Breathless (Free! Fanfiction)

Prologue

The sun beat down on me. The heat was stinging hot against my sweaty skin. I placed an arm over my eyes for shade to see the score.

Four points to win. Three points for the opposing team. I can do this.

"Time-out!" Coach Sasagawa yelled as he did the hand signal.

The referee blew his whistle, and all of us ran to our respective coaches. I grabbed a towel and wiped my face and listened as coach talked. Mostly, it was all about encouraging us to do our best. Then...

"Kaito, you're next on the service. Hit them with your best shot," Coach Sasagawa grinned and patted me on the shoulder.

The referee blew his whistle, and we were back in the game. The ball was rolled to me. I took it and got into position. I looked at my target. There was an slightly open spot at the back. If I hit there, they would all be kept on their toes.

Once again, the referee blew his whistle. I took a deep breath, my eyes still locked on the target. Then I released the ball.

I failed.

The ball only reached our side of the net. I can hear Coach Sasagawa yelling to just shake it off. However, I don't think my teammates were fine with just 'shaking it off.' Their faces became more strained. Their stances became more stiff.

Four points to win. Two points for the opposing team.

We were able to gain the next point by blocking the ball. Our team rotated, and I moved to the center. Mimiko, our team's spiker who also happened to be in front of me, grabbed my arm tightly and said, "Don't play around. Be serious. They're onto you. They know you're weak because you're new." She let go of me and went to looked back at the opponents.

I looked at the opposing them. Their hands were at their back. That only meant one thing. Hand signals. They were onto me.

Three points to win. Two points for the opposing team.

Our team served, and the opposing team return the ball without difficulty. It was headed towards me. I prepared myself to stop it, but suddenly, I felt someone push my side.

"Don't get it! Move!" Yuu, our team's tosser, yelled and roughly pushed me to the side.

We got the next point.

Same score. Both need two points to win.

Everything started to become unreal to me. I couldn't explain it. Everything felt like it was on slow motion. I was being suffocated.

Was it the heat?

I looked up at the sun and welcomed the harsh light that blinded me.

No, it wasn't the heat.

Next, it wasn't just suffocating. Something was crushing the inside of my chest. My face was getting wet again. I wiped my cheeks. It was only then when I found out I was crying.

"Stop!" Coach Sasagawa shouted as he pulled me out of the court. He placed me to a corner of the wired fence around the open court. He left and gave orders to a sub who was to take my place in the game.

I staggered to the wired fence and grabbed it to keep me on my toes. My hearing seemed like it got sharpened tenfold. The crowd's screams were all I can hear... and the voices.

I cupped my hands over my head to shut them out. Without the support of my hands, I fell on my knees to the ground. I was able to shut out the noise of the crowd, but the voices became more clear inside my head.

"Weak! Don't get it! They're onto you! Move! They know you're weak! Weak! Weak! Weak!"

I wanted to scream. I wanted to scream for the voices to come out. But I couldn't breathe. I was suffocating. All I could do was shut my eyes and gasp for breath.

I felt myself being carried. Coach Sasagawa took me in his arms and carried me to which would probably be the doctor's office. I opened my eyes. Everything was in slow motion again. The sun was too bright in my eyes.

I was getting sleepy. I still couldn't breathe though. My eyes started to drift shut with one thought in my head.

Was I dying?

~

What's that smell?

I groaned and opened my eyes. Atsuko-sensei, the school doctor, hovered over me as she held a vial for whatever it is near my nose. Once she saw me awake, she placed it away.

"You feeling okay there, Nakahara-san?" she asked.

My throat felt dry. Actually, I feel nauseous. But I just nodded to her. It was the worst move I could do though. My head was hurting really bad.

My face must have shown my pain, because Atsuko-sensei gave a small smile and handed me a glass of water and a pill. I sat up and took it. I ran a hand over my face to relieve some of the pressure. My cheeks were still wet, which meant that what happened to me wasn't that long ago.

"What happened to me?" I asked.

"You hyperventilated during the game, so my best guess is that you had a panic attack," Atsuko-sensei answered. "You already fainted when Coach Sasagawa carried you here, so I had to revive you with some aromatic ammonia spirit. I had to make sure your panic attack wasn't too serious."

I stayed quiet as she rummaged around in her stuff. I sighed. The slightest noise of her stuff clashing made my head pound.

"Who won the game?" I asked, not being to help my curiosity.

Atsuko-sensei halted in her movements and stayed silent. Then she started moving but at a slower pace. "It was a close game. The other team won by a point. It wasn't bad," she said.

My head pounded even more. What had me worried was my chest clenching again. It was the regionals game. We didn't even make it to nationals. After all the training we did. All the hard work.

"Nobody blames you, Nakahara-san," Atsuko-sensei said, pulling out a small black bag from a cabinet. She sat beside me and pulled out a machine to check my blood pressure.

"Weak! They know you're weak!"

Yeah, right. Like they don't blame me.

"Your blood pressure is low. That's probably from you fainting," Atsuko-sensei noted. She took pressed her fingers on my wrist and counted my pulse. "Your pulse is rising. You have to take it easy. Panic attacks aren't a light matter."

"I'll be fine."

"I am being very serious, Nakahara-san," Atsuko-sensei said. "You should probably see a therapist. When left unchecked, you may have several panic attacks in the future."

"Thank you for the concern, but my mother and I don't have money for a shrink," I stood up. "I'm only here for my scholarship. Besides, I'm a tough kid. I'll be fine." Then I left the infirmary.

~

When I went back to the locker room, Tsukiko, our captain ball, was the first to rush to me. "Are you okay?" she asked. "Splendid game, wasn't it? We got them rattled, didn't we? We'll get them next time. Don't worry."

I nodded, smiling lightly. My eyes landed to Mimiko who happened to be with Yuu. They looked upset, and they wouldn't even look at me.

"Everybody," I called. When they looked at me, I bowed, saying, "I apologize for the inconvenience I caused you."

"You damn well should," Yuu sneered. When Tsukiko glared at her in warning, she glared back before storming out of the locker room.

As she left, my other teammates went back to whatever it was they were doing before I came here. That included Tsukiko as well. As I also began to leave the locker room, I realised something.

Something was festering inside me, and I didn't like it.

~

The Free! characters will probably show up in the next chapter. The prologue is just more of a slight flashback.

Feedback is greatly appreciated.