Reignition (KurooxOC)

Overworked and Burnout

We all regrouped at the end of our practice at the end of the week. Since our loss at Inter High Prelims, our team was determined to fire back at Spring Qualifers. Coach Okamoto was tracking our process.

"I know you girls didn't get the result you wanted at Inter High Prelims," he began to say. "But this is only the beginning of your journey to Nationals. The training you have done has allowed you to get even stronger. Practice is over for tonight."

Some of the girls were preparing to leave when I walked over to Yua who was lacing up her shoes, "Mind if I lock up?"

Yua was hesitant, "Are you sure? You've been pushing yourself harder than the rest of us this week. You should take the weekend to rest."

"Don't worry," I assured her, "I'll make sure I rest."

Yua passed me the key and headed home for the night. Meanwhile I was holding onto a volleyball and I threw the ball ahead of me. I dove after it and repeated that drill on my own for another hour. After, I practiced more libero tosses at varying difficulties. 

I sprinted back and forth around the gymnasium trying to push my body to the limit. Sweat formed on my skin as I let out my frustration for not being better. I was panting and felt my body slow to a stop. 

My lungs burned and I felt a chill run through me. Stars speckled my vision and before I knew it, it went dark.

Growing up, I tried various sports in hopes that one would tickle my fancy. The first sport I tried was ballet and that was a disaster. I remembered crying on the first day in a tutu at the tender age of 4. 

At 7, my mother signed me up for karate. When I couldn't break the board, I decided to try another sport. 

And so the list went on. Figure skating, soccer, basketball, even lacrosse. Nothing stood out to me. I was unmotivated until that day.

I was watching the Beijing Summer Olympic Games and on the TV showed a sport I had never considered. Volleyball. I thought it would be like the other sports until I witnessed the Brazil team win gold. Their spiker leapt into the air and won them the game and my eyes widened. The player flew into the air and that inspired me to do the same.

Making friends wasn't my strong suit. I was a quiet, soft-spoken child. I did well in school, but was withdrawn from others. That applied to outside of school as well. My first day on the court, I felt judged by the other girls. I was put in the back row to start and failed to get my first ball. I bit my lip and believed it would be the end of my volleyball run. A hand reached out to me.

Standing before me was a girl named Yuri. She held her hand out for me to take. 

"Don't worry," she assured me, "You'll get the next one, I know it."

We lost my first game and I felt responsible. If I had just trained enough. I started to walk away from the gym when Yuri ran to me, "You did amazing."

"But I lost," I frowned.

"Sometimes you have to lose before you win," Yuri smiled, "After all, we are just starting out. We are a team."

"A team?"

Yuri nodded her head, "A team and a family. We all want this."

My eyes widened as we had our next game. We were down by 5 and the other team had set point. They sent a ball that was close to the end line. 

"Ayame!"

It was Yuri's voice pushing me to run towards the ball. I dove towards it and watched the ball fall in front of my eyes. No... This is not how it will end. I want this. I want this so bad. I've never wanted something so much before. I want to keep the ball in play. I want to keep playing.