Part II
Chapter 47
Soft morning light struck the woman's back as it fell through the window, highlighting Kurosawa-sensei's frazzled hair and making it look like a nest of neon filaments. Her appearance as a whole was in somewhat equal disarray as well: her face still incredibly groggy, her eyelids struggling to stay open, the shirt she wore while sleeping so wrinkled and unkempt.
However, even though she was hardly the image of someone in their best condition, Kagura was still delighted with her coach's demeanor nonetheless.
Yeah, she looks tons better now. Tons better than yesterday...
The very moment that she had heard the shuffling of sheets, Kagura had rushed over to the bed, now sitting on the edge of it as she watched the woman slowly wake up. Kurosawa-sensei seemed fairly disoriented after sleeping for such a long time, but much of the previous bleakness in her face had vanished at least, her complexion as a whole much healthier looking as well. "...morning, coach!"
Her mentor looked surprised to hear another person in her apartment, quickly glancing up at Kagura with tired eyes. "...h-hello? Morning...?"
Kagura smiled. "How you feeling?"
"...why...are you here...?"
"Oh, uh, I stayed the night."
"...what? Why?"
"Ah...I just wanted to make sure that you were ok after yesterday, coach. Sorry to just make a call like that...but I was worried about you. But hey, tell me if you're ok or not now. You're not feeling, like, sick or anything?"
The question didn't appear to make immediate sense to her, a perplexed look on the woman's face. "...no."
"So you feel ok then, right? Not...I dunno' what to call it, but you just feel 'normal', right?"
Minamo blinked at her a few times. "...yes...?"
"Ok...good! Great!" Kagura exhaled loudly. "Man, you were out since yesterday afternoon, coach! You slept like a baby. I mean like, damn, I wish I could sleep as well as you did. Um...ok, so first...you really need a shower, no offense. Want me to help you to the bathroom? Oh, I used your shower myself too, so...uh, sorry if that bugs you or anything. I used one of your towels and stuff..."
"Kagura, what day is it...?"
"It's Tuesday morning, coach. And, um...and you gotta' get to work soon..."
The confused look on Kurosawa-sensei's face continued on for a bit. But then, comprehension suddenly flooded it, and it grew pale as she ducked her head down. "Did...you get Yukari...?"
Kagura sighed. So much for starting this off easy. "Coach, remember, we talked about this yesterday already. And even if I had gone to get her when you wanted me to, she'd probably be gone from school anyway. And what would I do if she didn't wanna' come? Look, coach, you have to go to work and talk to Yukari yourself. That's what you have to do today, ok? You need to make up with her, so you need to-"
"No!"
Kagura ground her teeth. "Why not? Are you still scared to see her?"
Kurosawa-sensei leaned back against the wall then, turning her body slightly as gloom rained down on her.
...man. "Coach, are you going to work today or not?"
"...I asked you to help, and you didn't..."
"...look, I'm trying to hel-"
"I'm not going outside."
There was a feeble sort of rage in her voice now, and it gave Kagura a clear indication that the terror this woman had experienced yesterday was still with her, even after such a long rest. "...call Yukari, coach. Did you call her yesterday? You didn't tell me if you did or not. Either way, you need to talk to her yourself. That's what you gotta' do. I mean, that's why I can't force her here, coach. You really think she'd be happy about me knowing what happened? I'd just make things worse..."
Minamo huddled herself against the wall, just staring emptily at the adjacent one, a hand over her chest. "I'm never leaving...everyone hates me."
"...call Yukari, coach. Or call her some time today and just talk to her if you haven't tried. Maybe Yukari's not as mad at you as you think she is..."
No response, no movement of her body.
Kagura shook her head in frustration. "Hey, what about the tournament? There's a lot of work that we gotta' take care of for it. You have to go for that at least, coach. Come on." She furrowed her brow as Kurosawa-sensei kept ignoring her. "Coach...why are you so scared of her anyway? She's your best friend, right? I'm sure you guys can make up about yesterday...I bet she doesn't hate you because you like women or something, or even if you tried to kiss her. Seriously, did you even call her? Hello...?"
"...she hates me."
"How do you know that, though?"
"She always has..."
Kagura couldn't help but become puzzled then, not just from Kurosawa-sensei's odd words, but also by how far her behavior had just seemed to regress now. It was like she was conversing with a child that had drifted off into her own world, her coach just staring off into space.
...it's not as bad as yesterday, but this still isn't going anywhere.
"...coach, ok. It's fine. You can stay here, but I'm gonna' go to school and get practice started, and then I'll be back. Um...I ordered a lot of take out yesterday too, and it's in the fridge if you want any. But anyway, I'll be back soon, ok? Like, make sure you eat something. Or do you want me to fix you up a plate now? You must be hungry, coach."
Again, Kurosawa-sensei remained quiet, oblivious to her.
"...ok, I'll do that before I go. Oh, also..." Kagura looked down for a second, and then lifted her eyes back up to the woman with some hesitance. "...by the way, I have a quick question for you. So...when I go to school, let's say...that if I do run into Yukari there, then what do you want me to do? I mean, outside of kidnapping her..."
The woman's eyes opened with concern at the notion, her attention suddenly ripped out from whatever it had been trapped in. Her hand went to her head then, as if she now had a headache. "Everyone knows now, so it doesn't matter. Everything's over. I can't go anywhere..."
Kagura frowned. "...look...you don't know what Yukari's done yet. Since you aren't calling her or anything, you don't know if she's told people about you or not. Don't you think it's silly to just give up like that? Coach, listen, there's one thing I can do for you, ok? I was thinking about this yesterday. I can at least go see how things at school are while I'm there. I mean, if none of the staff or whatever knows you're gay, then doesn't that mean Yukari hasn't told anyone yet? You could still make up with her before...I don't know, before she spills the beans or whatever. But why would she even do that in the first place? That's what I don't get, coach."
"...because I just know."
"How do you know? Come on...Yukari's an asshole, sure, but why would she just go and rat you out to people because you guys had a fight or whatever? Especially with something that you're so protective about. She wouldn't do that...and hey, you used to tell me how nice she was to you sometimes. She's your best friend, right? She won't turn on you, coach..."
"...Kagura..."
"Yeah?"
The woman's head shifted up slightly. "...I appreciate what you're saying. And...I'm glad that I could tell you about myself...but...I...I'm not..."
Kagura leaned in closer, trying to hear her low voice. "...you...you're not what?"
Kurosawa-sensei appeared to think about something for a decent while then. "...everyone...really does think poorly of Yukari, don't they...?"
"...uh..." Kagura's face scrunched up with confusion at the conversation's strange path. "...well, yeah. Duh. I mean, no offense to her or anything, but she's just...I mean, I like her, but it's really hard to do sometimes."
Another short pause. "...ok, then. I'll...I'd appreciate it...if you can go and check things out for me like you suggested, Kagura."
"...oh! Yeah! Coach, I can totally do that!" She smiled, elated from not only finally feeling useful in this entire predicament, but also by how talkative Kurosawa-sensei was becoming. "Seriously, just leave it to me! I'll get a feel for everything as soon as I get there. I'll text you as soon as I find out anything, too. Oh, I put your phone up there by the way. " She pointed to the device as it sat on the windowsill above the bed. "Just keep it near you, ok?"
"Ok."
Kagura crossed her arms. "Also...coach, for Yukari...if I see her, I could at least chat with her and see how she's feeling as well. Like, I'll totally play dumb about everything, but hey, if she's not too pissed off, then maybe things can still work out coach? Right? Like, I think you'd feel better about talking to her? Seriously, I bet Yukari is over everything by now. She must miss you tons!"
"...I'll trust whatever you do, Kagura."
She felt her chest inflate with pride from the vote of confidence. "O-ok, coach! Ok, but, are you gonna' be alright here alone?"
"...I'll be fine. I just...I need...to think about things..."
Kagura patted her shoulder. "Ok, ok. No problem. Just keep your spirits up! Oh, hey, let me get you some grub like I was saying."
With that, she stood up and made her way over into the kitchen. She soon came out with a microwaved bowl of ramen and vegetables, a glass of water as well, and then everything down next to the bed. "Make sure that you eat up, coach. Ok?"
"...ok..."
Kagura bit her lip as she studied the woman for a moment then, noticing that her mood had just abruptly changed.
...she's still acting weird, but not insane at least. She seemed like she was getting better a minute ago, but now she seems kinda' bummed out again. But...I think she'll be fine. I'll only be gone for about two or three hours, anyway. That's not too long. And when I get back, I'll try and get some more stuff cleared up from yesterday as well.
Without further delay, she walked towards the apartment entrance, picking up a duffel bag that she had fetched from her car yesterday. She then eyed the dining table.
...I should probably take 'em. She still seems pretty paranoid, so I really don't know if she'd let me back in.
"...coach...I'm gonna' borrow your apartment keys, ok? I'll take care of them, don't worry. I'm just taking them in case...you're sleeping or something when I get back. Sound good?"
The woman didn't respond, just laying against the wall.
...don't expect too much for now, I guess. She's fine. Just keep cool.
Kagura picked up the keys from the table. "Ok, I'll be back, coach! Just be sure to take it easy. If you need anything, then call me. Ok, coach?"
No response yet again, but Kagura let it go for now. She walked to the door, slipped her sandals on, and then placed her hand on the lock.
"Kagura."
"...yeah, coach?" She turned around, surprised at the sudden call for her.
"... can you come here, please?"
...uh, ok.
She removed her sandals before returning to her coach's bed. "What's up?"
Her mentor tilted her head to her, her stare looking past Kagura. "...I wanted...to tell you this yesterday."
"...yeah?"
"Please stop calling me 'coach'."
Kagura stepped back a bit, her heart feeling like it had just been punched straight through. "Wh-what...?"
Kurosawa-sensei paused before speaking again, her tone still meek, yet sturdier than before. "...I'm not...your coach anymore. I'm not your teacher, either. And you're not a kid. You're an adult. You're a close friend that I work with...and that I can talk to, so please call me by my first name from now on."
The words digested slowly inside of Kagura's head, but eventually, she extracted the true worth from them, her ego now swelling up like it never had before.
'...close friend...'
She didn't bother to try and hide the enormous grin that had burst onto her face, knowing it was impossible for her to do so in any case. "Oh...ok! Sure...sure I can do that...Minamo."
The woman's head slipped back to where it previously was, Kurosawa-sensei appearing to stare off into nothingness again. "...thanks."
"...uh...ok, s-see ya in a few! See ya' in a few, Minamo!"
Kagura wanted to say so much more then, sheer gratitude and admiration about ready to explode out from her. For a moment, she had felt like she was in the presence of the old Kurosawa-sensei, the one whose praise always filled her with incredible joy, the one that she had always looked up to for everything.
She managed to control her emotions for now, however, knowing that she had an important task that she needed to fulfill.
Without another word, she made her way back to the door, preparing to leave once more.
...I gotta'...
Despite the dour mood of the apartment and situation as a whole, Kagura still began to shiver with pure happiness nonetheless, an amazing amount of determination now radiating out from her.
I gotta' find Yukari. I got to now. I can't let...I can't let Minamo down. No way. No way, man. I'm gonna' fix this. I'm gonna' fix this whole damn thing myself.