Chapter three: Reaction
Silence rings through the clubroom as Fuji's voice dies out at the end.
No one knew what to do now.
When the therapist had off handedly asked each one of them about their youngest team member during their last sessions they had thought nothing about it. Passing it off as her being worried about him due to how seemingly unaffected he was by Coach's death even though it was him who had actually seen her get hit. But when Oishi had reported that she had seemed increasingly interested in knowledge of the golden-eyed boy's home life they had decided to find out why.
It was Inui who had said to read his journal. More specifically that there was an 85% chance that whatever was worrying the woman was in there. They had expected something small but "normal" as Magumi-san was strange in their opinion and they all were somewhere in terms of annoyance (Tezuka, Fuji, Kawamura, Inui, Kaido)and hatred (Momoshiro, Oishi, Kikumaru, Echizen) in their feelings towards the woman who they had been forced to meet once a week for two months now. Despite her claims that were made to contradict their complaints she was apparently "valid in all of what she has said from her observations of them". They decided she wasn't.
Tezuka was slightly constrictive and harsh yes but he wasn't obsessive compulsive,
Oishi was by all means a mother hen but that didn't mean he had an anxiety disorder,
Fuji was strange and hard to read they would give her that much. However it was going too far to say he was asocial and had a Asocial personality disorder.
Kawamura was completely different personality wise with a racquet in hand sure, but he wasn't schizophrenic,
Inui saw statistics in everything but he didn't have a derelization disorder.
Kiado was scary and everything but he was far from being psychotic.
Momoshiro was always fighting with Kaido but that was just how they were. It didn't mean the power player had Intermittent Explosive Disorder.
Kikumaru was a bit childish... well, more than a bit... but that didn't mean he was mentally retarded or whatever.
So the regulars had automatically assumed that Megumi-san was just as insane with her conserns for their freshman as she was with her diagnosious of them.
That didn't seem to be the case...
Fear
Silence rings deadly through the air
Secrets no longer exist here
The play ends, the curtain closes, the end
No room for anymore pretend.
Hush little boy, don't make a sound
As the place once safe turns lethal
Hush little boy, don't make a sound
As the war long overdue, rages on around you
Hush little boy, don't make a sound
As long as I'm here they can't hurt you
Screams now class through the air
Innocence is no longer welcome here
Caught between the truth and the lies
No room for love on a battlefield
Hush little boy, no one's here now
As your protector abandons you here
Hush little boy, don't make a sound
As vases break and glass shatters
Hush little boy, no one's here now
As the monster too real opens the door
And that was simply the last entry. The others before it also brought questions to mind. Did they even know their youngest teammate at all? It certainly didn't seem like it right now. Was tennis even any fun for him? They had thought he LIVED for the sport. One of his entries seemed to more than just say otherwise...
Tennis
To say I hate everything about the sport is an understatement to say the least.
I loathe it.
Whenever I step onto a court I want to bolt the other way as fast as possible.
Whenever I pick up a racket I feel the need to vomit.
Whenever I see something related to the game I want to scream.
But I don't do I?
You who claim to know me so well just because we play on the same team have no idea the effert I exert simply by making myself show up to practice.
You wonder why I never smile or (God forbid) laugh...
... How can I when I'm playing the very sport that has made my life a living hell?
You who play the game for the fun of it,
Could never understand why I put up with it.
Glare at me in disapproving disgust all you want,
It won't change anything about it...
One more serve...
One more hit...
One more point...
One more game...
One more match...
One more tournament...
One more plack...
One more trophy...
One more title...
One more win...
If I only manage it just one more time…
Then maybe...
... Just MAYBE...
... HE will finally LOVE ME.