Chapter Text
That noise still resounds in his eardrums, during untimely hours when he knows he should very well be sleeping. It’s a bitter memory, one he recounts with unwelcome clarity. He remembers the deafening silence that followed, how the smack of him hitting the floor reverberated through the gym. Every player, coach, and referee on that court knew that sound, it’s echo a notorious omen.
He’d stayed there, a crumpled heap that could only listen to the gasps of shock amalgamating with the rough shouts and sneakers screeching around him. The cacophony of panic and urgency turned to a drone as it overwhelmed his ears, becoming background to the maddening repetition of that sound, that pop. It rang in his skull, rattling his brain till he simply could no longer endure the burden of thought. He knew that sound, and he could hardly bear its consequence.
Breaking News: January
“This just in, Olympic candidate Oikawa Tooru of the Men’s National Volleyball team has possibly torn his ACL.”
“Incoming report from the International Sports Network, Oikawa Tooru indefinitely out with injury, possibly for the rest of the year.”
“ESPN Japan reporting live from Yoyogi National Gymnasium. National team starting setter Oikawa Tooru down with what seems to be a knee injury of some sorts. Coming back with full details in tomorrow morning's news!”
“Olympic Channel here, broadcasting live from Tokyo at the Men’s World Grand Champions Cup at the Japan v. Brazil semi-final match. In the whirlwind of chaos on the court here, we have off to my left, star setter Oikawa Tooru getting carried off for additional medical attention after what looked to be a possible knee injury mid play. A top prospect for the Japanese Olympic Team, you can certainly feel the tension of uncertainty in the atmosphere here tonight...”
4 Months Later: May
“Japan Times here from JVA’s official Men’s Olympic Volleyball Team decision conference, reporting the first draft picks for the team that will represent Japan at this year’s Summer Olympic Games! Coach Yuichi Nakagaichi giving the final listing now.”
“It is with great excitement and anticipation we all find ourselves here today, but this must be preceded with a note of unfortunance. With the detriment of a debilitating injury four months prior, it is with great disappointment we, the Japanese Volleyball Association, announce the untimely, official retirement of Oikawa Tooru, and his withdrawal from the 2020 Summer Olympic roster. Filling his place will be National Team B member Miya Atsumu. Following suit-”
His laptop snapped shut sharply through the darkness of his bedroom. Even three months later, the ubiquity of his new reality was difficult to come to terms with. Even when things glare you dead in the face, it can be hard to look them in the eyes. This sentiment was vindicated by the stiffness in his right knee. And that noise, the fucking popping. Always starting as he spiraled. God, he could still hardly bear it.
8 Months Later: August
It was an early summer morning, the signs of what would turn out to be a humid day clinging to Oikawa’s arms as he trudged through the thickening air of the train station. Bustling Monday commuters scurried to the primary platforms, trains that would get you anywhere you needed in Tokyo. It dawned on him he was one of these folk not long ago, rushing to catch the line down to Yoyogi Park for mandated team weekly conditioning. He scuffled past the familiar track, not giving into the temptation of glancing back at his old normal. That was the past, and his now was beyond track H.
As he went further down the alphabet system of the station, the crowds began to thin, till he came upon a few fellow bystanders at track S. From L onward were designated trains leaving Tokyo, an area invariably occupied by no more than thirty or so patrons during morning rush hour. We hadn’t often found himself in this area of the station, but it’s quiet buzz was refreshing. Tokyo never stopped, an always moving machine of people, agendas, and the other commodities of urban living. Oikawa hadn’t felt any semblance of refreshedness in months, when he stopped and everything around him continued. It was his turn to start moving again.
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When Iwaizumi had initially offered for Oikawa to come stay with him and Daichi in Kyonan, his friend’s trepidation to accept was on full display.
“Look, I just think getting out of Tokyo will help you...ya know!”
Being his childhood best friend, Iwaizumi could feel the scathing scowl Oikawa was fronting through the phone.
“Know what Iwa-chan?”
Treading the line was never much his style, relying often on his blunt demeanor to get his point across, especially and most notably with Oikawa. But even with his calloused tendencies, Iwaizumi knew now more than ever his friend was in need of particularly delicate handling. After a pregnant pause Oikawa sighed into the receiver, but Iwaizumi beat him to respond.
“Just come, take a break from the city for a while. Get away from all the reminders. The wedding is in October anyway, it’ll be a good two months for you to clear your head, try to enjoy yourself.”
He was begging, a rare trick he brought out when trying to persuade a certain stubborn friend. It was a dirty play, but he knew getting Oikawa out of Tokyo would be good for him. Another elongated pause. Iwaizumi could practically hear his friend’s internal strife as he mulled over the decision in their silence.
“Tooru-”
“Okay, I’ll come.”
While he didn’t sound horribly enthusiastic, he was nonetheless relieved to have gotten Oikawa on board. Daichi, who had been anxiously listening to the entire conversation, swiftly snatched the phone from his fiance.
“Amazing, ugh we can’t wait to have you! Hajime already set up the guest house for you, oh and we cannot wait to take you to the beach. You can actually see the stars on the water here at night. I know you always missed that being in Tokyo.”
He smiled, watching his fiance prattle on about this and that to a renounced Oikawa, letting the excitement of his best friend’s arrival laminate his evening.
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January seemed so long ago, yet like it happened all but yesterday. It’s August when Oikawa finds himself on a train headed east from Tokyo, Kyonan a three hour reality ahead of him in the distance. Iwaizumi and Daichi eagerly awaited his arrival. He has no idea what he was looking for.