⟬⎯𝝠𝖽𝗈𝗆𝖺𝗇𝗂𝖺⎯⟭

①⑤

The following weeks prove to be absolutely awful in Aoki's opinion. It's like pain has become his new best friend these days. His only moments of relief are at night before sleeping when he still gets Wakatoshi to pick him up (It's incredible and Aoki almost wishes for longer in the wheelchair than he's going to get). It's still going to be six weeks in the chair and he's still on week one but even so, 42 days are going to go by super quickly if he enjoys it too much.

"Ishii!"

He starts, sitting upright with a noise of surprise as he looks at his English teacher who is glaring disapprovingly at him. 

"Y-- yes, sir?"

He sends a quick glare at a snickering Semi on his right before turning back to the teacher as he starts to speak.

"Define an adjective, in English." 

Aoki wants to cry.

====

When November arrives, Aoki approaches his coaches after practice. "I have a question." 

Saito nods for him to continue. Washijo just glares (like usual).

"The training camp that we're hosting here, for the first years in Miyagi, could I sit in on it? I'm thinking of going into coaching for my University degree and then after as well and I'd like to observe the coaches better than I normally do."

Saito looks overjoyed while Washijo's expression doesn't change much more than a huff and a shrug of the shoulders. "Of course, you can Ishii!" Saito exclaims happily. "I'll email you the dates and our current plan for the camp as well as which players we've chosen for it. You can do some studying beforehand!"

Aoki smiles, anxiety about asking lifting off of him easily. "Thank you so much!" He exclaims, inclining his upper body forward in a bow before saying his goodbyes and wheeling himself out of the gym.

Satori and Wakatoshi are waiting for him just outside the gym, already changed and ready to go. "Just give me a second to change guys, then we can go get dinner--" Aoki stops himself short. "Ah... right, I don't actually have to change... never mind then. Let's go get dinner!" He tries to brush off the sting of the slip-up with a smile and the prospect of dinner but it doesn't get past Satori as they start walking (and wheeling).

"Don't think about it too much or something," Satori suggests rather unhelpfully. "Just think about it as one less thing to have to do after practice!"

"I don't do anything after practice as it is, and besides, a million other things replaced the loss of doing one thing. Now changing is one of the most difficult things to do. I've had to wear shorts or get permission to break the dress code to wear some sort of looser pants, like joggers, on colder days. Which are like-- every day now!" Aoki huffs angrily as he slams a hand against the wheelchair button for the doors. He's tempted to kick the door as he passes but figures that would be more work than actually getting through the doorway.

"You did push yourself too far even after knowing you were past your limit. It is your fault." Wakatoshi points out in his usual monotone.

Aoki grumbles incoherently as they grab their trays and start walking down the line. "I know, I hate myself for it, trust me, but I just wish that things were more accessible for me while I'm like this, and I wish it didn't hurt so much-- miso soup please... thank you. I'm not allowed to take pain meds while I've got the stress fracture so dealing with the pain of that as well as the healing acl it's been making me short-tempered and spacey."

Satori helps him balance his lunch tray on his lap as Wakatoshi grabs them all something to drink. "Well if I can get access to the foods room I'll make ya something, how about that?"

Aoki laughs weakly, smiling all the same. "You sure you won't poison me?"

"Hey!" Satori shouts as they start heading towards a free table. "I've improved plenty since my first year! Just because you've been too afraid to try what I make doesn't mean it hasn't improved! Tell him Ushiwaka!"

"Hm. I didn't get food poisoning." Wakatoshi agrees, moving a chair aside for Aoki's wheelchair before taking the seat next to him.

Aoki laughs and Satori complains loudly about how terrible of a wingman he was. Wakatoshi apologizes, confused.

====

Later that night, once Wakatoshi has lifted Aoki to his bed (He takes the chance in his arms to take a few deep, calming breaths), he sits next to him as he gets his leg elevated. 

"Something wrong?" Aoki asks absently as he pulls his leg up onto the pillows a bit better.

"You aren't having an easy time and you are frustrated, so I am offering physical touch because you seem happiest when you're hugging someone or even in the little touches in passing."

Aoki is sure he's gaping like a fish, but really, how is he supposed to not? Wakatoshi has surprised him so many times this year he's almost certain he wasn't actually him.

He accepts though and with a defeated sigh, tilts sideways to rest his head against Wakatoshi's shoulder blades where his back is facing him. He takes a few more deep breaths, steadily relaxing into just leaning against Wakatoshi in the quiet of their room.

At the start of November Aoki and Wakatoshi's roommate had swapped rooms so that it would be easier for everyone in the end. Satori had even pointed out to him around mid-November that Wakatoshi was smiling more than before they had been roommates. Aoki had obviously been overjoyed to hear this and started paying closer attention to his captain and his changing facial expressions.

"Thank you," he finally breathes out, wrapping his arms almost tentatively around Wakatoshi's waist, burying his head against the back of his neck. "For everything... You've done so much for me."

"It makes me feel good helping you." Wakatoshi decides. "I like it."

====

"Godsdamned-- fucking-- snow!" Aoki spits out angrily, trying to free himself from a particularly rude patch of snow.

"Uh-- Ishii?" Goshiki's voice says from off to his left. Looking up, he finds the first-year looking rather horrified at Aoki's excessive cursing.

"Goshiki!" Aoki exclaims, ready to cry from frustration. "Would you please be an amazing Kohai and help me out?"

"S-sure!" He stutters and quickly scrambles over.

"Don't slip, I won't be able to help you," he jokes as the first-year maneuvers the wheelchair out of being stuck. "What are you doing out here anyway?"

"My mom was um... dropping off some better snow shoes for me."

"Ah, very nice, very nice. You looking forward to that training camp in a few days?"

"I am!" He exclaims, pushing Aoki inside and towards the gym with him. "I'm going to show all of those other first-years how amazing I am!"

Aoki chuckles. "I'm sure you will. Don't get too cocky though, someone might whoop your ass."

Goshiki shouts an apology quickly and Aoki laughs at him.

Once in the gym, Aoki tells Goshiki to go change in the club room before stretching and warming up and he takes control of his wheelchair again. He parks himself off to the side and pulls out a notebook and pencil as well as the printed pages of the email Coach Saito had sent him just a little while ago.

The two of them had talked and Saito had talked with the other coaches and they had decided to let Aoki run a few drills for the boys over the course of the camp. This was an incredible opportunity and was taking it in full stride, planning out diagrams to show them in case the instructions didn't make sense as well as ways to explain it in simpler terms, all of that on top of actually coming up with a few drills for the first-years. He was also certain that Satori and Wakatoshi, and probably Semi and Reon were all tired of hearing him babble on and on about it.

He takes notes the whole practice on how each of the two coaches acts and what they focus on each practice. How much time is spent practicing one thing, attitude towards players and how it changes based on the player, if at all. Maybe things would start looking upwards now.