CHOICES || y. isagi

XII.

~~~

"Restart," I clarified, staring him down as I fought to control the rage within me. "And give me the ball."

"O-okay," he stammered quickly. "Sure."

The whistle blew and I bolted for an overlap around Isagi. Just like promised, his first touch went straight to me.

As I stepped into enemy territory, I tuned out the sounds of my teammates calling to me. Staring forward into the mass of figures blocking my path, I set my gaze onto the glowing prize beyond.

The goal.

Adrenaline rose up inside of me as I flicked the ball over an incoming slide tackle before approaching another defender. "Out of my way," I growled, blowing past him with a simple stepover.

It went just like that all the way down the field. Through the legs, scissor, maradona.... My body was alive, humming with a power I'd scarcely known I'd had and my eyes ablaze with new viciousness. Watching, calculating...

Almost there. Almost there, I repeated, a mantra in my head, as the goal loomed before me like the gates to heaven. I could practically taste victory in the air.

And then everything came to a screeching halt.

Two brawny figures appeared on either side of me out of the blue, shoving me left and right between them as I pushed forward.

Almost there...

It happened in an instant. Just as I swung my left arm back in my stride, Junichi smashed his body into mine, pinning my arm at an odd angle against my back. Pain shot through my appendage and I cried out as I tumbled onto the grass, landing harshly on my opposite side before rolling to a stop.

I stared up at the ceiling as spots danced in my vision, woefully aware of my throbbing shoulder. As if hearing it from underwater, somewhere in the background a whistle blew and there was the sound of multiple voices yelling. "Yellow card, Junichi Wanima! Free kick for Team Z!"

I was so close, I recalled, the memory of the open goal causing me more pain than my shoulder.

A face appeared in my vision above me, bringing me back to reality.

"Saito! Can you hear me? Can you sit up?" Kunigami questioned frantically, worry increasingly more apparent when I didn't respond right away. "The medical team is on their way, but I need you to sit up!"

With a groan, I used my right hand to push myself into a sitting position, wincing as pain ripped through my shoulder with the motion. Kunigami placed his hand on my back, helping to push me up. "I'm okay," I said, gritting my teeth as I cradled my left arm. "I'm okay," I repeated, more so trying to reassure myself than anyone else. "We have to go. We can't lose!" I desperately tried to stand, but Bachira placed a gentle hand on my good shoulder to stop me. It was then that I noticed the entirety of Team Z surrounding me, minus Kuon, all sporting worried expressions.

"You're not okay, Saito," Bachira said gravely. For once his face expressed something other than carefree naivety. "Relax, they stopped the clock. There's still time."

Everything seemed to come crashing down on me all at once. "I'm so sorry," I spoke, staring down at the grass. "I shouldn't have done that. I should have passed it and-"

"No, no, no! Saito that was amazing!" Isagi cut me off, bending down slightly in front of me as I lifted my head to meet his eyes. "If it weren't for Thing One and Thing Two over there, you would have gotten that goal, easy!" He assured, sending me a shaky smile.

I didn't respond, choosing instead to glance back down at my crippled arm. Shit. What the fuck am I gonna do now? I thought harshly.

"Saito," came Kunigami's voice again from my left. I turned to look at him dejectedly. "I know you're in pain right now, but I need you to do something for me, okay?"

It seemed that Kunigami had switched to his 'hero mode', taking control of the situation. "We have to look at that arm. There's a possibility it might be dislocated." I frowned, not at all liking the idea of that. "I'm going to need you to take off your shirt, okay?"

I froze, feeling Bachira stiffen beside me. You're joking, I thought in a panic, heart racing in my chest as my pulse quickened. Of all times, I have to deal with this now!? "No."

Kunigami was taken aback, startled by my abrasive refusal to his help. "Look, the med team is going to have to do it anyway to inspect the injury. It's better to just get it out of the way now to make it easier when they get here. I get it if you're scared that it'll hurt, but-"

"No," I repeated firmly.

"Saito," Kunigami started seriously. "This is not the time to be-"

"Would you just fucking listen to him!" Raichi exploded, making me jolt slightly and wince from my shoulder simultaneously. "You're obviously in pain and he's trying to fucking help you! Stop acting like a kid for fucks sake!"

"Stop it, Raichi," Isagi said, grabbing Raichi's arm, but he shook it off angrily.

"Don't touch me, shit face!" he growled, before turning his attention back to me. "This is serious!"

"Raichi," I tried carefully, but he wasn't listening.

"You can't just pretend that you're fucking okay when you've obviously fucked up your shoulder! Why can't you just-"

"Raichi-"

"-just take off your goddamn shirt and let Kunigami help you!"

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, tired of his shouting, which was beginning to give me a headache. When I opened them again, I found he'd taken a step closer to me, leering down at my small frame. "Why can't you just-"

"BECAUSE I'M A GIRL, YOU DUMBASS!"