Hold Me Tight (OLD)

4.0

Sato had never been fond of the teachers' lounge and there wasn't some definitive reason as to why. It was known as the place where you spoke to faculty, whether good or bad, but he typically only spoke to Takeda-sensei when he went there. He normally tried to wait until practice to see the advisor or have another third year go talk to him for the manager, but he wasn't able to do that today. Instead, he was seated in the principal's office with the man and Kai didn't like the anxiety building up in his chest.

"Sato, what is it that you need to discuss with me?" Takeda asked and the brunette third year look down at the ground for a moment before looking back up at the man.

"I'm quitting the team," Kai said and although he had said this to his mother, Kairy, and Koushi; it was still hard to say. When Takeda looked at him with an unreadable expression, Sato forced himself to not read the other because he didn't want to know. He didn't want to really see the reaction.

"Can I ask why?"

Sato didn't want to talk about it. He wanted to just said he was quitting, leave the teacher's lounge, and then tell everyone at practice. Giving reasons made him feel selfish because everyone thought they could just help him though it; that quitting wasn't an option when it felt like the only solution.

"My mother has been diagnosed with lung cancer and she's become my priority right now. My family has to come first," Kai explained just like the way he had practiced and he thought about his mother sitting in the hospital by herself and it made his heart hurt.

"The gears are going to get clogged like they were before you started to help us. We've come so far because of you."

That was false because the team had always been so much more than anyone let them believe; so much more than anyone let them be. All that had changed was that they had finally received the support they deserved by getting a permeant coach, the freak duo, and connecting.

"All I did was point out their potential, nothing more and nothing less," Kai said and he knew how cruel he sounded, but he wasn't what everyone made him out to be.

"You do so much more than you allow yourself to believe," Takeda said, his voice full of hurt. "Sato, you have helped the team so much this year and inspired them to become better. Why won't you see that?

No. He hadn't done that. He was just an 18 year old boy who had always been full of hurt but never let it show. At the end of the day, he was certain no one would actually like him if he were to be open and honest about who he was and how he felt. He did nothing and didn't deserve praise.

"Kageyama and Hinata inspired the team." His voice was firm. "All I did was say what I saw. I haven't been the manager I was supposed to be."

There was a pause and he wondered if Takeda agreed with him. He had been a pretty shit manager the last three years and he would own up to it, admit it, and apologize for it. The only thing was that part of him had always feared that people actually agreed with him.

"Three years ago, a boy came to me to explain he wanted to be part of the team but feared he couldn't because he was a manga artist," Takeda and Kai remembered that.

He remembered hurrying the teacher's lounge before the first practice, wanting to catch the advisor before things felt permeant. Koushi had been near impossible to get to let him go by himself because he believed they needed to stay close to one another. Thankfully Daichi took him to practice for the brunette.

"Takeda-sensei," Sato said, hands shaking and heart pounding so unbelievably hard. It had been so long since he had been anxious like this. "I'm Sato Kai, may I speak with you?"