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Yuuichi woke up at about nine in the morning on his hospital bed. It was a peaceful sleep, and it seemed he woke up to a lovely morning as well. The sun rays shone into the room from the hospital windows, inviting a warm feeling into his often plain looking room. The curtains bristled from the light breeze outside, and Yuuichi could briefly smell the scent of flowers from the hospital garden. The dark blue haired eighteen-year-old boy smiled, the mole near his lips twitching along with the movement, and his brown eyes glistened with joy.
Today seems to be a good day... He thought to himself.
"Ah Yuuichi-kun, you're awake." A certain nurse called from his room's door. The boy, Yuuichi, turned his head from the window where the voice was, seeing the familiar purple hair and blueish eyes from his regular nurse, Fuyuka. "Good morning!" She said with a smile.
"Good morning, Fuyuka-san," Yuuichi replied in greeting as Fuyuka walked pass his bed and to his bedside to help lift the top half for the dark-haired boy to sit up.
"Any plans for today?" Fuyuka asked. Proceeding to move the wheelchair stationed at the corner of the room, to have it placed at the young lad's bedside, and nearer to the door for ease of mobility if Yuuichi wants to leave the room. His legs maybe unable to move, but he is strong enough to carry himself to and fro his wheelchair.
"Not right now. I think my younger brother is coming to see me in the evening, but that's all that I have for the day. Is there something going on?" Fuyuka giggled with mirth, causing Yuuichi to blink in confusion.
"We have a new patient who just got admitted here yesterday. I think you should meet him," Fuyuka said with an air of knowledge around her. Yuuichi continued his confused blinking at her, hoping she would explain in details to clear the questions in his head. "Things come when you least expect it. It might spark something special. Enjoy your breakfast, Yuuichi-kun." With that the purple-haired nurse left the room, leaving Yuuichi to ponder what she meant by that.
"I'm bored, Yuuichi-san~" Amemiya Taiyou, a thirteen-year-old boy in the same pale blue hospital clothing as Yuuichi, with orange-hair styled like the sun, whined as he stretched out his arms across Yuuichi's bed from where he sat on the visitor's chair beside Yuuichi. He then took out a pencil and balanced it on the bridge between his nose and mouth, his aqua blue eyes narrowed in concentration. It was after lunch and the first-year Junior High student sneaked out of his room to accompany the young lad who was in the room beside his. Not that Yuuichi was bored, but he appreciated the younger's efforts since he was mostly stuck in his room.
"Taiyou-kun, I understand that you want to play soccer, but you've just finished your heart surgery after that match with Raimon Junior High. You shouldn't do any intensive activities." Taiyou puffed his cheeks in a pout, amazingly still balancing the pencil.
"I know, but I REALLY want to play soccer!"
"Taiyou-kun, please think of other things besides soccer. You've really made me worried when I saw you on the field yesterday." Taiyou flinched by the young lad's words, recalling his recent match between his school, Arakumo Academy, and Raimon Junior High that caused his already weak heart to worsen. He fixed his attention to Yuuichi, watching the brown in his eyes swirl in worry and disappointment. Taiyou dropped his head and lips to a frown, his eyes focused on his fingers fidgeting on his lap. He let the pencil fall on the bed. It did a light bounce before rolling a little and stopping near Yuuichi's leg.
"I'm sorry, Yuuichi-san. I didn't mean to worry you. I just really miss soccer." Yuuichi sighed heavily from his nose, his shoulders dropped from its tensed position. The older male believed the younger knew he had done wrong and need not be reprimanded. Although this same scene had happened several times too many that Yuuichi sometimes wondered if the younger knew the severity of his illness. The navy-haired boy answered with the same phrase he always said whenever this scene repeated itself.
"Please take care of your health. We've promised each other to play soccer together in the future once your heart and my legs are fixed." Yuuichi paused as he shifted his gaze elsewhere, reminiscing something far away, "And I don't blame you. I miss soccer too..." Yuuichi subconsciously rubbed his left knee which was his immobile leg, the one that was injured by the fall. This action did not miss Taiyou's eyes. The orange-haired boy quickly grasped the older boy's hands. The other lad looked up at Taiyou and noticed he had a determined look in his eyes.
"Yuuichi-san, I'm sorry for forgetting about our promise. I'll do my best to recover so that you won't have to worry anymore!" Taiyou gave a warm-hearted smile. Sensing that confidence, the navy-haired boy returned the smile and nodded his head. He would trust Taiyou that he would set on healing his health this time.
"Alright, Taiyou-kun."
"Anyway Yuuichi-san," Taiyou diverted the conversation as he removed his hands from Yuuichi's and placed them palms down on the bed, "I've heard there's a new patient from Raimon in the hospital." Taiyou grinned with his teeth. Yuuichi blinked in confusion similar to his response with Fuyuka that morning. So the new patient mentioned by Fuyuka is from Raimon? Could it be they are in the soccer club too? He was unaware that a student from the same school as his brother was in the hospital. At the same time, what are the chances if it was someone from the soccer club? Not understanding what was going on, Yuuichi decided to voice his question.
"From Raimon?"
"The new patient is Raimon Soccer club's captain, Shindou Takuto!" Taiyou lifted his arms like he was displaying whatever was up in the sky. Yuuichi stared at his hospital friend. Shindou Takuto? The second-year Raimon captain? The team that helped his younger brother, Tsurugi Kyousuke, enjoy soccer again. Yuuichi instantly felt a sense of curiosity and felt like meeting him. He wanted to thank his brother's teammate for letting him fit in and play the soccer that both brothers love. Although, why was the captain of the Raimon soccer team admitted to hospital? He did not get injured, did he? Yuuichi was only able to watch the broadcast of the Holy Road match on television and was unaware of any other person hurt as the viewing ended once the match was over. The only ones who probably knew the outcome would be the people who were physically at the scene. His brother was unable to inform him of any updates as visiting hours were over by the time the caravan reached Inazuma town.
"Shindou-kun? Why is he here? Is he alright?" Yuuichi asked his question in concern. Taiyou returned to his previous sunken mood.
"He fainted after our match. It seemed he pushed himself too hard after getting hurt during it..." Taiyou flinched again once Yuuichi's frowned in disapproval, "I-it's isn't my fault, Yuuichi-san!"
"All you soccer freaks and your passion for soccer..." Yuuichi sighed in disappointment, in which Taiyou smiled warmly in response.
"You are one too you know, Yuuichi-sa- Eh?" Taiyou halted his teasing at his friend when the dark blue-haired boy pulled his wheelchair closer to his bedside, "Yuuichi-san?" The older of the two gave a determined smile on his face when he replied to the younger.
"Come on, let's go visit Shindou-kun."
A brownish-grey, shoulder-length, wavy-haired boy was in his hospital room watching a soccer match on the television in front of him. He had maroon brownish eyes and had on a pale brown hospital gown different from the regular one due to his family status. It was then when he heard a knock on his door.
"Come in!" He called. Maroon orbs followed the two new visitors who entered the room. One, he recognises as Amemiya Taiyou, was pushing the other in a wheelchair to the bedside. "Uhm. Can I help you two?"
"Hi, Shindou-san! I'm Taiyou! Remember me from the previous match?" The patient of the room, now known as Shindou, replied.
"Y-yeah I remember you. It's great to see that you're alright. Uhm...and you are?" Shindou referred to the blue-haired lad in the wheelchair, who smiled back as he replied,
"My name's Tsurugi Yuuichi. Nice to meet you, Shindou-kun." The brown-haired captain's eyes widened upon hearing the familiar surname of his teammate.
"Tsurugi?! Are you related to..."
"Yes. Kyousuke is my younger brother. Thank you for taking care of him." Shindou, upon hearing the senior thanking him, felt an immense sense of gratitude and firmly replied,
"Ah, it's nothing." Shindou waved his right hand back and forth in denial. He calmly placed both his hands on his blanket and smiled in return, "He's helped us score many of Raimon's goals. Without him, we wouldn't be able to reach the finals." Yuuichi's heartwarming smile widened upon hearing his younger brother's praises.
"Thank you, Shindou-kun. I hope Kyousuke's able to help Raimon to victory." Shindou's smile widened as well, pleased with the answer.
"I hope so too."
"Anyway, we're here to welcome you to Raimon General Hospital," Taiyou piped up from his spot behind Yuuichi. "The two of us are here in the hospital most of the time, so we're glad to see another familiar face!"
"He means that he's glad to find another soccer freak in this hospital," Yuuichi teased with an innocent smile on his lips.
"That's mean, Yuuichi-san!" Taiyou frowned at the navy-haired boy, his eyebrows narrowed towards each other to show his displeasure, although his eyes twinkled in merry as if he was not offended by the older lad's words. Yuuichi ignored the burning stare behind him and turned his head to slightly address Taiyou, a knowing smile on his face.
"At least I can control my love for it by staying in my room." The orange-haired boy's cheeks turned red by that comment.
"Yuuichi-sannn!" His cheeks puffed out more in anger and embarrassment, while Yuuichi chuckled into his hands at his successful teasing. Meanwhile, Shindou sat on his bed staring at the scene in front of him in surprise. He was indeed shocked to find the brother of his most cool teammate teasing the kind and loyal captain of possibly the strongest team his team has ever faced. It was more shocking to see the kind and loyal captain react so cutely(?) to the teasing. Shindou subconsciously opened his mouth to mumble.
"You two...are very close." That comment made both boys turn their attention to Shindou. Yuuichi blinked in confusion, while Taiyou's eyes grew to the size of saucers and the redness on his face grew to cover his whole face.
"I-it's not like that?!" The blushing boy exclaimed.
"Is that so? Well, we are the only ones here who love soccer, so we tend to spend more time with each other. Taiyou-kun is the one coming to my room most of the time though." The innocent smile on Yuuichi appeared back on his face.
"Y-y-Yuuichi-san!" If Taiyou's cheeks could flush any stronger, it was this moment. He buried his face into his hands, trying inevitably to hide his red face. Shindou, finding the Arakumo Academy's captain flustered amusing, started laughing along with Yuuichi.
"S-Shindou-san, you too?!"
"S-sorry! You're acting very differently from how you were during our match. Yuuichi-san brings this side of you very well," Shindou hinted in amusement, which flew over Yuuichi's head but caught Taiyou's attention.
"Shindou-san! Stoppppp!" Even if Yuuichi did not catch the hint by Shindou, he was still bemused by his orange-haired friend. He watched as Taiyou tried to physically force down his blush to no avail. It was funny to see his friend appear so flustered, but Yuuichi thought it was time to tone down their teasing on the first-year.
"Alright, I think it's almost five soon. Kyousuke is going to visit me later so I have to get back." Yuuichi once again rotated his head to the boy behind him. "Taiyou-kun, could you help me back to my room? We can continue talking to Shindou-kun tomorrow." A red tinge of red was still present on the orange-haired captain after he removed his hands from his face, much to the amusement to the other two. Taiyou nodded, mind in a mild blur from the constant teasing by his seniors. He quickly recovered, grabbed the handle of Yuuichi's wheelchair and pushed him towards the door. Both visitors rounded their heads back to wave goodbye to the Raimon captain. "Goodbye, Shindou-kun." Yuuichi said first.
"See you tomorrow, Shindou-san!" Taiyou followed. With that, the door closed shut, leaving Shindou alone in his room once more. The Raimon captain settled comfortably on his bed and continued watching the television.
The two patients were making their way down the hall to the lifts to go down a level where their rooms were located.
"Are you alright, Taiyou-kun? Sorry for teasing you earlier," Yuuichi asked in concern, his head stayed facing forward as it was a bit hard to turn his head around to look at Taiyou while the wheelchair was moving.
"I-I'm fine, Yuuichi-san! Don't worry about me!" Taiyou shuttered out in embarrassment. Yuuichi did not believe the orange-haired boy but decided to patiently let it go.
"If you say so..."
"Taiyou-kun, Yuuichi-kun, there you two are!" The two boys looked up to find Nurse Fuyuka standing in front of them.
"Fuyuka-san?" Taiyou and Yuuichi called her with a querying tone in their voice.
"I was worried when I couldn't find both of you in your rooms, but I'm glad to see you two at this level." The nurse expressed her glee with her smile and turned her attention to Yuuichi. "You have met Shindou-kun, right? How is he, Yuuichi-kun? Did he meet your expectations?" Both boys blinked in confusion. Taiyou as he did not know what was going on, while Yuuichi had a tingling feeling he knew what she was referring to. He opened his mouth to ask,
"Fuyuka-san, the special patient...is Shindou-kun?" Fuyuka nodded in reply.
"He's your brother's teammate. I thought you might want to get to know him. Except Taiyou-kun beat me at introducing the both of you. I was thinking of letting you two meet at one of the lounges."
"I see. I'm glad Kyousuke has kind team members to rely on. It's relieving to hear that. Even if we didn't get to meet as you would've wanted, thanks for informing me about him," Yuuichi voiced what he had felt. He was indeed relieved to know that his younger brother is doing well and to have met Shindou. He's grateful towards Fuyuka and Taiyou for getting him to meet the brownish-grey haired boy.
"You're welcome." Yuuichi and Fuyuka gave each other a thankful smile.
"Eh? Fuyuka-san, why didn't you tell me about Shindou-san? I want to meet him too!" The purple-haired nurse had her lips in a frown.
"You've already met him in the match, Taiyou-kun..." Fuyuka then had her hands on the sides of her hips in an angry stance.
"Also, you found out through sneaking out, didn't you? What did I tell you about resting?"
"Hehehe..." Taiyou chuckled weekly. Fuyuka sighed before she spoke,
"Well, let's bring you two back to your rooms. Visiting hours are starting soon." Fuyuka made her way to the back of Yuuichi's wheelchair, in which Taiyou stepped aside to give space for the nurse. The three of them made their way back to their rooms. All the while, Yuuichi had a pleased smile on his face.
Today is a good day.