JSWGAS Chapter 118

Chapter 118

118.

——Everything happened so suddenly.

Kokonoe Taka overlooked the court, staring intently at Ushijima Wakatoshi as he soared into the air. His canines ground against the soft flesh of his inner cheek, adrenaline surging. As expected of Ushiwaka… he murmured inwardly, letting the joy of satisfied anticipation fill his heart. But he wasn’t afraid of the power the other displayed, nor would he shrink back because of it. Instead, his mind was consumed with how to bring that beautiful star down once more.

…Drag him down.

His teammates helped seal off the diagonal attack route, leaving him with the straight shot. Thus, his hands became extensions of his will, his gaze filled with surging, intense fighting spirit. This exhilarating match was igniting more than just one person’s good form. And the desire to win pushed them to compete, eager to determine who was superior. Ushijima noticed his focused stare, but he showed no fear, wielding his arm with such determination, slamming his wrist down!

Kokonoe Taka almost instinctively chased after the ball, a sudden jump causing his internal organs to shift slightly in the air. “Boom—,” a thunderous explosion resonated, nearly shattering all obstacles in front of him. Almost simultaneously, sharp pain abruptly seized his senses. First, the skin burned as if ignited, then his arm throbbed from being struck, and finally, the tearing sensation of his palm landing alongside the volleyball served as the finale, leaving only the cheers and applause echoing in his ears, and the lingering ache.

…This kind of pain he was once very familiar with. When he ran wildly through the night, he tightly gripped the sticky wound, clenching his fist, yet still instinctively felt the numbness after the shards pierced his palm. As the pain spread, he subconsciously covered the wound, and in the moment he looked down, he saw a thin stream of blood flowing along the contours of his palm, coating his hand. “…Damn it.”

At that moment, he was surprised by his own calmness. Even as cold sweat covered his face, his first thought was regret, followed by the thought that being injured meant being taken out of the game. Then, the idea of how to bluff his way through sprouted. He tried to convince his teammates that it was just a minor injury, but when Coach Irihata sternly ordered him to open his palm, he inexplicably guessed the outcome.

“Kokonoe.”

“…”

He held out his right hand, still oozing blood.

“It’s a laceration.” Coach Irihata carefully avoided the bleeding area. “Fortunately, it only damaged the surface… It seems that the old wound was torn open when blocking Ushiwaka’s spike just now, and the fingers were also injured before… Does it hurt here? Move it around?”

“…It’s nothing serious.” Kokonoe Taka gritted his teeth. “Only my palm was injured just now, it doesn’t hinder movement. I can continue to play after a simple pain-relieving spray and bandage to stop the bleeding. Now is our advantage rotation, we shouldn’t give up this round. Moreover, after I leave the court, the blocking will be completely vacant. I will go to the infirmary after the match—”

So now—

He rarely spoke so quickly and urgently. His slightly hoarse voice, after entering puberty, unconsciously raised its tone, almost drowning out the gradually chaotic din of the crowd. The coach stared at him without a word. The others, swept by his gaze, unanimously avoided his pleading or unwilling eyes. The fervor and excitement faded away, and the silent answer slowly froze his internal organs, and the redoubled coldness forgot him and the bloodied scab on his hand together in the pitch-black night of years ago.

“I can still continue—”

“Taka,” a familiar, steady voice, unlike his, without a tremor, and Kokonoe Taka could also guess what he was going to say, “Calm down, go to the infirmary first…”

“But—”

“No buts!” Iwaizumi Hajime interrupted him. “This is the most important thing now!”

“But this is just a minor injury! I said I’m fine!” Kokonoe Taka was dazed for a moment, feeling absurd. “If I leave the court, who will stop Ushiwaka!? Are we just going to let him spike so easily?! And then lose the game?!”

Even though the match was temporarily suspended because of the player’s injury, it didn’t mean it was a place to argue. Iwaizumi Hajime understood this, but he still couldn’t help the fire rising in his heart. He glared at Kokonoe Taka, his expression twisting for a moment, those stubborn gray eyes glaring back just as unyieldingly. He had frowned before because Kokonoe’s fingers were grazed during a block and he didn’t care, and now he was amused by his nonsensical words.

“Don’t take yourself too seriously, you blockhead!!!”

When he grabbed Kokonoe Taka’s collar, he remembered something from a long time ago. He always liked to carry everything alone. Usually, he was clearly the type to adapt flexibly. But the stubbornness he showed on key issues made one want to scold him for where all his cleverness had gone.

So he resolutely pulled Kokonoe Taka’s collar down hard under the stunned gazes of the surrounding teammates, and his forehead slammed into his head, after a loud thud, the person forced to bend over with his collar grabbed stumbled a few steps, his gaze showing an unbelievable daze. Compared to the dazed Kokonoe, Iwaizumi Hajime’s forehead was only slightly red, his tone still full of energy. “If you think we’ll definitely lose without you, I’ll beat you into the infirmary!”

Oikawa Tōru’s movement to help Kokonoe Taka froze slightly, and he shouted in his heart: You’re already beating him!!!

Before he could complain, Iwaizumi Hajime’s voice suddenly cooled down. “Or are you looking down on us?”

Kokonoe Taka opened his mouth and closed it again. The resistance that had just appeared on him disappeared under Iwaizumi Hajime’s piercing gaze. He fell silent, and the noise like tinnitus came from all directions. The referee was about to walk towards them because they hadn’t moved for a long time, making this small space even more silent.

The blood transported by the heart, along with the coldness crawling up from the soles of his feet, accumulated in the flesh wound in his palm. He closed his eyes, his fingernails almost digging into it, making a faint whimper. Everyone was waiting for the final judgment. He could hear Iwaizumi Hajime breathing heavily. Then the sound beside him drowned it out, and his fingers were gently pried open.

“Go to the infirmary, Taka.” The brown-haired young man gave him a bright smile, clear and pure. “Believe in us.”

Thus, in the commentator’s rather pained report, people saw Aoba Johsai’s dazzling No. 12 quietly protecting his right hand, his expression deeply buried in heavy shadows by his dark hair. Many people were restless in their seats, but everyone knew that this little episode would soon be covered by the re-opened match. They watched the injured person disappear behind the opening and closing door.

“Let me play.” Saijō Osamu tied his shoelaces, the strong fatigue between his eyebrows making him look listless. He also noticed this himself, so he reached out and rubbed his face twice. “I’ve rested enough.”

“…That’s not like you.” Arai spoke before everyone else, his tone still steady. “Are you sure? Kokonoe might not be back by the end of the third set.”

“Undermining morale?”

“Haha, I wouldn’t dare.”

The solemn atmosphere slowly disappeared. Oikawa Tōru withdrew his gaze and looked back at the court.

“I still… don’t want to lose.”

“Then fight until the very last moment.”

…

…………

Nishikiori Koshi hurriedly said goodbye to Inoue the reporter, put on his sunglasses again, and strode out the door. He pondered what Inoue had just told him, and couldn’t help but worry about Kokonoe’s injury. The infirmary was located deep in a long corridor. When he ran there, Kokonoe Taka had just sat down, silently letting the doctor examine him while talking incessantly.

“This place was injured by a knife before? It’s recovering quite well.” The doctor said, “Hmm… It should be that a heavy object impact and friction just came into contact with the re-grown wound, plus you were originally resisting this force, so it tore the original wound. And your fingers are also swollen… It’s not too serious, it didn’t hurt the bones, and it won’t affect daily activities after it heals… Are you a player in today’s match?”

“…”

Kokonoe Taka didn’t say a word, staring at the doctor’s actions to clean his wound, his body trembling from time to time. The doctor originally wanted to find a topic to divert his attention. After all, many of his patients had screamed miserably because of similar flesh wounds, making his infirmary seem like a demon-infested cave. But Kokonoe Taka seemed to be completely unaware of the pain.

“Yes.” Coach Mizoguchi, who had sent him over, had to answer for him, terrified, and inhaled sharply, feeling more empathetic than the patient himself when the spray was applied. “How long will it take to recover?”

“The bleeding has stopped, but I don’t recommend him continuing to play.” The doctor wrapped a bandage around the crescent-shaped pinch marks next to Kokonoe’s wound. “Your match intensity should be very high, right? In his current condition, playing will only aggravate the injury. If it tears a second time, it won’t just be as simple as pain. …Also, boy, relax a little, don’t bite your teeth off.” He paused, and raised his voice, “Is the person outside also injured? Come in.”

Nishikiori Koshi touched his nose and walked in. “Sorry… I was a little worried about this kid’s condition, so I came over.”

“You know each other?” The doctor raised his eyebrows.

“…We know each other.” Kokonoe Taka, sitting in the chair, finally spoke in a muffled voice. He took a deep breath. “Sorry, Coach Mizoguchi, for making you worry… Can you leave me alone for a while?”

Mizoguchi couldn’t help sighing as he looked at Kokonoe Taka’s insistent expression. “Okay.” He thought about it, and still went over and patted his shoulder. “Don’t put too much pressure on yourself, Kokonoe, it’s not your fault, your body is the most important thing.”

He wasn’t surprised by Kokonoe Taka’s quietness. He turned his head and looked apologetically at Nishikiori Koshi. “Can I trouble you to stay with him?”

Nishikiori Koshi agreed immediately. “Okay.”

Time seemed to stand still in the infirmary. After the curtain was drawn, this silence was even more terrifying.

“Does it hurt?”

“…It doesn’t hurt.”

A dissatisfied snort came from outside the curtain. The doctor scoffed at the patient’s answer.

Kokonoe Taka stared at the thick curtain for a long time before shifting the topic and asking, “Why are you here?”

“I heard that today is the final of that IH qualifier, so I came to see it.” The middle-aged man said, following his words, “I’m still quite curious about what you look like playing volleyball. And that bet—”

“If I lose the game, I’ll help you with something… right?”

“Yeah, but I didn’t want to use this method to get you back to playing tennis.” Nishikiori Koshi smiled. “Now it seems, this idea was right.”

“…”

“Although it might be the feeling of an amateur, you’re very good at playing volleyball.” He said, “And very happy.”

Kokonoe Taka lowered his eyes and admitted, “Yeah.”

This was already a definite true proposition that couldn’t be denied, but Kokonoe Taka found that what followed was a grand wave of unwillingness… Ah, unwilling, unwilling, unwilling. I don’t want to leave the court, I want to continue playing, I want to win.

But his throat seemed to be choked, unable to make a sound, and all the scalding heat was submerged in simple syllables. His heart was clenched by the simple conversation, his nose felt sour, and the sorrow that had been absent for a long time finally knocked on the door. He had long passed the age of crying whenever he fell. But at this moment, he was still kidnapped by pain, his lips trembling, and when he spoke, he realized he was whimpering.

“I don’t want to leave the court.”

“Why does it have to be at this time…”

“…I could have blocked him, we could have won. I had already grasped that moment, and my teammates had not given up either.”

“Why…”

He lowered his head and looked at his bandaged palm, the bitter smell of medicine permeating the air. At this moment, he frantically wanted to destroy everything in front of him, but the tidal wave of frustration finally embraced him, and the world seemed to have forgotten him alone. Kokonoe Taka, in Nishikiori Koshi’s understanding gaze, tried his best to clench his right hand, as if this could pull all the anger and sadness away from the pain.

—Why, have I won so many times, but why this time… am I particularly unwilling?

He slumped his hand open, and the doctor, who had been silent not long ago, silently fixed the soft gauze in his palm, protecting the wound from further injury, but could not stop the salty liquid from falling one by one.

Kokonoe Taka had always been unreadable, and he hadn’t cried since he was a child, when he was playing and climbing a tree and couldn’t get down, and Iwaizumi Hajime shouted from below that he could catch him. In the following years, he faced the world with a calm and decisive face. Tears were the most useless thing, so those gray eyes were always as indestructible as steel. But at this moment, tears replaced words. After losing the opportunity to stand on the court, he realized how resistant he was, and realized that he actually liked it more than he thought.

“Child.” Nishikiori Koshi said slowly, watching the boy in front of him bury his head between his hands, his back trembling like a butterfly with broken wings, and then gently covering the soft hair with his wide palm.

“Remember your current pain—if you want to continue moving forward, this kind of thing may happen countless times.”

His gaze was very broad, and he seemed to see through the sobbing boy countless athletes he had seen who had similar pain to him.

“This is competitive sports, without right or wrong, only asking for strength.”

“The surface is bright and beautiful, but in reality, it’s a game of winners and losers. Talent, effort, and opportunity are no match for a sudden accident. Some people will be discouraged and say goodbye to the arena, and they will never be able to come back in their lives.”

“…But many people are still struggling on this difficult road.”

“Remember your failure, remember your pain, remember your unwillingness, remember your weakness.” He gently patted Kokonoe’s head. “These are the things that can only be remembered by yourself—are you going to give up? Or continue to fight?”

The boy raised his head, biting his teeth tightly, revealing reddened eyes.

Nishikiori Koshi immediately knew the answer.

He rubbed his head twice more and sighed, “Alas, it seems there’s really no way to trick you into playing tennis.”

——June 4th, National High School Comprehensive Sports Tournament, Miyagi Prefecture representative selection final.

——Aoba Johsai fought fiercely for four sets, and the score with Shiratorizawa was 1:3, with the small scores being 25-23, 30-32, 26-24, 29-27 respectively.

——In the end, they missed the national stage!