It was happening again. It was like he couldn't breathe; actually he couldn't breathe at all. His lungs struggled for the oxygen but no avail.

And that was when a tangled mess of tawny hair curled to the ground along with a lifeless, frail body.

A few days later, a man named Iwaizumi Hajime strode down the corridors of Aichi Cancer Centre hospital, a checklist board lightly in his grasp. His shoe made a small 'click' noise for every step he took: the only other noise, except for the painful cries of young adults, in the ward. Hajime's emerald eyes scanned through the different rooms as he passes before he reaches the intensive care unit. Plastered on the doors front was the name 'Oikawa Tooru'. Hajimi looked down at his list, confirming this was the correct room and he gave the door two sharp knocks.

A petite girl in a nurses uniform with short blonde hair answered the door with a smile, "hello, doctor consultant Hajime."

Hajime spotted the girls name on her tag and spoke, "good afternoon, Yachi-san. Could I see the patient?"

Yachi nodded and stepped to the side, revealing a delicate boy, Oikawa Tooru. His hair was all tangled and was in the shade of the bark on an oak tree, but a dying oak tree. Hajime could spot the creased lines under Tooru's eyes and on his chapped lips, like the rough bark on a tree. Tooru's skin was as pale as a winters smile, beautiful but with danger behind it. His body was narrow too, not because he didn't eat but because the cancer was eating away at him.

"Oikawa Tooru," Hajime spoke, "you are being moved ward to the recovery centre."

At this, the boys eyelids fluttered open and Oikawa's hickory eyes rested upon the new arrival. He faintly smiled and spoke in a voice that was clear, surprising both Hajime and Yachi, for somebody who looked half-dead, "am I finally recovering doctor?"

Hajime blinked twice from utter shock, nobody he'd even seen had been that happy while being in intensive care. He composed himself and uttered, "in a sense... Let's just say you're better than a few days ago."

A look of disappointment covered the boys face and he slowly nodded his head before he turned to the side. Yachi noticed this and quickly said, "well we just heard a few of your friends are coming to visit tomorrow! Isn't that exciting?!"

Tooru clicked his tongue a little. Hajime could understand, Oikawa had been in this hospital for nearly two years without being outside once. Not even into the hospital gardens. And his visitors would just sit and empathise with him, not doing anything fun.

You see, Oikawa was diagnosed with Ewing Sarcoma when he was little. This meant that Oikawa's bones would constantly swell or he'd be in severe pain so the doctors suggested volleyball, a bone strengthening sport. It worked... For a while. It was when he was 23, while in his sport university, Oikawa collapsed to the ground. His brain had gone into shut-down-mode from the excruciating pain he had been enduring. The sarcoma had effected his pelvis, shin and thigh bones making it difficult to walk. After being rushed to hospital, he was told that he'd never walk again. The cancerous tumour had spread through most of his bones in the lower half of his body, making them practically useless; Making Oikawa useless. Unfortunately, the symptoms of sarcoma include severe weight loss and severe tiredness, something completely invalid in volleyball. In other words, Oikawa had been told he was going to have no future.

"Also, a chemotherapy session for you has been organised for next week," Iwaizumi adds.

Something else Oikawa would lose, his hair. The precious tawny locks that defined him. I guess, what other choice did he have? Tooru knows deep down that the chemo won't get rid of the cancer, but it could help with the pain.

"Anyway, lets get you to the other ward."

Yachi tiptoed over, a little nervous from the depressing atmosphere, and helped Oikawa sit up. She then wheels over a wheelchair and transported Tooru onto the leather seat. Once Oikawa was on it, she moved his legs for him and accidentally locked eyes with his dull and lifeless ones. Something a human should never experience is sheer numbness to pain. Oikawa had been in so much pain for so long, it was something that was just part of his life now, it was like breathing.

"Let's go, Tooru."

---

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