ONLY ME || Haikyuu x Male

CHAPTER THIRTY

For someone about to undergo a hallucination, Ren felt oddly relaxed.

Karasuno and Seijou were in the process of trading which side of the court they played on, a requirement for all third sets. The procedure gave them a brief window of time in which they could regroup, and Ren gladly took advantage of it to gather his team together on the sidelines. And if he was to be entirely honest, the thought of what he was about to say next unnerved him more than the match possibly could.

"I need a favor from all of you." Ren spoke, fighting to keep his tone even and unwavering as his team stared him down, all of them confused. "Obviously this match has been pretty stressful, and from what I can tell and what I can feel, I think I might lose my lucidity soon. Start to hallucinate, basically. So I-"

"Oh, do you need me to sub you out?" Coach Ukai interrupted, clearly concerned. The act irked Ren quite a bit, but the man had good intentions, so he kept his retort to himself. Not to mention he was too nervous about what he was about to propose to be concerned about being offended.

"No, actually. I need you, all of you, to let me play while I'm hallucinating."

There was a moment of silence before exclamations of protest and astonishment erupted from the Karasuno team, most of them relating some way or another to Ren's safety. He took a deep breath, putting a hand over his chest to quell his pounding heart before continuing on, hoping that he sounded confident enough to persuade everyone. "I know I am asking a lot of you guys since you might have to work around me sometimes. But I also need you to trust me, please. I know what I'm doing, and believe me, I wouldn't even be requesting this if I wasn't one hundred percent sure it could help."

This time, the silence stretched for a longer period of time, and Ren held his breath as he waited. Gaze shifting from one teammate to another, he prayed that they had the faith in him to let him do this. And when Noya nodded to the rest of the team, displaying approval, it felt as if he had been blessed by the heavens themselves.

"Okay, Ren. We trust you."

Those words felt like a wave of relief that crashed over him, dousing him in elation. Thanking everyone profusely, Ren hurriedly followed his team onto court, taking their positions once more. He shared a look with Noya before the set restarted, and he hoped that his best friend understood the depth of his gratitude with that brief second of eye contact.

After the whistle blew, Seijou immediately acquired another point, raising the score to be 15 - 15. Usually, he'd try to calm himself down at this point, try and make sure he was relaxed to restore their score. But what was the point of that? If he was going to be psychotic anyway, then he wasn't about to make it harder for himself. So what if his brain was stressed about the game? As long as he wasn't stressing about his competence, he wouldn't try to stop it.

It was strange, allowing himself to be anxious. But it wasn't difficult, especially considering the fact that it was Oikawa's turn to serve. The setter hit the ball not unlike a bazooka going off, and only by some miracle, Daichi managed to receive it. However, it sailed back over the net, and although Ren rushed to block the turnip-haired player's direct hit, he was just a step too late. The ball sailed past his fingertips, just a few centimeters away from his touch.

And as he landed, the world melted away.

It was a familiar feeling, and for once, he welcomed it. Straightening, he looked around, and just like all the other times, there was nothing around him but the net, the ball, the ground beneath his feet, and the painted white stripes of the court boundaries. A little ways beyond the lines, there was simply nothing. Everything faded into white mist, as if he was entrapped within a hollow cloud.