I would personally like to thank everyone who were my first few reviewers! I am sooo happy you guys! Really, it feels good when someone gives you an ego boost :P
Thank you Keax (and I have remedied the error – I didn't know that little fact! Thanks a lot), Nakkie, Rumiko, Trix, Miyahara Yuuki, Frozenfemale, Starian Princess and The Tarik. You guys made my day! Hontou ni Arigatou Gozaimasu!
Here's the next chapter! Ja!
THE SPIRIT 2
"It's great to have you with us amongst the living again." Kogure said, a genuine smile of relief on his face. The whole team had visited him the very next afternoon as soon as the news reached them that he was conscious once again.
"I was alive Kogure." Mitsui said, a small frown on his face. "Just as asleep."
"Well, you weren't exactly moving about, if you know what I mean." Kogure pointed out, glasses reflecting light from the ceiling.
"Oh, I am offended." Mitsui said, mocking a look of hurt.
They had brought little delicacies for him to enjoy. Everyone was most kind to him and treated him as if he were made of porcelain. Kogure asked over and over again if he needed his pillows propped, Ayako fussed whether he wanted anything to drink, Akagi glared and scolded anyone who made anything go out of place like for example if someone tugs at the blanket and exposed Mitsui's feet, Miyagi continued on asking him if his knee was all right. Mitsui was getting a headache from it all. No doubt he loved the attention and all the things they were actually willing to do for him, but the questions were driving him mad. They all sounded like a broken record.
"Guys, guys, look at the poor guy." Sakuragi said, while Mitsui had unconsciously looked down and rubbed his temples with a hand. "You're all giving him a headache with all your racket."
"Speak for yourself!" Miyagi said. "I hear that you make a lot of noise around here."
"That is not the subject of this conversation." Sakuragi said, giving him the killer-eye.
"Whatever." Rukawa grumbled and yawned.
"I think it's best if we all leave now." Akagi said, looking at everyone, using his power of authority to make them all comply. "Don't strain yourself." He told Mitsui, as everyone began to give him the usual 'get well soon' and 'don't do a lot of things' and 'don't stress yourself out' phrases.
"Thanks for coming you guys!" Mitsui smiled as everyone piled out of the room, save for Sakuragi who was now in a pair of white jogging pants and a light blue t-shirt. "I don't mean to sound awful," Mitsui said, rubbing his head once everyone was gone. "But they give me a headache."
"You just woke up less than twenty four hours ago. What do you expect? Your body to cooperate with all the party mood after it woke up from four months' sleep?"
"I guess I give myself too much credit." He shrugged. "But I enjoyed it nevertheless. I just need to get used to more noise."
"Be right back." Sakuragi left the room and came back with his Discman and a few CD's. "Here. Maybe a little music can help you get your mind used to a few things."
"You sure you don't mind? I'll have someone scoot by my place to fetch me a few things. The doctor says he's going to keep me here for a week or so for more examination."
"Luck you." Sakuragi mumbled, looking at his hands. Mitsui heard it and waited for him to continue. "At least you could go home. You know, I think I have an idea why you ran away from this place to practice when you were injured. I actually don't blame you."
"Don't worry too much." Mitsui said, reaching out and patting his shoulder. "You've got us, the team, remember?"
Sakuragi smiled. "Yeah."
Both of them continued chatting till dinner ended. The nurse told Sakuragi to leave the room because he was laughing out loud again along with Mitsui which made a lot of noise disturbing the other patients. Sakuragi threw a tantrum but left in the end. Mitsui went to sleep immediately after that, lying on his side and looking out his window, watching the stars as his eyelids slowly closed.
*
When he woke up, he found that the nurses outside had changed their uniform. They were no longer the cute short white dresses and little hats that looked identical to everyone else. They were longer and had no hats. Their hair was tied up high in tight buns and there seemed to be a new staff. He assumed it was morning shift, and because he's been conscious for only two days, he did not know who came in during the day and who at night.
He continued walking around, seeing new faces and new patients. He looked at his hospital pajamas, then at another young man's. He was wearing a thing white and blue cotton pair with stripes while this young man who had his head in bandages wore a long sky blue gi. He looked around again and found more patients in the same light blue gi – even the women.
He turned to head back to his room. He threw everything he saw to the back of his mind, dismissing it with an excuse that is was probably some new style or something along those lines. He turned the doorknob of his room and stepped in. He suddenly stopped when he found someone else occupying the bed. It was a young girl, probably at the age of puberty, with long dark hair and dark brows eyes. She was looking out the window sadly, eyes tearing.
He took several steps forward, and was about to open his lips to query about her presence when the door opened. A girl, a mirror image of the one lying down stepped in, dressed in a white dress and sandals, hair tied at the nape of her neck. The one on the bed turned to look at her, and began to beg her to leave her alone.
"You're my sister!"
"Go away!" The one lying down begged. "Go away!"
Mitsui held up a hand to stop the one on the bed from raising her voice because the readings on the monitors were beginning to get very erratic. Her voice was also deafening, now that she was shrieking for her twin to leave. Mitsui covered his ears and winced, falling on his knees.
*
He bolted up from bed with a gasp, looking around him. He quickly got off the bed and looked around his room, panic glimmering in his dark blue eyes. He found his basketball posters on the wall and all the little gifts from the team and other friends. He left his room and peeked in to the room beside him. The old man inside was dressed in plain blue and white pajama pair. He looked at the nurse walking down the hall and found her in her usual white outfit with the little hat.
"Just a stupid dream." Mitsui said, berating himself for acting like a kid.
He headed back for his room and lay down on the bed, pulling the covers over his body. He stared at the ceiling, waiting for sleep to overcome him. It was only one in the morning and it was Monday of all days. He found himself unable to sleep until dawn came.
He could barely keep his eyes open. He was so sleepy, since he managed to get some sleep for perhaps only 4 hours. The nurse came to rouse him for some sort of therapy that he will have to go through for a week to get his nerves and muscles back to its normal working conditions. It was part of the treatment and because he was an athlete, he had to go through it or else his body would not be able to withstand any hard exercises. He was also under a strict diet to retain all the weight he lost.
After his therapy, Mitsui stepped on the weighing scale in the bathroom. He was shocked to find that it read 58 Kg. He could not believe that he lost 12 kg in the span of four months. He stripped his top off and stared at his reflection in the mirror. All the lean muscles he had had shrunk. His ribs protruded sickeningly from his flesh that it made him feel like hurling his guts out.
His breakfast went in to the toilet bowl.
He turned on the cold shower and took a bath, his shoulder length hair dripping beads of crystal water. He was determined to put on weight and get back on track. He was an athlete and he vowed to remain one. Even if the winter games had long ended, and Akagi and Kogure had left the team. He would have to leave the team too. Basketball was not the only thing circling his little world now. His future did too.
"Two months." He mumbled, closing his eyes as the shower gently rained on his neck. "I will play for two more months."
*
"What's with the long face?" Sakuragi asked, sitting cross-legged on the leather couch of his hospital room. It was the only comfortable chair and since Mitsui was on the bed, he took the single couch.
"I lost a lot of weight." Mitsui said. "I'm underweight for my height."
"You're telling me." Sakuragi said, looking at him up and down. "You need a haircut too."
"I know." Mitsui mumbled, nodding his head. "When I get out of here, I'm getting a haircut."
"You better." Sakuragi smirked and looked out the window. "So what are you going to do? Winter games are over. Gori and Megane left the team already."
"I've decided to play for two more months." He said, staring at his hands.
So you're quitting." Sakuragi said, looking at him with a serious expression.
"I'm not MVP anymore. I can't make a future with just basketball. If – If I get injured again, my worth goes down the drain immediately. There is no sure future. I was a good player once - that is until –" He swallowed, not continuing.
"You're still a good player."
"But not like before." He said stubbornly, looking out the window. "Times have changed."
"No, it hasn't." Sakuragi said, shaking his head. "You have." Mitsui was about to retort to what he just said when Sakuragi changed the subject. "How are your eyes?"
"They're all right. Everything is clear now. Sometimes it blurs, but otherwise it's fine." He shrugged, rubbing them gently.
"Good." Sakuragi nodded, looking out the window too. "So what are your plans?"
"Get a job outside after school, do something about my grades maybe. Get in to a university and start a new. I'll be trying out for the basketball teams of course, hopefully they'll give me a scholarship for a year or two."
"You got finance for Uni?"
"My uncle is helping me out." Mitsui looked at the gardens below and found a couple walking around hand in hand. A smile came to his face, seeing how sweet they looked together.
"What's so funny?" Sakuragi asked.
He shrugged in reply. "Nothing really. Just feeling a bit envious of those two walking."
"Where?" Sakuragi stood up and looked at the garden in front of him. His brows furrowed. "Where?"
"Just there! By the fountain." Mitsui pointed.
Sakuragi looked again and his brows furrowed even more. "Eh? What are you talking about? There's no one down there."
Mitsui looked at him as if he was crazy. "But I just saw them." He rubbed his eyes and looked again. This time he saw no one, just like what Sakuragi said.
"You ought to get more sleep, Mitchy. You're not that well yet, you know?" Sakuragi said, patting him on the back. Mitsui sat on his bed once more and frowned. "Hey look, I understand all right? Your eyes just suffered from major damage. I don't blame you for hallucinating or whatever you want to call it."
"I am not hallucinating. I just –" He stood up and looked out the window again and found two kids chasing each other. Both were dressed in white shorts and bright yellow shirts. He blinked and they were still there, laughing. He placed an open palm on the window glass surface and continued looking. The two kids stopped playing and looked up at him.
"Mitchy?" Sakuragi asked, looking at him curiously now. "Oi!"
Mitsui felt his breath stop in the middle of his throat. The two kids stopped playing and looked up at him.
"Mitsui!" Sakuragi called out sharply, but still, Mitsui did not react. He was still looking out the window.
The two kids were now staring at him, right in to his very eyes. His hands balled in to fists, his eyes slowly beginning to hurt, and the pain was increasing with each ticking second.
The two kids opened their mouths to speak and the words came out shrilling from their throats, the impact hitting Mitsui right at the face.
"CAN YOU SEE US?"
He gave out a sharp scream, seeing a bright white flash before everything went black. His head swirled then he fell back with a thud, eyes staring wide open at the ceiling. "OI! OI! MITCHY!" Sakuragi cried out in alarm, getting to his feet immediately once Mitsui hit the floor. The poor redhead felt his heart drum in his ears and chest. "Oh god!"
He rushed out of the room and yelled for Mitsui's doctor. The nurses rushed in to the room (male and female) and lifted Mitsui off the floor, placing him on the bed. An oxygen mask was strapped on his face.
Dr. Hajime came in immediately and stared at Mitsui's dilated pupils. "What happened?" He asked, looking at Sakuragi. He pulled down Mitsui's lids and began to examine any faults.
"I – I don't know." Sakuragi looked at Mitsui's eyes and clenched his fists. "He just screamed and then he fell."
TBC