Chapter Text
"Guess who's here?" Mrs. Miya said, standing by the half-opened door. They were having breakfast, and Atsumu was trying to eat porridge courtesy of his mom. Fortunately, he was able to swallow them, though with very little difficulty. His throat was still a bit painful.
His mother opened the door widely and--
"Tsumu-tsumu!" Bokuto greeted loudly. "Hey, hey, hey!" he said, raising both of his hands for a high five.
Atsumu beamed at the sight, "Bokkun!" he said, although not as loud as Bokuto. "Hey, hey, hey!" He also raised his hands and met the high five.
Meian, Inunaki, Thomas, Hinata, Sakusa, and Coach Foster entered the room as well.
"Shh.. You're too loud. And you're in a hospital." Sakusa reprimanded. Bokuto and Atsumu just smiled mischievously.
The others greeted him as well, hugging him and asking him how he was.
"Man, it's as if nothing happened to you!" Meian pointed out.
Atsumu no longer had to wear a cannula for breathing, and if not for the hospital gown, IV, and EKG attached to him, he looked exactly the same as he was 7 days ago.
"Atsumu, it's nice to see you're all better now." The coach greeted him last.
"Ya bet, coach!" Atsumu said cheerfully.
"Atsumu, where can we put these?" Inunaki held up a basket of healthy snacks. "We heard from Hinata that you've already got too many fruits, so we brought you snacks instead." He grinned.
"Cool!" Atsumu said excitedly. "I still can't eat solids for now but at least it's not somethin' easily spoilt." He shrugged.
"I'll take it." Mrs. Miya said and took the basket from Inunaki. Inunaki bowed at her.
They chit-chatted for a while, Bokuto being the star of the conversation, talking about the most trivial of things.
"When will you be able to play again, Tsum-Tsumu? We couldn't start training without you!" Bokuto pouted.
Everyone fell into an awkward silence. They knew Bokuto could be dense and oblivious, and sometimes he could just be stupid.
Sakusa’s demeanor changed from bored to dark. The others looked like they were caught in the act of something. Atsumu, on the other hand, laughed awkwardly.
“Well, about that…” Atsumu said with an awkward smile.
The coach cleared his throat, “I guess since it was brought up, now’s the time to discuss this with the team,” he said “Atsumu won’t be participating in any of the games this season.” Coach Foster dropped the news.
Atsumu knew this was coming, but the utter sound of “not participating” made him want to cry. Where is Osamu when you need him?
“Eh?” Bokuto asked in confusion. “But why?”
“Because he needs to recover, dumbass,” Sakusa answered. “Whatever happened to him wasn’t just a joke or prank. He, no, WE need to take it seriously.”
Bokuto just nodded and stopped himself from speaking again. He looked like a dog who was reprimanded by his master.
“Yes. Exactly.” Coach Foster spoke. “I already talked with his doctor here, and Shino-sensei as well. We talked about encompassing regimes that will focus on your recovery." He added.
“But, to make that happen, you have to cooperate.” The coach emphasized. “You will have to follow EVERYTHING we tell you. Even if it’s against your ideals.
“The goal is to keep you from playing this season, so you can play for the next.” The coach smiled at him.
“Ya don’ hafta worry about that coach,” Mrs. Miya interjected. “We’ll make sure he does. If not us, ‘Samu will.” She chuckled. The room lightened up a bit.
Atsumu smiled boastfully, “Of course, I will!” He said.
“I wish you did the same 3 months ago.” Sakusa rebutted sarcastically. Atsumu smiled sheepishly at him.
“Hey, Ma--Oh,” Osamu entered the room. He was coming back from the hotel to fetch some things for their parents.
The team members all turned to greet him, to which he returned awkwardly.
“Oh,” the coach said with a start, “I remember they also mentioned an internal cardioverter defibrillator,” he said, sounding unsure.
“Internal cardiowhat??” Hinata asked in confusion; the others looked interested.
“If I remember it correctly, it’s a device connected to the heart, so if anything dangerous happens, like what happened a week ago, it could be reversed right at that moment by giving you an electric shock.” The coach explained.
Atsumu looked confused, then excited, then confused again.
“Wait, so I’ll be electrocuted?? Wouldn’t that hurt? And there’s gon’ be a device INSIDE my heart? ” He asked.
“Hmm.. kinda, it will feel like you got electrocuted.” Coach Foster answered. “They say it feels like some little creature jumped on your chest," the coach added. “I did some research about it, you see.” He grinned. “As for it being IN your heart, it’s not like that. You will have a WIRE in your heart that will be connected to the device on a pocket inside the muscle on your chest.” He clarified.
“Wait, he has a pocket inside his chest?!” Bokuto asked with an amazed tone. “Cool!”
“No,” the coach said with a palm on his face, “He doesn’t have a pocket in his chest, Bokuto. The surgeon will make that pocket for him.”
“Oh,” was all Bokuto said.
“Wait,” Osamu interrupted, “Am I hearin’ it correctly or will ‘Tsumu have a surgery?”
“It was just a suggestion.” The coach clarified, “Because although there are benefits, there can also be grave disadvantages. They say this was only suggested for those who have severe heart conditions.
“But, the doctors say it’s the safest thing to do if you want to continue sports. To avoid what happened a week ago from happening again,” he added.
Atsumu looked torn. He gazed around the room and settled on his mom, who was looking somehow serene. Then he looked at his brother, who looked confused.
“You know what? I think it’s best if you have a conversation with Shino-sensei and Doctor Murakami here, along with your family.” The coach suggested. “It’s a big decision anyway.”
Atsumu nodded. “We’ll do that, coach.” Mrs. Miya said. Osamu agreed.
The team lingered for a while before leaving for Tokyo that same day.
“We’ll see you in a few weeks, yeah?” Bokuto said, as he bid farewell.
“Make that a few days!” Atsumu grinned.
The team went out of the room, bidding those who would be staying goodbye. Sakusa said he’ll stay until Atsumu gets discharged.
A few hours later, the doctor checked on Atsumu. Mrs. Miya brought up the topic of internal cardioverter defibrillators.
“Ah, I was actually about to suggest that to you, but I guess Coach Foster beat me to it.” He chuckled.
“Most patients with HCM who experienced cardiac arrest often get ICD,” the doctor started to explain. “Sometimes they get it because of persistent irregular heart rhythms, some because they want to be precautious.
“But almost all patients with HCM who suffered a cardiac arrest were advised, if not required, to get an ICD. This is to avoid any possibility of getting another cardiac arrest.” explained the doctor.
“So you mean,” Sakusa interjected, “Atsumu has no choice?”
“Well, if you ask me, I would highly encourage you to get one.” The doctor said with a matter-of-fact tone.
“What are the risks if he gets it?” Mrs. Miya asked worriedly.
“Well, there are a lot of benefits from getting it, and I can say the same for risks.” The doctor then explained how the device works, its advantages, and possible risks.
“We will keep a close observation on how your body adjusts to it if you decide to get it. If all goes well, you can even start training in no time.” The doctor said with an optimistic tone.
Atsumu’s parents looked worried, Osamu was in deep thought, and Sakusa was just discreetly holding Atsumu’s hand tightly.
While Atsumu just sat there, wearing a big smile.
“I’ll do it!” He declared cheerfully.
__________________________
2 years later (2020)
“Atsumu!” Iwaizumi called, “Bench, now!” he commanded.
“Aw, Iwa-san...” Atsumu groaned loudly, “The game was just gettin’ to the fun part!” he complained.
“Come here, or I’ll ask Sakusa for help?” Iwaizumi threatened. Atsumu’s face fell and started to stomp his way toward the bench.
“Sit down and rest!” Iwaizumi commanded.
The Japan Men’s National Volleyball Team had started training for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics Men’s Volleyball in the late half of the year, and Iwaizumi Hajime was introduced as the athletic trainer of the team.
“Team, quick break!” Coach Hibarida announced.
A week after Atsumu’s discharge, he had surgery for the implantation of the ICD. After that, he went to rehabilitation, rest, and then soft training to see the effect of the ICD while he was playing. Although the results were good, the team doctor and Coach Foster agreed that he could not play a whole set, so MSBY got themselves another setter to fill in for Atsumu when he gets pulled out.
It took Atsumu 8 months to be able to play in an actual match again. There were a lot of things that changed in his life. When he got out of surgery, the doctor recommended that he get rehab in Tokyo. So Atsumu and Osamu decided to relocate and rent an apartment in Tokyo since Osamu was also working on opening a Tokyo branch for Onigiri Miya.
Atsumu also had to wear a watch that monitors his heart rate; Osamu wouldn’t shut up about him getting one. He also had maintenance medicine, like Osamu.
After a year, Sakusa asked Atsumu to move in with him, to which Atsumu agreed without second guessing. When he moved out, Suna lived with Osamu.
Sometimes, during the heat of a game, he would feel dizzy. At these times, he would look at Sakusa and his partner would get the message. Sakusa, then, will ask the coach to ask for a time-out.
In worse cases, he faints, then the ICD will shock him, waking him back up. This happened once, in the middle of a training game. Sakusa almost cried. He was not allowed to go to training for 2 weeks after that.
Due to his resilient mind and heart, as well as his strong support system, Atsumu was able to get on with his life and career without feeling hopeless. In the beginning, he would often cry to Osamu, confessing how weak he felt having to do soft training. He wasn’t used to it. He even asked his twin, what if he just gave up volleyball and helped Kita on the rice farm, to which Osamu replied,
“Ya’ll just be a fertilizer there.”
Osamu helped him get past this difficult phase. He kept on telling him to look at what awaits after, and that would give Atsumu the motivation to show up for the next training day.
Sakusa was very supportive as well. He would make sure to come by his and Osamu’s apartment every day, and if he was free, he would even go to Atsumu’s checkups and training. Whenever Atsumu brought up the topic of the MSBY training, Sakusa would tell him the littlest of information, saying if he went into detail, he’d just feel bad for not being there.
2 months before his comeback, he was allowed to train with the MSBY team. That’s when he fainted and collapsed, after 1 week of training. The doctor told him it was because of the sudden change in training, even though they gradually changed it when he was still under observation, and also because he got too excited.
Now, he’s able to make it in the Japan Men’s National Volleyball team, despite everything that’s happened, and they have Kageyama in the team too, making it possible for him to rest in between sets.
There are a lot of things this lifetime could give, and the most common are surprises.