Itsuki Daisuke I : The Tall Man Who Fell Short

"Have you seen him Tanahashi-Kun?"

"Not yet, how about you Uchida."

"Same as you."

—

A while ago...

It's the 9th of May, Itsuki's birthday. We went to his house after classes to surprise him. At the front door of the house, we met a middle-aged woman, who looked like she was worried about something.

She asked, "Are you guys Itsuki's classmates?"

Uchida replies, "Yes, are you Itsuki's mother?"

She responds, "I am." Then, she requested, Can you help me find him?"

Nise was surprised, "Find him?"

Chiba follows, "What happened to him?"

Itsuki's mother answers, "He suddenly ran out of the house."

I asked, "Since when?"

She replies, "Since the afternoon."

Chiba demanded, "Let's find him now."

—

It's already 7 at the night.

Where are you right now Itsuki?

I grabbed my phone and opened the group chat. I chatted, "Has someone found Itsuki?"

Chiba texted, "I haven't."

Kyouko-san followed, "Likewise."

Nise replied, "Me neither."

Now I'm really worried.

Where are you Itsuki?

Why did you do this to yourself?

Is it even worth running away from home, even on your own birthday?

I keep searching and searching and searching. Every street, every corner, every store. I even went to the station. I ran so much that I'm about to lose my stamina. My legs are tired, and I'm breathing heavily from fatigue until I came across a guy sitting on a swing 

A depressed tall guy. It's Itsuki.

"I...finally...found you." while breathing heavily.

Itsuki was caught by surprise, "Tanahashi?"

"We've been finding you. Where have you been? Why are you even here?"

Itsuki just kept quiet and didn't answer.

"Isn't your birthday today?"

Itsuki looked at me by surprised, "How did you know?"

"Of course, aren't we friends?"

He feels anxious about it and didn't answer me at all.

I sat down on the swing next to him.

I asked, "Are you okay?"

He mumbled, "I..don't know."

I told him, "I personally don't know anything about you, let alone your struggles."

He sits there quietly listening to me.

"But, there are times that we lean on other people's shoulders."

He looks at me quietly in shock at what I said as I continue talking...

"I don't know what are you facing right now. I don't know if I can be helpful to you. I don't know how deep those wounds are. But, if there's anything that I can do, I'm here to help you."

He looks at me with a wondering expression and asked, "Why are you doing so much for me? I caused trouble to everyone, you know?"

"Why am I doing such lengths? We're friends, right?" I smiled at him.

That's right, I don't know anything about him. I don't even know what he is facing right now. I don't even know how bad it is, compared to mine.

Itsuki finally finds his strength, "Fine, I'll talk now. Would you listen to me Tanahashi?"

I nodded at him and listened.

He explains, "I became the captain of the basketball team in my final year of middle school. It was good for me since I wanted to go pro and I was applying for the scholarship program for high school."

So he actually played sports. Nevertheless, he wanted to be a pro. What a great vision he had.

He stops a bit and continues.

"You see Tanahashi, my Senpai back then told me to make it into the Nationals and win it. He wasn't able to fulfill what he wished in his final year. I was hoping to accomplish that Tanahashi. For me and Senpai."

Making it to the Nationals isn't easy. Battling other teams is a difficult task to do.

I asked, "What happened?"

Itsuki replied, "I was reckless."

Reckless? How come?

I asked, "What do you mean by reckless?"

He is hesitating to tell me.

I insisted, "Tell me, Itsuki."

He gulped, "I...got injured."

Injured?

I asked, "What happened?"

He clarifies, "I broke my knee."

He pulls the right side of his pants to show his knee and...

...

It's gruesome.

It's horrible.

The stitches, you can still see them.

He added, "It didn't heal the way it was supposed to be. It's a miracle that I can still walk and run but that's pretty much it."

I questioned, "Pretty much it?"

He answered, "I can no longer play basketball or even any sport that I wanted."

I'm...lost for words.

He cried, "The life that I want, the career that I want to have...I can no longer pursue that Tanahashi. What do I do now?"

He was rising so high, yet he fell big time. He couldn't fly back anymore. A broken wing that was patched but couldn't fly anymore. One wing isn't enough to carry all the weight.

...

Is there even a way to make him fly again?

...

If there's a way, will I be able to help him fly again?