Wings of Steel

Epilogue~The Leg

The group sat on the bus, a confused aura about them. As it turned out, it had taken half an hour for everyone in the team to realise that the leg wasn't real. Shoyo was pushed off to the infamy as Karasuno was left to finish the match.

Shoyo's leg was swollen. He couldn't ignore the pain, and the nurse wasn't giving him anything. The nurse was not happy. It was almost like having Aoki around. He ranted at Shoyo for the remainder of the match, telling him how he shouldn't have played, how he damaged his leg, and he was lucky it wasn't worse.

Shoyo was bored.

By the time Karasuno showed up, Shoyo was ready to dash (one leg or not). Ukai stood by the door, listening to the nurse as Shoyo gave him a 'get me out of here' look. Ukai walked behind the nurse, avoiding his attention as he grabbed Shoyo, helping him wobble out of the infirmary.

The nurse turned around, staring at the empty bed. "Fucking teenagers."

~~~

Shoyo collapsed on the bus, avoiding the looks the club was giving him. He didn't need to be told to know they had lost the match. Shoyo curled far away from the others, staring out of the window.

He was happy to ignore the team until Ukai sat beside him. "We've been trying to get in contact with your mother, but she isn't picking up. Is there someone else we can contact who could pick you up?"

"Uncl-" Shoyo stopped, pursing his lips. "No. No one right now."

Ukai frowned, not believing that for a second. "What about Subaru and Takuma? Surely they would be happy to pick you up?"

"They're not here right now."

"What are you talking about? Something happen to Suda or Arisa?"

Shoyo didn't answer, staring harshly at the horizon. Ukai tried a few more times, trying to get a phone number out of Shoyo, but he wasn't budging.

~~~

Shoyo hopped out of the bus, collapsing onto the sidewalk. The team gathered around, an awkward aura surrounding the club.

"Are you going to explain, or are you going to avoid us again?" Daichi glared at Shoyo as he stuck out his tongue.

"I'm good avoiding you."

Daichi narrowed his eyes as Shoyo grew nervous. Eventually, Shoyo backed down.

"What do you want to know?"

Daichi's eye twitched. "How about we start with the fake leg."

Shoyo shrugged. "It's a prosthetic, not much more to it. It's not like I lost it in anything huge; I was just hit by a car. It crushed my leg and maybe a few other bones. I don't remember much. I spent years relearning to walk; that's where I met Suda. He had lost his arm in a car accident too."

Suga frowned. "Same one?"

"Nah, he lost his arm about a year before my accident. Very very different circumstances."

"Why did you hide it?" Asahi had sat on the sidewalk, Noya by his side.

"It's easier if people don't know. I got used to people telling me not to practise just because of my leg."

"That explains why you kept collapsing," Tsukishima muttered as Shoyo chuckled.

"Yep. I'm not great at sitting on the bench."

"We noticed," Ukai grumbled. "Where are your uncles?"

Shoyo frowned, his shoulders tensing. "What does that have to do with my leg?"