First Week of School; Sugawara and Daichi are third years
Third Person Point of View
"Kiyoko-san."
On her way inside the main school building, the bespectacled beauty of the Men's Volleyball Club turned her heels around when a certain ashen haired setter called her name. Turning around with a sealed box on her hands, she was met by none other than Sugawara Koushi.
"Did he ask you to prepare one?"
"Yes." She slightly raised the small box for emphasis.
With his left hand resting on his hip, Koushi took a deep breath and released an inaudible sigh.
"He really can't move on, huh?"
"It hasn't been that long. You should give him more time."
"I know that." Koushi replied with his head turned to the ceiling, his right hand hung loose on the side. "We really can't do anything right now."
"Yes. Though, I believe what we can do is to support him."
"You got that right." An approaching Papa Crow got the attention of his Mama counterpart and their club manager.
"I suppose so."
Earlier that Same Year
"Is that so..."
"Yes, it is, [Male Name]. It really crushed their spirits."
"Well, that's volleyball, right? You win some, you lose some. And if someone wins, surely, there are not."
Shimizu Kiyoko arrived at her cousin's hospital room a few hours after their Men's Volleyball Club lost to the Iron Wall of Date. [Male Name] was still laying on his bed, his legs restricted by the concrete enveloping them. Though that said, it didn't stop him and his cousin to converse with the recent events. With his eyes looking straight towards the opposite wall, the frown that ran across [Male Name]'s face only deepened.
"Even if I was there, I wouldn't have made any difference, anyway. I mean, I'm not as good or athletic as anyone of them. I'm not as devoted to the sport as Noya nor Tanaka-san. Certainly, I don't have any skills that can help them, unlike Daichi-san or Sugawara-san.
"[Male Name]..."
"All I'm good at is dragging everyone down to my level. I mean, let's face it. That's what I've been doing all this time." The [Hair Colour]-haired teen lowered his gaze to the two fists resting on top of his lap, [Hair Colour] locks shadowing over his eyes. Tightening his hands, he softly let out a light sigh.
"[Male Name], that's not–"
"You don't need to say anything, Kiyo-chan. I have told you this once and I don't mind repeating it again. I know my worth, and it's far from reaching you guys' standards." The injured player let a wry smile grace his features, his eyes half-lid.
"[Male Name], why do you keep–"
A sudden outburst of a loud pop song cut Kiyoko off. Apparently, it's her emergency ringtone. With a quick tug, she pulled the noisy device from the pocket of her skirt and pressed the green button.
"Excuse me, [Male Name]." She slowly bowed to her cousin before going out of the room.
[Male Name] may be a jolly, cheerful person, but that was just the player's facade. Deep down, he feels he's the loneliest member in the Volleyball Club – something that Yuu wanted to dispel ever since they were little. In crowds, he'd wear a happy face, but when alone, he'd keep a shut mouth and probably sit in a corner, play with his fingers while hanging his head low and humming to himself.
So, how come this happened?
Let's just say [Male Name]'s environment wasn't the best one.
His surroundings had those things not suitable for impressionable young minds.
Move here, move there.
And when they got tired of him, they would leave him, returning him back from whence he came.
That is, until Mishima Harumide and Mishima Naomi came along.
And adopted him.
Yup, [Male Name] was actually, an orphan, left behind by his biological parents due to big debts and personal luxuries.
Sounds a bit similar to those one would see or read in soap operas, movies, or certain written literature, but it does happen in reality...
… and not everyone ends up lucky in the end – getting adopted by caring and loving people.
[Male Name] was initially one of the unlucky ones. Now that he was found by the Mishima family, one would think he should now have felt the sense of being secured and loved.
Wrong.
True that the couple showered the teen with [Hair Colour] hair with love and affection – but not to the point of turning the child into a spoiled brat, but things done are things done. What happened in his past cannot be ripped out of him. It has become a part of him, wherever he may go. It has warped his personality, seeding it with doubts and uncertainty towards people and himself.
No matter how you fix a mirror, cracks can't be removed.
Thus, explaining the guy's trust issues.
Now back to the matter at hand.
As Kiyoko, Naomi's biological niece, returned from her phone call, she immediately said sorry to her cousin as she could not attend to him more than expected – something came up at her own home. [Male Name] understood, gave her a soft smile, and kicked her out of the room.
As the days progressed, his legs were finally getting well. Though, he'd need to do a little rehab before finally leaving the hospital, he had other matters to attend to – studying.
Since he got hospitalised, he had to double his effort in catching up with the lessons. Initially, it was Chikara who would help him with them, but then because of their practices, he had visited less and less until he never came back. He thought of asking Noya for help. But, then again, not only he's not of a great help with this kind of thing, something which [Male Name] knew quite well, the libero hasn't been visiting the patient for quite a while. So, [Male Name]'s dear cousin took the initiative and would ask hand-outs from his teachers. They were kind enough to help the lass.
His grades in the latest exams were average, all never went lower than 80, especially PE which is was a bit higher than the others. But due to the hospitalisation, his fear of earning grades lower than 75 – his personal cut-off, might actually come true. Thus, the studying.
Every once in a while, he would scavenge for his notes and received hand-outs from his school bag placed beside the bed. He would first start with his least favourite one before choosing anything else besides Japanese – the one he considers the easiest.
His logic, study the disliked subjects first and motivate yourself in finishing it. That way, once the most favourite subject comes, there would be no pressure.
One day, while destroying his brain cells with his Science lessons, a knock came to his door. Granting the person permission, the door gave way to a raven-haired upperclassman. And no, it wasn't Kiyoko. It was Sawamura Daichi.
"S-Sawamura-san..." [Male Name] forgot to hide his shock. "W-What are you doing here?"
"Why do I feel like you didn't want me to be here?" Daichi joked.
"N-No! That's not it," the patient panicked.
"I guess I'll just be on my way then," Daichi turned around against [Male Name], raising a white folder he held. "But what should I do with these hand-outs, I wonder?"
"H-Hand-outs?"
"Yes. Hand-outs. Right after I took my time to come here, I wonder what'll I with these. I guess I'll just burn them– " A smug on his face was apparent.
"Okay, okay! I GET IT!" Shouted the obviously frantic [Male Name].
"T-They did?"
"Yes," nodded the future captain.
"So that's why..."
The moment Daichi handed over the white folder full of hand-outs to [Male Name], the future captain's first question was if Noya has been visiting lately. Hearing a faint 'No, he hasn't' from the [Hair Colour]-haired teen, the raven-haired player told [Male Name] everything – from their defeat against Dateko, from the point of view of one of the actual players, to Yuu and Asahi's fight, to the libero's suspension.
Of course, Yuu won't be able to visit me. He's busy with Asahi-san, [Male Name] thought to himself.
"By the time the suspension's over, you're already back, right?"
"Y-Yes. In fact, come Friday, I can take the exams together with you guys. Just somewhere else, as per the Principal's conditions."
"In the school clinic?" [Male Name] nodded.
"I really wanted to see the cast removed, but then it was the day after we lost so..."
Daichi received a seemingly heartily laugh from the underclassman. "You really wanted to see things broken, huh, Sawamura-san."
"W-When you say it that way, it sounds like..." Daichi frantically waved his hands in front of [Male Name], wanting to correct the assumed misunderstanding.
"I don't mind, Sawamura-san. Hahaha!" The patient said nonchalantly.
Sorry, Sawamura -san. I think you're too late already.
I 'm sorry.
It was Monday when Daichi last visited. As per the request of the [Hair Colour]-haired one, Daichi kept the underclassman's current condition and sooner return to Karasuno High all to himself.
The next day, [Male Name] continued with his rehabilitation with the aid of his foster father, Harumide, who immediately pinched [Male Name]'s nose once the other slipped 'Harumide-san' instead of the constantly proposed 'Tou-chan'.
Nice enough, the stability of his legs finally returned, delighting the athlete. There must have been some good amount of determination on the boy's part if he was able to stabilise his legs earlier than predicted – even if he doesn't actually show it.
A few days after came Friday – exams. [Male Name] was more than ready, though he still took his tests at the nurse's office. He didn't mind. In fact, he thought it was for the best. He wasn't ready to face Yuu, after [Male Name] heard what happened between their libero and their ace.
Heading straight to the nurse's office, [Male Name] took every precaution he could think off to make sure he won't bump into Yuu – checking the corridors before proceeding, heightening his sense of hearing in case the libero's voice was within range, and looking at the reflections on nearby windows to check if the friend was around. Luckily, he hadn't seen the slightly shorter friend.
"Good morning, Mishima-san," the nurse seated on her chair greeted him upon entering the room.
As soon the greetings exchanged, [Male Name] proceeded to the nurse's table where his test papers were waiting for him. When the bell finally rang, the lady in the white coat handed him his first exam – Japanese. A black pen in his dominant hand, he then started answering.
Once one bell rang, he handed his finished or unfinished paper to the nurse, immediately receiving the next set of exams right after. [Male Name] would take a few minutes to rest during every exam, massaging his temples and the bridge of his nose, right before answering again. This continued for hours until lunchtime. After handing over his last exam before lunch – Math, a smile from the nurse was thrown at him.
"Ready to have your lunch, Mishima-san?" Asked the nurse.
"Uh... Yes," replied [Male Name], his smile not faltering.
"Okay, so, I'll take my leave first. I'll hand these papers to your adviser," raising her left hand which contained the folder of [Male Name]'s answered exams, "and then eat my lunch. You can eat yours here if you want." The nurse smiled as she turned her body and headed to the door.
"Thanks for the offer, Sensei," the nurse nodded in content as she closed the sliding door of the room.
Out of his backpack, [Male Name] took out his bento, prepared by himself since both Harumide and Naomi left early that day, though it was Naomi who cooked the food.
"Well, Itadakimasu."
The afternoon exams weren't any different. [Male Name] took his exams at the nurse's office. It started with Literature and ended with History. As the final bell rang, the teen with [Hair Colour] hair handed over his test paper with confidence, since he didn't have any question unanswered.
Fixing himself and his bag for a few minutes, he then said a soft 'Goodbye' to the nurse and headed out of the room. With one direction in mind, a happy smile graced his features.
"I don't think I'd mind seeing Yuu-chan now."
"I'm feeling great."