Carry the Day

Chapter 12: The Ace

"As for the last day of training camp..." Takeda-sensei said. "I've arranged a practice match!" he cheered.

My eyes lit up at the thought of another match, straightening up as I looked beside me at Yamaguchi. Yamaguchi looked just as excited as I was with a large grin plastered on his face.

"Who's our opponent?" Suga-senpai asked, stepping forward. He had a big smile on his face, his hands clenched into tight fists in anticipation.

Takeda-sensei looked us in the eye and said, "A venerated school in Tokyo, Nekoma High School." "They call themselves Neko." he said.

"Neko?" Hinata asked.

"We've heard a lot about them too." Tanaka said. He put his hands on his hips as he looked down at Hinata beside him. "Our former coach and their coach were rivals. We played each other a lot." he said.

Suga-senpai nodded and said, "Those famous matches were called the 'battle at the garbage dump'. "

"They've refused us for a while. Why now?" Daichi-senpai asked Takeda-sensei.

"Yeah, I'll tell you the details later. When I heard of that rival school, I had to arrange for a rematch of destiny." he answered. Takeda-sensei narrowed his eyes, them becoming a tint darker as a small smirk formed on his face. "I think when he hears who our opponent is... He'll want to take action." he said.

I watched as Nishinoya stepped up to Daichi-senpai while Hinata and Tobio argued. The two talked for a while, I wasn't paying attention. What did grab my attention were Nishinoya's words. "But... If I played and we'd win the match, it would mean we could go without Asahi-san. I don't like that." the boy said.

My eyes softened at the second-year. I admit I was annoyed about him not taking the oppurtunity to play. We needed him to win. But I could also see just how affected he was by his teammate's leave. He was scared. I sighed and looked up at the clock. We had a few hours of practice time left until school closed.

Nodding to myself, I made up my mind. I walked over to Daichi-senpai and Nishinoya. "Daichi-senpai, can you help me with receiving?" I asked him. I glanced at Nishinoya as he was dragged away by Hinata.

"Of course." Daichi-senpai answered.

* * * * *

The sound of footsteps down the corridor echoed through the hall as I made my way to the third-year's part of the building. When I turned around the corner, I saw Asahi-senpai staring straight ahead of him, lost in thought. I walked up to him and stood before him, looking up.

When he didn't acknowledge my presence, I snapped my fingers in front of his face. He flinched back and looked down at me surprised. "You..." he trailed off.

"Me." I said. A sigh escaped my lips as I turned my head towards the window. "I assume those two idiots just left?" I asked.

Asahi-senpai chuckled awkwardly and rubbed the back of his neck. "Yeah, but they did give me something to think about." he said. He looked down at his hand, clenching and unclenching it.

I leant on the wall beside him. "Those two sure are energetic. I envy them." I said, closing my eyes.

"Why?" Asahi-senpai asked.

"Because they can play and do whatever they want. That's why I envy you as well, Asahi-san." I said. I opened my eyes and glanced at him.

He looked down at me, his head tilted to the side. His eyes widened a bit. "What do you mean?" he asked me.

A small scoff escaped my lips. "In my first year of Junior High, I got into an accident. The doctors couldn't save my leg; Amputated it." I said. I pulled up the bottom of my pants, showing the prosthetic.

His eyes went even wider, shock flashing through them. "So, that's why you also wear the guys uniform." he said.

I looked up at him weirdly, raising my eyebrow. "Really? That's what you ask?" I asked him.

He jumped up and held his hands up in defense. "No, no. I-I didn't mean it like that." he stammered. He waved his hands and shook his head viciously.

I chuckle escaped my lips. "You know, Asahi-senpai. You have height and power. You have an incredible team standing behind you. Why would you give it all up just because you got blocked a few times?" I asked him.

He looked at me before looking out the window in front of us. "Because it was my fault. I wasn't strong enough to break through." he said.

I shook my head at him. "You're only human, Asahi-senpai. You can't do everything yourself. Volleyball isn't a teamsport for nothing. You win together, you lose together. That's simply how it works. You need to fall down in order to grow. You need to have the courage to not give up just when everything is falling down. I know you have that courage, Asahi-senpai, because you didn't give up on spiking that whole match." I said.

He snapped his head over to me. His eyes bored into mine. Regret, sorrow, guilt, determination. Lots of strong emotions flashed through them as he looked down at his hand again. He frowned and closed his eyes, clenching his fist tightly.

"I know you're feeling hopeless right now. And asking you to feel hopeful is too much." I said. I stepped in front of him and looked him into his eyes. "But if needed. Let me carry your hope for you. I will stand behind you, hiding in the shadows, catching you when you fall. I will help you get back up and get right back in. I promise you as long as I'm with you, I won't let you fall... Not alone at least." I said.

Then I looked away awkwardly. This wasn't like me at all. It felt weird doing this. I snapped my head back up when I felt a hand on my shoulder. Asahi-senpai squeezed my shoulder and gave me a closed-eye smile. "Thank you, Akira-chan." He said.

My eyes widened just a fraction. I'd almost never been thanked before. It felt nice to know my horrible attempt at motivating and inspiring was at least appreciated. I gulped and looked away, sticking my nose in the air. I turned sharply on my heel. "I need to get going now." I said.

I walked off, but after a few steps, I stopped and looked at him over my shoulder. "I... I only did this because it's crucial for the team for you to come back, got that? Without the Ace we can't be the best..." I mumbled, narrowing my eyes.

Asahi-senpai's eyes softened as he nodded. "Of course." he said.

With a last nod, I turned around and quickly walked off. I put my hands in my pockets as I made my way out the front doors of the school. Seeing as I had a doctor's appointment today, I wasn't going to practice. I kept my head down as I climbed into the waiting car, keeping silent the whole ride. I could feel even my driver's concern, which could only mean I was not looking well right now.

'I only did that to win. To make the ultimate team... Only the best is acceptable.' I thought as I clenched my fists.

And finally, Asahi is in the picture. A slightly other side of Akira is shown. Also, they have a match with Nekoma! It's already chapter 12 and we're still only at episode 9... Which is why starting next chapter the chapters will be longer than before. I want to start hurrying it up a bit, because otherwise we'd have a book with 40+ chapters.

Anyways, keep on reading, and until next week!