August, 2009

Ryunosuke

I remembered just the beginning of his reign as soccer captain, Ryosuke and I was talking about our summer plans. He was projecting a scene where the two of us would lead our highschool team to victory, a possibility if our team winning the National Soccer Tournament.

Ryosuke, always being the confident and positive kind of guy, believed that our team would definitely win. Being the reliable captain that everyone looked up to, he had convinced us all with his clean strategy, and how well he assess Sea King Highschool player’s performance throughout the year. Since he’s part of the national team, he had a lot of experience in matches with their influential players. Our team was gifted with such a contributive captain. So his confident had motivated us to the fullest.

He told me that if we won the National Soccer Tournament, we would gain a lot of money as a price. At first, I thought he was going to ask me how he should decide on splitting the money with the other players. But instead, he had something else in mind.

“Hey, Ryu. The soccer club in our school is already rich, right?” he asked, while dribbling a ball on our soccer field one afternoon after our practice.

Since I was part of the Student Council, he’ll always ask me for advice regarding how to manage his club.

“I guess so…” I answered.

I sat on one edge of the field as I gulped down my drink. We just finished practice and I was drained. It was amusing how Ryosuke was still so energetic after all that training.

“We’ve done several tournaments for the past years. The money was more than enough to fund our facilities and management.”

“Since our facilities and management are already funded well, where does the money go?” he asked again. Now he was juggling, trying to maintain the ball in the air while continuously bouncing it on his knees.

“The players, I guess,” I answered again. “From what I know, usually we use the money for personal celebrations. Like a vacation or party or something.”

Ryosuke stopped his juggling and picked up the ball with his hand. Then, he walked closer to me.

“Instead of spending the entire prize for the players, why don’t we split some of the money and donate it to... I don’t know... some orphanage?”

I was completely taken aback by his suggestion. Honestly, I was ashamed of myself every time he would come up with such a generous thought in mind. Why couldn’t I be more of a considerate person like him?

I gave him a smile. “Do you have a suggestion?”

“There’s an orphanage near my place,” Ryosuke said. “Some of the kids loved playing soccer, but I don’t think they have a proper facility to play. It would be extremely helpful for them if we could donate some of our money to buy them equipment or even build a small futsal field in their orphanage. What do you say? Do you think the other players would agree?”

“Ryosuke, if the other players don’t agree, I would smack each one of them until they would,” I said standing up as I laughed. “I think your idea is brilliant. Let’s go with that. I will fully support it.”

Ryosuke gave me a smile. “Thanks Ryu. From now on, every time we win a tournament, we’ll allocate the money and donate them to orphanages.”

I nodded in agreement. The two of us did our signature fist bump. It was what we always do whenever we made some kind of promise together.

After a moment, I gave him a smirk. “Then, what do we do with the money split for us?”

Ryosuke grinned back. “Let’s spend our summer vacation together. You, Mirai, and I.”

My smirk develops into a wide grin. “I’d always wanted to go snorkeling to the Ogasawara Archipelago. Or Hawaii!”

Ryosuke laughed at my sudden excitement. “I think Mirai would like that.”

I smiled, imagining how much fun summer vacation would be with the three of us together.

The first time Ryosuke came into our friendship, he immediately brought his wild side to us. His love for adventure and travelling to the wild had influenced me and Mirai that we would always plan a vacation where the three of us spend a fantastic adventure through summer breaks.

But now, thinking about our upcoming summer vacation made my heart clench.

We might never be able to enjoy those vacations anymore. And… I might never see Ryosuke play soccer again. Remembering the verdict given to Ryosuke the day before, I wanted to scream. But then who am I suppose to scream at?

I immediately shook the thought away. What was I thinking? How can I shamelessly have that kind of negative thought?

Of course I can see Ryosuke play again. Of course we can still enjoy those vacations together again. Ryosuke is the strongest will person I know, and I should’ve been positive that he’s going to survive this no matter what! I couldn’t stop the anger and disappointment in me for momentarily doubting my friend like that.

The scene that happened last night recalled in my head.

“Ryu… please don’t tell the others about this yet,” Ryosuke requested, right after the doctor’s verdict. He was talking about the rest of the soccer team.

Before I could ask why, he added. “We’ve just had our greatest victory for the year, so let’s not ruin the other’s happiness. I want you and everyone else to continue whatever celebration you must have.”

I wanted to object him, but I couldn’t. It was unfair that Ryosuke didn’t want to share his burden to anyone of us. When clearly, he had always been the captain who always gave us a strong foundation in our team. My heart ache so much that if I had opened my mouth to talk, I might end up crying right in front of him. I didn’t want to look weak, so I ended up silent.

“Promise me you won’t tell the others yet. Please Ryu, I beg of you…”

Seeing his pale face and genuine request, I finally nodded.

I sighed. That morning, of course the rest of the team would ask me about Ryosuke’s condition. With his request, I end up lying to them. I told them that his leg experienced a minor injury, and that he needs some time to rest in the hospital. I told them exactly what Ryosuke had asked me to, which is for them to continue our victory celebration.

I was still with the rest of the soccer club members, celebrating our victory, when Mirai called me.

“Kamiki-kun, Ryosuke is…”

The moment I heard Mirai’s trembling voice, before her sentence even ended, I instantly rushed myself towards the hospital. Mirai gave me a different address this time. It was the specialized hospital that the previous doctor had suggested Ryosuke.

When I arrived there, I saw Mirai, sitting in the waiting chair of the emergency room. She was comforting Ryosuke’s mother who was sitting beside her. When she saw me, she immediately stood up.

“What happened?” I immediately asked the moment I reached her.

Without saying anything further, Mirai had closed the gap between us and hugged me.

********

 Mirai

We waited beside his bed silently. The doctors had given him an infusion, relieving the pain in his knees from the tumor. He was now sleeping under a medication.

It was hard seeing him like this. I have been thinking he had lost weight since the past weeks, but I thought it was due to his extra training for our final match. But it all made sense to me now. I noticed the change in his face, his cheekbones had become clearer. And his skin pales, his naturally pink lips was out of color.

Ryosuke’s parents are discussing with the doctors right now. We haven’t decided whether we should have the surgery directly or not. We still need to wait for Ryosuke to make the decision for himself.

A few minutes later, Ryosuke’s eyes fluttered open. I greeted him with a gentle rub on his arm, and a smile.

“Hey, you okay?” I asked him softly as I caress his cheeks.

He frowned slightly upon the sudden light in his eyes, before he managed to adapt with the surrounding and opened his eyes entirely.

“I’m sorry…”

Those were the first words that came out of his mouth the moment he regain his vision. My chest tightened in anguish upon this. I struggled hard to prevent my face from showing them directly.

“I’m sorry for making you guys worry…” he continued.  

Kamiki approached him closer from the other side of the bed.

“Ryosuke…” he said softly. “The rest of the team and I will wait for you.”

I instantly turned at him for his sudden statement. Previously I had told him about how Ryosuke was hesitating to do the surgery and proceed with the treatment. I didn't know he would be so direct.

His voice began to waver, but he took a deep breath to strengthen his stance.

“No matter how long it would take for you to recover, there will always be a spot for you in our team as our captain,” he continued. “That’s why… please proceed with the surgery. Take the chemotherapy and whatever treatment you need to, and be better. So you can play again with us on the field soon.”

Unexpectedly, Ryosuke smiled.

“Thank you,” he said.

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