FAULT LINES ━━ oikawa tooru [✓]

9 - A Chance Lost (And A Chance Gained)

CHAPTER NINE

      Who was the final boss?

      That one non-passable stage in the video game; the one you had to struggle to push through. The one you always failed, till finally, you saw the way to defeat the level. The gaming metaphors surprisingly fit Misaki's situation (well...it was actually Oikawa's.) though she rarely used them, having picked them up from her video game loving cousin, who coincidentally, also played volleyball.

      Year after year, starting from middle school, he had lost to Shiratorizawa, with the final boss being Ushiwaka. It was the unbeatable level; the one obstacle Oikawa just couldn't get past. He put in hard work, he pushed himself beyond his limits and yet never won, always missing his chance to go to the Nationals.

      It hurt. It hurt Misaki's soul to see him so crushed about him; it hurt to see him push himself so much and then getting an injury; most of all, it hurt every time they lost in the finals, against the same damn person.

      But this time, they had that special power. The Seijoh team was good; all the players were amazing and were doing so well. Especially the third years, for whom this was the last chance to go to the Nationals. That included Misaki too.

      Maybe that was why she was awake, thinking of video game metaphors in the middle of night as she lay on her bed. She couldn't sleep at all; even though she knew it was midnight already and tomorrow's match was of utmost importance. Even though she was never going to step on the court, she still felt the same nerves all the players usually felt. Nerves, coupled with a fierce determination to beat Ushiwaka that is.

      "Right," Misaki said out loud. "I bet that idiot is up right now, over thinking things." (Let her say her usual words of motivation; but only this time, she would use them to reassure herself too)

      Misaki searched beneath the blankets for her phone. Looking for it in a completely dark room was hard, but after barely thirty seconds of searching, she found it. She tapped on the screen, the bright light making her flinch. Going to her contacts, she pressed on Oikawa's name and then dialed his number.