Heroes Without Capes

Workaholic

Kimishita was a workaholic. Everyone knew that; there was not a single person on the team who wasn't aware of his tendency to try and do everything by himself, a tendency that had only grown worse since he'd been made team captain of Seiseki in his third year. It was just his nature, and nobody seemed to mind anymore.

Ooshiba wouldn't mind either, if it wasn't for the tiny but significant fact that lately he looked a suspicious lot like he'd been overworking himself.

It wasn't something just anyone would notice, so he didn't really blame the team for not instantly realizing something was off, but to him it was clear as day. Lately Kimishita looked tired. Worn out, somehow. His attention span had grown shorter, and so had his temper; he would lash out at people for the tiniest slip-ups, only to grumble an apology a moment later, and more often than not he spaced out, quietly phasing out of the conversation around him to lose himself in thought or just stare holes into the air until someone made him snap back to attention. Every time things got loud or chaotic he would start massaging his temples as if fighting back a headache, closing his eyes for a moment that was just a bit too long to look normal, and ever since yesterday he'd been sporting telltale dark bags under his eyes, something Ooshiba had never seen on him in over two years of playing together. He was definitely stressed out, and as his teammate and partner, Ooshiba was pretty sure he knew why.

It was Kimishita's overblown, stupid and completely pointless desire to be perfect at everything.

After all, who in their right mind would put a hundred and ten percent into soccer, school work, team captain duties, and a job, all at the same time?

Nobody, that's who. Except for Kimishita freaking Atsushi, who definitely wouldn't manage to keep this up for much longer. Something had to be done, and it had to be done quickly, before the captain of Seiseki finally hit his limits and collapsed or got seriously sick.

Someone had to help. And by someone, Ooshiba meant himself– it was his duty as a vice-captain to assist the captain after all, and it wasn't like he hated the grump entirely, not nearly as much as he had a year ago, even if they still couldn't interact without bickering. Besides, Kimishita owing him a favor (or two or five, depending on how much he helped) didn't sound like a bad thing at all.

So here he was, giving his brain some much-needed exercise, trying to come up with the infallible master plan to help his idiot of a team captain.

---

Twenty-four hours a day simply weren't enough.

Kimishita slumped down in his chair and sighed, allowing himself a few minutes of precious, much-needed rest. Lately his life had been buzzing like a beehive. Homework, exams, soccer, captain duties, university applications, scholarship applications, the store, housework... it was all slowly but steadily starting to grow over his head. Somehow everything was happening at the same time, due at the same time, had to be done at the same time, and here he was, running on his last breath as he tried to keep up with life's leisurely stroll.

Sometimes he wondered if it was really worth it. Part of him was screaming to pull the damn brakes already; the more reasonable part of his mind was telling him to ditch the housework and ask someone to keep an eye on the team in his place, at least until the Category 5 hurricane in his life calmed down.

And still he went on. He went on against his exhaustion, against all reason, trying to juggle everything at once, putting his best into everything. If he didn't give it his all now, he'd just regret it later. It was just for a short while, then it would all be over again. He'd manage. He wasn't that weak.

Like hell he was giving up now. Not now that so many people relied on him, trusted him, not now that he felt so needed. Like hell he was disappointing everyone. Like hell he was letting them know his weaknesses. He had to be strong, and be strong he would, for his own sake, for his pride, for everyone.