courage dear heart | Yuki Ishikawa

11

I collapsed onto a mat, exhausted, with an arm draped over my face after finishing the workout.

Tomorrow, I'm definitely going to be sore...

Ayumu walked over.
"You're still alive, right?"
"I'm not sure." I replied weakly, feeling my heartbeat finally slow down to a normal pace.

"Come on, I'm starving." Ayumu extended a hand, and I took it, letting him help me to my feet. I slipped my sweatshirt back on and started packing the rest of my things into my gym bag.

"Hey, Chō," a voice called out, and I turned to see who it was, smiling as I adjusted my bag on my shoulder.

"Hi, Mayu! How are you?"
She gave me a shy smile, as if she wanted to ask me something. "I'm good, thanks. How about you? How was your workout?"

I sighed.
"It was good, though really tough."

She scratched her head gently with one finger, hesitating.
"Um, I was wondering if you'd like to try playing volleyball with us later, since we have the day off today..."

She seemed almost afraid to ask, so I tried to reassure her.
"Of course! I'd love to, but I'm pretty terrible, and I can't even remember the last time I touched a volleyball."

Her face lit up.
"Don't worry! It's just for fun, nothing serious... and my brother will be there too. He can help you out, and I can even put you both on the same team if you want," she said, gesturing toward Ishikawa, who had just finished his cardio session and was drinking some water.

He must have felt our eyes on him because he looked over in our direction.

Mayu waved him over.

"Oh, there's no need to bother—"

But with just a few strides, he was already with us.

Damn his long, muscular legs—stop.

"What's up?" he asked with a small smile.

"Yuu-kun, would you play on the same team as Chō later?" He looked at me, surprised.

"You know how to play?"

I quickly shook my hands, waving them in front of me.
"N-no, I'm not good at it, but it sounded like fun to try playing with your sister."

Please, Nabi, don't start bubbling now...

"I can teach you."

"We can teach her t—" they both spoke at the same time.

Mayu looked at him, surprised, while he continued to stare at me intently.

Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Mayu glancing between us, clearly curious.

I, on the other hand, found it impossible to tear my eyes away from his, as if I were anchored by his gaze.

"Chō, are we going?" Ayumu's voice snapped me back to reality.

He was walking toward us again, and we both turned to face him.

"Hi, Yuki-san, hi, Mayu," Ayumu greeted them, his usual energy on display.

"Oh, Mayu, what time later?" Ayumu asked, while I looked at him confused.

"After breakfast," she replied.

"Perfect. We were just heading there now, but Chō always zones out whenever Yuki-san is around." Ayumu teased as he grabbed my arm, pulling me away.

I felt my cheeks burn red.
"Sorry—hey, what are you talking about!"

"Come on, Chō, hurry up, I want to eat!!"

I heard Mayu giggling as she and her brother followed us toward the cafeteria.

---

My hands aren't exactly small, but compared to Ishikawa's large ones, they seemed almost childlike, especially as he held them, adjusting my grip to show me how to position them for a proper volleyball pass.

"Remember to keep your hands like this," he said, carefully arranging my arms as well.

"You want to use your forearms as the surface where the ball bounces off,"

he continued, positioning himself behind me.

"Spread your legs a bit and bend your knees,"

He instructed, and I followed, trying hard to ignore how close he was.

Then I felt his presence near my waist as his hand hovered above my hip without actually touching me.

"Shift your hips back slightly and lean your upper body forward a bit more so you can better absorb the impact," he advised.

I had to resist the urge to lean into his hand, knowing it wasn't the right time or place.

How do I tell him I actually already know this stuff?

The moment we set foot on the court, he had started explaining the basics, so focused and serious that I couldn't bring myself to stop him.

In front of me, Ayumu was watching with a sly smirk, while Mayu gave me a look of approval.

Noticing my discomfort, Ayumu called out from the other side of the net.
"Yuki, she's really good at mimicking what she sees. Just show her a couple of times, and she'll be able to do it just like you."

Both Ishikawa and I straightened up, and I turned to him with a determined look.

"Try me."

He studied me, and I saw his initial surprise transform into something else—his game face, like he had when he was on the court, as if to say, 'Challenge accepted.'

He then called Mayu over, asking her to set him up for some spikes.

I watched intently, taking in how he positioned his feet and hands, how he arched his back and swung his arm during the jump, the power of his spike, and how he landed afterward.

He repeated the same movements three more times, and I didn't take my eyes off him for even a second.

Not that it was hard to keep watching; it was always as if there was a magnet keeping my eyes locked onto him.

Then he turned to me, giving me a challenging smile.

"Are you ready?"

I nodded and positioned myself where he had stood.

You got this, Nabi.

Taking a deep breath, I gave him a nod. He tossed the ball up for me, and I kept my eyes on it, silently counting my steps as I moved.

1... 2... 3—jump!

Thanks to all my training, it was easy to jump high. I arched my back the way Yuki had and brought my arm up for the spike.
I landed first on one foot, then the other, finding my balance.

Then, turning to face them, I grinned from ear to ear.

"How was that? I spiked it!"

For a moment, they just stared at me, not saying a word. But just as my smile began to fade, they erupted in cheers, even the others who had been watching the scene.

"Good job, Chō!" Ishikawa high-fived me.

"That was awesome," he praised, and I felt a surge of happiness hearing his compliment—I wanted more of it.

"You pretty much nailed the same spike as Yuu-kun!" Mayu clapped her hands excitedly.

"Told you!" Ayumu beamed at me like a proud parent.

"Shall we go again?" I giggled.

"Of course, let me show you something else," Ishikawa offered, clearly pleased.