𝚕𝚎𝚐𝚊𝚌𝚢 𝚘𝚏 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚢 𝚐𝚒𝚊𝚗𝚝 [𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘴 𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯]

38 - MOVE

"Guys calm down, I'm fine," Yusei waved them all off as his teammates and a few of his friends from other teams crowded around in the hospital room. "They said it wasn't serious, it's only a mild concussion I promise. They're releasing me tomorrow after some more observations, don't worry about me," he said, sending them all a closed eye grin before wincing.

"Don't push yourself!" Nishioka rebuked, going into mom mode while Yusei just sighed.

"My head still hurts like a bitch but that's only because of how hard I hit it," he explained, "You don't need to be here, didn't you guys have the ceremony?"

"It already happened," Jiga said, then held up a medal and wiggled it. "This one's yours."

"Oh, thanks," Yusei smiled, then gestured with his head, "You can give it to my mom for now,"

"Yes please," Her mother nodded enthusiastically, more than happy to take her son's medal. "Yusei, your father and I will be staying another night here, and we'll leave tomorrow," She told him, so he nodded with a slump.

That's right. They'd won the championship game. They'd won interhigh. And that meant Yusei was leaving for Miyagi.

Kataoka, though he would never admit it, was happy that the demon king got hurt. It meant they had just a smidge more time with her before he left.

Soon after that, Yusei's parents left and it was just him and the team. But then Kanai told the players they needed to leave before it got dark so that they could get back at a reasonable time. After much protest, everyone said their final goodbyes to Yusei.

"I'm gonna miss you so much," Kataoka sobbed as he gripped the sheets of Yusei's bed, most of the team having lost their grip on their emotions and were also sobbing. Yusei just patted them on the head and sent them off, one by one.

Finally, it was just Jiga and him. His eyes were red, but he hadn't been crying as far as Yusei had seen. Slowly, he approached his bed and clasped his hand. "Thank you for everything," He mumbled, bringing his hand up to his lips. "Dad."

"I'm glad to have been of help," Yusei smiled, flicking him on the forehead which made him groan and hold the spot, "Son," And then he kicked him out with one final word for him, "Take care of the team for me."

~•~

The next day, Yusei was released from the hospital. His parents had checked out of the hotel, and with nothing left keeping them in Tokyo, the family started their road trip to their new home in Miyagi.

The doctor had told Yusei and his parents that he would not be allowed to play for at least two weeks because of his concussion, which he was fine with. It's not like those two weeks would be crucial to have him play, anyways.

He wrote a doctor's note about it as well and had apparently faxed it to Aoba Johsai, letting the coach and nurse there know what was going on. "You can still go to practices as long as you don't actively participate," The doctor had said, "No actual volleyball, but you can watch and interact with the team."

Soon enough, after a day of jamming out in the car with his folks, they arrived at their new home. It was already furnished, and was a bit bigger than their other one. Not to mention THERE WAS A SAND VOLLEYBALL COURT IN THE BACKYARD!

"Fuck yeah," Yusei's face brightened the second he saw it. This house was definitely an upgrade. The only downgrade was-

"Hi mom, hi dad! Where's Yusei? Is he doing okay after the thing happened?" Tenma asked them worriedly, but his question was answered a second later as Yusei slowly rounded the corner.

Yes, he still loathed his older brother. And now he would have to see him more often than he'd like. It made him a bit salty.

"Oh, Yusei! How's your head? Do you feel alright? Any pain?" He asked rapid fire, but the ace just dead panned at him.

"The only reason my head's in pain right now is because you're here," he grumbled, and for effect (and because his head actually hurt) he went into the kitchen and rummaged around in the freezer until he found an ice pack.

"That's not funny, this is a serious situation! I saw you on TV, you must have-"

"Oh shut up Tenma, I don't need your concern!" Yusei snapped, now fully fed up with his brother. "Why the hell are you even here, huh? If it's just to see me, then mission accomplished, please leave."

".." Tenma looked down, the hurt on his face not even pulling a single heart string on Yusei. "Okay, I guess I'll leave you to it," He smiled sadly, patting him on the shoulder. "Take care of yourself, okay?"

"Yeah yeah, I'm not an idiot."

"That's good," Tenma chuckled, "I'll see you later, Yusei."

"Bye," he didn't bother to say it to his face, instead saying it as he walked towards the living room and slumped onto the couch. "What a pain.."

"You really do need to ease up on him, you know," His father mumbled, sitting beside him. "He's just worried about you. We all were."

"I couldn't care less," Yusei replied, giving his father an annoyed look. "It's your problem for worrying over someone that doesn't want your worry."

"I suppose that's true," His father relented, shaking his head as he carefully ruffled his son's hair. "But still, mister demon, your brother and the rest of your family will always worry for you. That's what family does."

"Tch, whatever," Yusei fumbled with the remote and turned the TV on. Funny enough, there was a replay of the finals going on, so Yusei got to watch himself play and then get slammed into the piller. He winced as soon as that play came around, his head throbbing as though it was absorbing the pain from the TV.

Suddenly, the doorbell was rung. Yusei exchanged a look with his father before they both bolted for the door, only to see his mother already opening it. There stood a pretty lady and an angry blonde boy.

"Hello! We just thought we'd come over and say hi since you're new to the neighborhood. I'm Karia Kyoutani, and this is my son Kentaro," The lady introduced herself.

Yusei and Kyoutani locked eyes, and that was when certain events were sent into motion.