Chapter 4: History
Her brother was right. Like always, Yona's big brother Tomoya, who she loved dearly but who also touched raw nerves from time to time, was right. He had told her that she would have to sit out the whole week after her surgery, meaning no school, no running, no… anything. Before her surgery, she had smiled these thoughts away. But considering her low toleration of painkillers and her walk to the store on the first day back home, she had to give in. So instead of attending school, she had spent most of her time on the couch in Tomoya's little living room, trying to get all of the school topics into her head without the guidance of the teachers that had promised help so willingly after they had heard of her predicament.
At least she seemed to have found a friend in Hitoka Yachi. The girl came by after school on Thursday to bring her some schoolwork and explain maths to her.
Yona was quite thankful for the younger girl, and even more for the stubbornness of her brother, who had insisted that she was downgraded by the school. Leaning in a different language, learning different subjects wasn't easy and Tomoya had inherited the brain, she only got the sportiness.
On Saturday afternoon, she felt okay again. Her brother was due to arrive the next morning from his business trip, so she wanted to clean the flat and remove all the chaos she had produced. That also meant bringing back the books Yachi had generously lend her. She had asked her new friends about her address, but Yachi had told her to meet up at school instead. Apparently, the volleyball club would be going to nationals and had to train even on a weekend.
Yona wasn't happy about this trip on a Saturday, she was even more unhappy that she would have to go to the gym while … well, while others did what she loved to do most, but she didn't want to be a burden to her new friend, so she gave in.
At 3 pm on Saturday, she took a walk to school. No running yet, but at least she could walk almost normally again. The sun came out as she walked and Yona enjoyed being outside after almost a whole week inside.
At school, she found the way to the gym without a problem. She could hear the squeaks of the volleyball shoes from outside the door and recognized the voice of the trainer, Ukai was his name, right?, too, shouting orders from time to time. She could hear screams of glee when things went right. And she could her irritated voices when things did not go right.
Training sounded harsh. But it sounded like fun, too. Fun she already missed out on for too long. Looking down on her hand, she sighed.
"Sometimes, life gives us challenges. They are hard. It seems like fate is against us. But good things come from that." She could hear the voice of that old man in her head. He could be right. But just standing outside a closed door would not bring good things, for sure.
With a deep sigh she drew herself up to her full height, pulled her shoulders back, and opened the door. A different world greeted her.
Her world, a long time ago.
Stepping into the gymnasium, Yona swallowed hard. It hurt to be in a gym again. But at the same time…
"Yona-chan!", Yachis voice interrupted her thoughts. Looking to her left side, Yona saw the girl waving from the bench, and hurried over. She spared the boys on the field not a single look.
"Hello!", she greeted her friend, and gave a bow to the other people present.
Yachi was quick to make the introductions between the senior manager of the team and Yona, then she pulled her friend aside.
"Are you feeling better, Yona?", she asked caringly.
"Yes, a lot better, actually. Thank you again for your visit and the books, they helped a lot! I think I get it now." Yona smiled and started to unpack the book from her bag.
"That's nice to hear, but if you need…"
"Caution!", someone shouted loudly. The girls spun around and saw the flash of a colourful volleyball flying towards them. Yachi squeaked and jumped to the side.
Yona pulled her right hand back to safety and intercepted the ball with her hip -
her still not completely healed hip.
Darkness started to dance before her eyes immediately.
She gasped for breath and would have lost her footing, but a strong hand closed around her upper arm and held her upright.
"Hinata, you idiot!", he shouted next to her right ear.
"Come on, let's get you to the bench! You need to sit down." The same someone who shouted merely seconds ago, had a smooth voice when he wasn't shouting.
Somehow, Yona found her way to the bench while fighting the darkness in front of her eyes. She was barely aware of the teacher and the trainer, who urged her to sit down, of Yachi losing almost consciousness because of this accident, of several pairs of feet in volleyball shoes that stood in a circle around her, and of a certain orange haired boy bowing again and again, shouting excuses while getting an earful by his teammates.
It seemed like forever until she could catch her breath again. Smiling through the pain at the culprit of her ordeal, she said: "It's okay. I should just have jumped to the side… It was my fault to receive the ball like that."
The voice that had helped her to stay on her feet commented this sourly: "Or our wing spiker could have aimed at the court, not at the bystanders."
Yona raised her gaze and looked for the owner of the voice. It was a broad-shouldered boy… no, almost young man, standing slightly to her right side. He had dark hair and dark brown eyes and, in this moment, a grim face. She knew him: It was the student she ran into during the flight on her first day.
Feeling her gaze, he looked down and the grim expression made room for a slight smile. "Hello," he said. "I'm Sawamura Daichi, the captain of the team. Are you okay? Please excuse this idiot of spiker, who will for sure start another extra round of diving receives right away!" With that, he turned around and raised an eyebrow at the orange haired boy, who shouted "Yes sir!" and ran away. On a second thought, the boy added: "And his setter will do the same, because he is good enough to eliminate the chance of such an incident with the setting of the ball."
"Wha..?". Kageyama started to disagree, but a grey-haired boy seized him by the collar and pulled him towards the court.
Sawamura-San wasn't finished, yet. He could see the slight blushing of the girl in front of him. She seemed to dislike being the centre of attention like that. "And if I can still see anyone of this team not being back on the court in five seconds, you will all join our dear first year duo right away."
With that being said, everyone scattered and picked up training where they left it – only with two boys running and sliding on their knees and tummies from time to time.
Daichi turned back to the girl sitting on the bench. "Like I said, I am sorry for the inconvenience." With that, he bowed.
Yona made the attempt to get back to her feet again but fell back on her tush with a slight groan of pain. The teacher jumped to her side immediately, the trainer watched her with his arms crossed.
"I am okay, I am okay. Just need a moment to get back to my feet, okay? Please…" Yona raised her hands in a defensive stance. Her cheeks were tinged red. She had hated being the centre of attention from childhood on, but since her injury, she hated it even more…
"If you are sure, Sadai-San. But don't hesitate to tell us different. We will look for medical aid right away!" Takeda-sensei seemed completely scattered and hectic. His hands flittered. No wonder, Yona thought, he was present when her brother enrolled her in school. No one forgot her brother easily – especially after the fuss he made about her being downgraded a year.
She shook her head no. "Everything will be all right. Just give me a moment to sit."
Yachi fidgeted with her hands, too. "Are you sure, Yona-chan? I am so terribly sorry… I know you didn't want to come into the gym, and now this…"
Daichi cocked his head. She didn't want to come into the gym? Interesting…
Yona, still in pain from her throbbing hip, ignored the curious glances she got at the remark of the blonde girl and smiled at her new friend. "It will be okay, Yachi-chan. I promise. Nothing is broken, see: I even saved your drawing on my cast." With that, she raised her right hand with the plaster. On the once white plaster was now a little chubby crow whose wings seemed too small to fly. It was Yachis drawing, made during her visit at Yonas home. "The little crow is still trying to fly!"
Daichi watched the dialogue between the two girls and wondered. The new girl seemed to still be in pain, but she didn't make a fuss about it. Instead, she used lots of energy to make the others believe differently. Just as he had built up enough courage to ask her a question, Hinata, who had heard the words "little"; "crow" and "fly" stopped in front of the girls.
"Ooooh! A new cast! Can I sign it, too?" Yona couldn't tell the boy no – he was looking at her with puppy dog eyes, begging to sign the plaster. With a sigh, she looked at Yachi. "Do you have a pen?"
"Of course!" The blond girl pulled a pen out of her notebook which was lying next to Yona on the bench. Hinata snatched it and started to write his name on the plaster. "Oy! Kageyama, come over, sign this cast!"
This was heard by Tanaka and Nishinoya – who had been listening to the bystanders instead of concentrating on their training game – after all, there was a new girl present... Without a single second of hesitation, they left the game and ran over. Soon, nearly the whole team begged to sign the cast.
With a giggle, Yona let them sign it. Her pain was subsiding, and she started to see why Yachi liked this team. They seemed like a bunch of crazy but funny guys with their hearts in the right place. "Are they always like this?"; she asked the first manager of the team.
Shimizu shook her head yes. "You don't want to know…"
Daichi shook his head while he watched his team.
"Why don't you sign it, too?" Sugawara moved closer to him. Asahi was accompanying him.
"Well…", Daichi started.
Sugawara raised his eyebrows. "Well…?", he echoed.
"You are awfully quiet, Captain.", stated Asahi.
A devilish grin crossed Sugas face. "Well…?", he echoed again, and when his friend still made no effort to answer him, he moved behind him and gave him a single push at the shoulders. "Our captain hasn't signed it yet!"
"Ah! Suga!", Daichi wanted to resist, but when a pair of gold-brown eyes watched him, he stopped the fightback and gave in. Snatching up the pen from Tsukishima, who watched with cool eyes, he moved closer to the bench, bend over, and wrote his name in one of the few free spots on the cast. Every single of his moves was watched. He could feel it.
Looking up after having finished writing, his glance crossed with Yona's. She blushed.
He felt the heat of colour in his own cheeks.
Daichi cleared his throat and – thanks the heavens! – trainer Ukai used this moment to shoo the team back on the court again: "Everyone, this is no break! We don't have time for breaks! Hinata, Kageyama, you can stop your extra training and get back in the game. Sawamura, please stay here at the bench, I still want your expertise on some of our new moves. Everyone, go!"
"Sadai-San?"; Takeda-sensei addressed her. So her name was Sadai Yona, Daichi thought. "Would you please stay on the bench a little bit longer? Just until training is over for today. Use that time to recover from that unfortunate incident. I would hate it for you to walk home and take a fall."
Yona considered this request.
But it was Yachis "Please, Yona-chan!" that made her give in. That, and her own curiosity about the boys that seemed so crazy. She wanted to watch them play…
"All right, I'll stay." With that, she leaned back and focused on the court. Takeda-sensei sat down at her right side, Yachi at the other. First, Yona sat rigidly and was quite as a mouse. But her eyes were always sharp. When Hinata and Kageyama performed their quick, she got excited and leaned forward. This… This was pure potential!
She observed Yamaguchi's serve and nodded happily when the ball started floating in mid-air. She loved to do those herself…
When Asahi spiked the ball right through a block of three, she hummed cheerfully.
Then the grey-haired boy set the ball, and several players moved at once. "A synchronized attack. The opponent will only know of the spiker a split-second before he attacks. Nice! You aren't dependable on your ace alone. Paired with this crazy quick… No wonder you are going to the Nationals!"
"For not wanting to enter this gymnasium, you seem to know an awful lot about this sport." Ukai commented on her loudly spoken thoughts. He had watched her and witnessed her excitement during the moves, while he had discussed some of his ideas with the captain of the team. Now he moved closer with a grin on his lips.
Yona shrugged and leaned back again. He was the grandson of the old man who had changed the light bulb at her home. Lying made no sense, he would know about it sooner or later. "Maybe there was a time during which I lived in a gymnasium like this. But of right now, this is history."
Ukai nodded gruffly. He accepted this answer, the girl seemed to have her reasons. "Well… if you ever want to take another class of history – or even teach those first years a history lesson – feel free to come by. I think they would love to learn from a different teacher."
It seemed like he had already had a talk with his grandfather… Yona wanted to decline the offer right away, but the coach raised one hand.
"No, don't say anything. Just think about it. Keep it in mind… for when times get rough. Teaching can help both parties, you know."
Yona shrugged again. No, she didn't know, and she didn't want to know. There would be no volleyball until she could stand on court herself again, with her dominant hand healed. She had promised that to herself. No half-hearted try – her sport deserved all of her. So she would wait.
Preoccupied in thoughts, Yona didn't realize she was watched. The team captain, who still leaned against the wall not far from them, had overheard the conversation between his coach and the strange girl, and could not help but hope for her to reappear. He wanted to get to know her history.
Hello!
Finally we're getting down to things - volleyball and captain-things. I've to admit, writing this chapter was a lot of fun. Not being an native english speaker I'm always scared to make mistakes, but writing chapter 4 (5 and 6) was so much fun, that I forgot about this fear. Well, almost.
I'll try to update sometime during the christmas-holidays.
Until then: Please let me know what you think about Yona and her history...
See ya next chapter!
Kate
