Chapter Eleven

End of the Game

The most awaited National Tournament finally started. The Hyoutei girls' tennis team had two matches on the first day of the tournament. The first two matches were easy to triumph. Their opponents did not even win a single game against their team. Same thing happened on the second day of the tournament; they also had two matches and the team finished it off before the singles one match.

Since the national tournament began, Cassie hasn't played a game. Cassie was very much relieved because her left foot hasn't recovered yet. Although her foot is getting better, she still cannot stress it. The doctor ordered her not to play tennis but she is willing to disobey him. She can't just sit down and do nothing, she's preparing herself for any possible game that she will face any moment now.

The boys' team already qualified to the semi-finals. Although she's still angry at Atobe, of course she was happy for them. They were just a few steps away from the championship. As for her team, they need to win the next match to qualify to the semi-finals. She was very certain that their next game will not be as easy as their previous matches because their next opponent is the Seigaku girls' tennis team. Seigaku tennis team is one of the best team in the National Tournament. Although their team defeated them in the Prefectural's Tournament, she knew that they trained harder and they are better than the last time.

Cassie was feeling jittery. With her injured foot, how can she win against Musashi Kaori, the Seigaku's team captain. She had a hard time playing against her in Prefectural Tournament and that time she was in her best condition. Now with her injured foot, she may not defeat her. But as the captain, she will do her best for the team. To be the national champion is their dream. As the pillar of their team, she must make their dream come true.

"Cassie-chan!" Eiji approached her. She smiled at him. "I heard that your next opponent is our girls' team."

"It's okay if you won't cheer for me." She said with an honest smile.

"I will cheer for you, silly! I will cheer for both of you. May the best team win. Just do your best, okay?" he put his arms around her shoulder.

"Yes, I will do my best. Arigatou gozaimazu, Eiji."

The game against Rikkai started. As she expected, their opponent is really good. They lost in doubles two and in singles three. Miyabe and Hikari won their match in doubles one, but they had an intense match against their opponent and reached the tie break. They had a long match. Aya is now playing the singles two. Her sister was also struggling to win the match but she trusts her sister. Aya will win the game and she will play in singles one. Their supporters cheered for their team, it's a good thing that they have so many supporters that cheers for them, they feel spirited because of them. The boys' team was also there to support them.

"I'll just warm up." Cassie told Hikari.

"Do you want us to help you?"Hikari asked.

"No, it's alright. I'd rather be alone." Then she left and went to a place where no one will see her as she warm up. She started hitting the ball back and forth against the wall. As she run, she can feel her left foot aches.

"It seems that your foot hasn't recovered yet." A voice spoke from her back. She turned around and saw Atobe, standing a few meters away from her. How long has he been standing there? Did he follow her when she left the tennis court?

"Why did you follow me?" She asked him with her head held up high.

"Ore-sama just wanted to help you warm-up but it seems that you can't play with your condition. Ore-sama can see that you can't even run and move as fast as before."

"I am the only one who can tell if I can play or not. I'm perfectly fine. Just leave now." She was about to serve a ball when Atobe grabbed her arms and dragged her away.

"Hey! Let me go!" she pulled away but he held her tighter. Atobe dragged her towards a bench. He forced her to sit down but she stood up again. "You can't make me do what you want." She said sternly and glared at him.

"Sit down!" He raised his voice. She was taken aback. She can see fury in his blue eyes. Suddenly, she felt scared and just followed him, she sat down.

Atobe bend down, remove her shoes and inspect her foot covered with bandage. Her foot is still swollen. He looked up at her. "Ore-sama cannot let you play with such injured foot. I will tell coach that you will forfeit." He put back her shoe and stood up.

She cannot believe this guy. How dare he reprimand her. She was really angry. She stood up and face him. "I can play. You don't have the right to tell me what I can or cannot do!" she shouted at him, her eyes were teary but she fought back her tears. She must not show this guy that she is weak.

"You are so stubborn, lady! If you continue to play, your condition may get worse. You may not be able play ever again because of your stubbornness!"

"I don't care! You know that this match is important. I must play and lead my team to the finals. I'm a senior and this is my last opportunity to play with my team. I wanted to play until the end. I know that I may lose this game but at least, let me try my best!" She was not able to fight her tears anymore. Tears pooled her face.

Atobe suddenly pulled her towards his body and embraced her tightly. He let out a deep sigh. "Ore-sama is just worried about you." She was speechless with his actions and statement. He was worried about her and he is embracing her tightly. She moved away from him and looked at his eyes, she saw sincerity. Her anger for him seemed to evaporate from her system.

"You don't have to worry about me. I can play and win the match so please let me play and don't tell them about this matter." Deep in her heart, she was happy that he was worried about her.

"Alright then, if that is what you really want, ore-sama will let you play and will not tell anyone regarding your condition. Just promise ore-sama that you will not push yourself to much."

"Promise."

"Five games to four." The umpire announced.

Cassie and the captain of the Seishun Gakuen are now in the middle of the match. Atobe can see that Cassie was panting heavily. Cassie was walking towards their bench.

"Atobe, I can see that there is something wrong with Cassie-chan." Oshitari spoke. "She is not the same as before."

He just kept silent. Oshitari continue. "Could it be that her foot is still injured?" He still did not answer him and just watched her approaching them.

Cassie sat on the bench beside their coach. Aya gave her a bottle of water and she drank it. She was still panting heavily, she seemed so exhausted. He can't believe that she was still able to play despite her condition. On the first four games, she managed to play like she was not suffering from sprain. She run and hit the ball like she was in perfect condition. If he did not know about her sprain, he may think that she was the usual speed star. As the game progress, her movement started to slow down and missed a lot of shots. On the latter part of the game, the opponent gained many service ace and return ace.

"I can see that you are not your usual self Minami." Coach Sakaki stated. Cassie stiffened. Their coach stood up in front of Minami. "Are you hiding something Minami? Care to tell your coach about it Minami?" Coach Sakaki crossed his arms against his chest.

"Coach..." Cassie looked down.

"Is it something about your foot?" Coach knew about the injury that Cassie had during their training camp. "Did you lie to me when tell me that it was already healed?"

She still did not speak. Coach Sakaki inspects her left foot. He saw that her foot is still swollen. He stood up and let a deep sigh. "With your foot like that you cannot play anymore, you must forfeit."

Atobe saw that Cassie's head jerked upward. Their coach was right, she must forfeit but he knew that this stubborn girl will never do that.

No way!

Coach Sakaki just told her that she must forfeit. Their coach discovered her injury and wanted to forfeit. Hell no, I will not forfeit. She will never forfeit this game! Yes her foot still ached to death and she's so exhausted but she still wanted to play.

"But coach I can't forfeit!" Cassie raised her voice and stood up. "I can still play!"

"If you will continue to play you injury may get worse."

"I don't care coach, just let me continue and finish the match, this is my last year in high school, this is my last fight! Please coach let me play," Cassie pleaded while looking at their coach intently. Coach Sakaki's face was so serious.

"What is the point to continue the match if you know that there is no more hope to win. With your condition, you cannot defeat your opponent anymore."

Of course she knew that now. She cannot win the match anymore. Her best asset is her speed but with her condition, she's like a bird with broken wings. "But I wanted to continue the match and finish it."

"What for?" Coach asked her looking at her straight in the eyes.

"I wanted to be a role model to my teammates and our supporters. I wanted to show them the spirit of a fighter who will never give up until the last minute. I wanted to leave them a legacy that no one can ever erase," She said with confidence. Then, she turned and faced her teammates with teary eyes. "This is my last game and I want everyone to remember me and my team even though we did not make it to the championship."

The whole crowd was speechless. Everyone was looking at her. She just gave them her warmest smile. She saw Atobe, smiling at her too. She turned and faced their coach again.

Coach Sakaki let out a deep sigh. "Alright, continue the match. Just do whatever you want."

"Thank you coach!" she said and bowed at him.

The umpire called the players to take their place on the court. She walked back to the court and took her position. The crowd started to cheer again. She can hear that the cheers are louder than before. They cheered her name louder and louder, boosting her confidence. Her foot still aches, actually it hurt badly but she must endure it no matter what happens.

"Gambatte Cassie-chan!" She heard Eiji's voice. She looked at him and smile.

"I admire you a lot Minami-san, you managed to play like you are not in pain. You are a really great player," Musashi Kaori told her from the other side of the court.

"Now that you know that I am injured please do not hold back. Play like I am not injured. I will be mad at you if you hold back."

"I assure you, I will not hold back." Kaori bounced the ball. "Ikuze!" She served the ball. It was a twist serve.

True to her words, she did not hold back. With so much force, she returned the ball across the other side of the court. Kaori was not able to hit back the ball and she gained a return ace. Kaori served the ball again and this time they had a long rally.

She endured all the pain that circulates inside her body, while running back and forth continuously. Her whole body aches so much but she still continue to play. She herself was surprised that she still can run continuously with her condition. Maybe it was her will power that made her move in spite of the pain that she is feeling right now. Her left foot felt nothing anymore. It was already numb and she did not care at all, she just run and hit the ball.

The score was 30-40, in favor of Kaori, one more point and it's the end of the game. Kaori served the ball again and they had a long rally again. She was so tired. Her body wants to give up but her mind wants to continue. Kaori accidentally lobbed the ball and she hit it as hard as she can. Kaori was not able to hit it back.

"Out." The umpire announced. "Game Musashi six games to four. Seishun Gakuen will advance to the semi-finals."

That was it; she lost. Of course it really hurts to lose but it is part of the game, there's a winner and there's a loser and it just so happen that she was the loser.

Despite the pain that she feels inside her body she still walked across the court and met Kaori in the middle. They shook hands.

"Congratulations," she said with a sincere smile on her lips.

"Thank you," Musashi said. "My victory is not sweet at all, you were injured. If you are not, maybe there is a chance that we will not win this game." She said sadly.

"Silly. You are really good Musashi, you deserve this victory okay? You are right that maybe if I am not injured I may have a chance to beat you, but it's not like that. Even if I am injured I did my best to defeat you but I did not succeed because you are really good."

"Thank you Minami."

"Good luck to you and your team. Do your best."

"We will." They hugged each other and afterwards they both walked back to their team.

Cassie's whole body really aches. She was having a hard time walking back to her team. The girls were crying and it pains her more to see them sad because they lost.

"Gomen nasai, we lost. This is all my fault, " she said, fighting her tears and the searing pain that she is felling right at that very moment.

"Cassie it's alright, it is not your fault." Hikari said and hugged her.

"You did great Cassie." Miyabe said while sniffing.

"Arigatou minna-san" Suddenly she felt like the earth is spinning. She touched her temple. Her head and body aches big time. She felt dizzy. She lost her balance and fall but before she hit the ground a pair of strong arms held her by the waist. She can hear the panicked voices around her.

"Minami, are you alright? Ore-sama will take you to the hospital." That familiar voice. Even though the earth is still spinning in her vision she tried so hard to focus and see the face of the man holding her right now. And there she saw him, his face so close to hers. His face and voice seemed to be very worried about her. She smiled and touched his cheeks. "Keigo..." She called his name and then everything went black.