful kiss left to start making phone calls and emails in regards to her work and contacting her brother and sister-in-law.
The boys remained silent and started drifting off to sleep, their bodies crashing from the emotional roller-coaster that they had suffered that day.
Osamu watched everyone else fall asleep before scooting his seat closer to the bed. Carefully reaching over to grab a hold of Atsumu’s hand. The warmth of the limb was far more comforting than the mechanical beeping.
Osamu continued to watch, his body present but his mind miles away as he was trapped in the memory of Atsumu falling, that flash of pure fear that the blond had as he registered that he was falling. He watched as the sun started to finally set, the orange glow dancing across his brother's face and making the visible yellow hair glow.
Soon the light was gone and nurses were doing their rounds, checking on Atsumu while being careful of the boy sleeping on the railing of the bed. His hand was still holding Atsumu’s.
Osamu only realised that he must have dozed off because the next thing he was aware of was someone watching him. Blinking awake he took a second to remember what happened before seeing the earthy orange-brown eyes of his twins.
"Atsu! Ya awake!" he yelled happily, waking the others up as he stood. Moving close to the twins face and asking him a bunch of questions.
Kita scolded him for that but only softly before pressing the button for the nurse. The doctors had instructed to do so, in case there were any changes with the unconscious blond.
His eyes did not leave Atsumu who was looking at them all with a small frown. His gaze was unsteady but drifted over each one of them.
"I.. I'm sorry" Tsumu said softly, licking his dry lips. Osamu, and everyone else, was shocked and blinked in concern.
Why was their friend speaking in English? English was one of his worst subjects, he hardly passed the exam last year and only really knew how to say a few curse words correctly.
Atsumu looked at them all over once more.
"But who are you all?"
Osamu made a small choking sound as he felt his heart get gripped in a vice of stone.
‘Did…did his brother forget them?’
‘Did Sumu forget him?’