Chronically Ill Tsukki

Chapter 5

Trigger warnings for this chapter: Tics, paralysis, angst and swearing

*Timeskip to afternoon practice*

Tsukki POV:

I've managed to get by so far today without any problems. That being said, the medication in my system wasn't scheduled to wear off until about now. As I walk into the gym I notice that the sound of balls hitting the floor and shoes squeaking is more overwhelming than it usually is. That's my first sign that my meds have worn off. My nervous system is no longer processing signals correctly making even small sounds seem loud. When I move to pick up a ball drifting across the court I feel a tingling sensation in my arm. I recognise the feeling as a tic urge but I refuse to tic right now so I suppress it. I pick up the ball and serve it to give myself a distraction from the urge. It doesn't work. I need to tic. I look around and make sure that no one is watching than hit my chest with a closed fist three times. This makes the urge disappear and I breath out a sigh of relief. At that same moment, Ukai calls for us to huddle up.

I jog over to the coach with the rest of the team then Ukai talks us through our plans for the day. First up is blocking drills. After coach explains how the drill will work we get started. I jump up and make a beautiful block. When I land a tic catches me off guard and I am forced to shake my head back and forth. I don't think anyone noticed until I turn and see Hinata staring at me.

"What was that Tsukki?" he asks.

"I told you not to call me Tsukki, you Shrimp," I responded, avoiding the question altogether.

"but-"

"OI BOKE," Kagayama yells from across the gym.

"Come spike this," he says holding up a ball.

Being the pea brain he is, Hinata runs to Kagayama completely forgetting about me. I exhale in relief. That was a close call. Just as I was enjoying my good luck I feel an urge building up in the back of my throat. I know what this familiar feeling is. A vocal tic. I know I can't suppress it forever so I decide to just let it happen and hope for the best. It doesn't feel like a big one right now but the longer I suppress the louder it will most likely be. I finally give into the urge and all that comes out are three little "ha" sounds. They are so quiet there is no way anyone would hear them. It looks like my good luck is holding up.

*Timeskip to after practice in the locker room*

I managed to make it through the rest of practice without any incidents. My tics kept quiet for the most part and I was able to keep them hidden from the team. Now all I have to do is get changed and I'm home free. I peel off my sweaty shirt then sit down on the bench to untie my shoes. When I bend over and reach for my shoelaces my hand brushes my leg and I instantly know something is wrong. My hand feels like it is touching my leg through fabric rather than directly on my skin. I run a finger across my skin to make sure that I'm right and sure enough, the sensation is all wrong. I panic and frantically try to wiggle my toes but no luck. Signals have completely stopped being sent to my legs. I don't have any hope of moving my legs anytime soon so I push my torso up to a sitting position using my arms so that my chest is no longer pressed up against my legs. I had to use my arms because when I'm having a paralysis episode I lose muscle tone in my abs so I can't sit up using core strength alone. I look around the locker room for Yams but he's already gone. There are only a few people finishing up changing.

There's nothing I can do but wait. I pull out my phone and start a timer so that I can track how long the episode lasts for my medical records. Once the timer is started I try my best to make myself look busy on my phone. After a few minutes I hear someone say my name.