Itsuki Daisuke II : The Broken Tree

It was the day before they graduate. Senpai told me earlier to meet him in the club room after classes.

I went to the club room and he was there already, looking at the windows.

"Senpai!"

"Oh, Itsuki."

"So, what's this about, Senpai? Why did you call me out here?"

"See Itsuki, there's a reason for everything."

I nodded at him and asked, "Then, what is it?"

He approached me and said,

"Itsuki, I'm giving you the role of the captain of the basketball team."

Captain...Me?

"Are you sure about this, Senpai?"

"What do you mean? I'm graduating tomorrow. It's obvious to give someone the role of the captain."

"But why me?"

"You're the only one who can do it Itsuki."

I doubted, "I mean, there are other people who deserve to be the team captain beside me."

He chuckles, "What are you talking about? I entrusted you with this role because I know you can do it. You are the only one who can make this team even better compared to what it was this year."

I doubt myself that I can do it but if I want to be a pro, I need to at least try it. I also want that scholarship.

"Fine, I'll do it."

He smiles, "Promise me something, Itsuki?"

I asked, "Promise what?"

He gives me a pat on the back, "Make sure you make into the Nationals and win it, not just for you, but for me also. Okay? Is that a promise?"

I gave him a confident smile and said, "I will, Senpai!"

—

The game is neck on neck, the winner qualifies for the Nationals.

I went for a layup, while someone is trying to block it and they made contact with me and I fell hard on the floor.

They called it a foul.

One of my teammates approached me to help me get up, "Itsuki, you okay?"

I got back up on my feet and replied, "I'm fine."

Then, later on, I got a steal and ran the fast break by myself. I only saw one defender on the other side of the court. I should go for a dunk, there's no way he can stop me.

—

I went for the dunk.

As I was about to jump, I heard a shout from the other end of the court, "Itsuki, don't!"

I'm in the air, going for a dunk, then the defender jumps and pushes me mid-air.

What the hell? That was dirty.

…

I felt my knee bending.

I landed awkwardly on my knee.

...

I heard a loud gasp from everyone in the venue. I hear reactions of fear from everyone.

"Oh no!"

"My God!"

"Oh my God!"

...

What's going on?

Did something happen?

It looks like I haven't realized it yet.

I'm about to get on my feet but...

I can't stand up.

What happened?

I can't feel it...my right knee.

I look at my knee. A bone is popping out from my knee, as I see my feet hanging.

"No way..."

The referees whistled quickly and called for an emergency timeout, the coach and my other teammates ran off to me quickly after the whistle.

I heard the coach shouting, "Call the nurse! Call an ambulance!"

The referee shouted, "Get a stretcher! Someone, a towel!"

They cover my knee with a towel, then put me on a stretcher. The medical staff is carrying me alongside the coach who is keeping me company.

As they stretch me out of the court, I asked the coach, "Is everything gonna be okay?"

The coach replied, "It's going to be fine, Itsuki. Calm down."

I responded to him, "I'm sorry. I screwed up."

The ambulance came and they put me in there. I'm still lost at what just happened.

All I can think of is "What now?" as I hear the siren of the ambulance that is rushing me into the hospital.

Around 5 minutes, we got to the hospital. They rushed me to the emergency room.

I heard the doctors and surgeons talking about what to do and how will they do the procedure.

They are going to do emergency surgery on me.

Before the surgery started, I saw my parents and coach. They're looking at my knee and hoping that the surgery goes well. They injected anesthesia into me and I fell asleep during the surgery.

I woke up and it was not the emergency room anymore. I see my parents and coach, with a doctor and a nurse.

My mom asked the doctor, "How's my son?"

The doctor replied, "He is lucky enough to have the surgery instantly. If he didn't get the surgery, he might never be able to walk again."

He added, "Before the surgery, we found out that he also tore his Achilles."

I popped my right knee out, broke it, and also a torn Achilles.

The doctor advised, "The timetable to heal both injuries is around 12 months, physical therapy is also included in there as well."

12 months?

The doctor added, "But there's more to this."

My dad asked, "What is it, doctor?"

The doctor said, "We found out that his injury was worse than expected. I couldn't tell what will happen to his knee but the way how we see it is that, it won't heal the way it should be."

The coach asked, "What do you mean?"

He replied, "With the severity of the injury, I suggest that he shouldn't play basketball or any sport full-time."

What? No way.

He continued, "After his injury heals, he can only do some physical exercise but not to the extent where he can play any sport at all. The worst-case scenario is that he might completely lose his knee if he did play full-time basketball."

I immediately snapped, "You must be joking right?!"

He shook his head, "If you think I'm joking, you are lucky enough to get surgery. If you treasure yourself, I suggest not to do any sport at all."

I fought back, "There must be a way to heal it right?! I can't just sit here and see my dreams shatter!"

The doctor replied, "I suggest to you not to be hopeful about your situation. If you have the dream to be a professional player, maybe there's a different profession for you. If you actually think that God is fair, think again."

I demanded, "You call yourself a doctor?! If you're a doctor, do something about it. A doctor saves lives, right? I cannot simply ac—"

My dad cuts me off and said, "Enough, Itsuki!"

I stopped being ignorant, but I couldn't just accept it.

The doctor said, "If you want to see your parents happy, then I suggest what I said earlier. You might find something new in your life besides sports."

The doctor left with the nurse beside him.

I can't believe it.

My parents and coach calmed me down for a bit.  My parents left the room to get food and necessities while the coach stayed with me.

Around later, I asked the coach, "What happened to the game?"

He replied, "We lost the game. The team didn't make the Nationals."

I replied, "I see."

My teammates are probably disappointed in me.

He added, "Your teammates might visit you tomorrow, they are still in the venue. I'll talk to them about your situation."

I just nodded at him.

He followed, "I'll be going back to the venue to tell the others about what happened to you. I wish you a fast recovery, Itsuki."

I waved my hand, "Yeah, see you later, coach."

The coach left the room and I'm all alone.

I can't help but be disappointed in myself.

I just mumbled out, "It's all over for me."

Later that night, my mother gave me something to eat for dinner.

She asked me, "Are you okay, Itsuki?"

I replied, "I...don't know."

I just couldn't accept it yet. She knows that too. It's hard for me to accept reality.

—

It's the next day and most of my teammates are here to visit me.

They told me it isn't my fault and that I'll recover soon.

But one of them isn't biting it.

He lashed out, "Why you didn't listen to me?!"

I can't answer him.

He mockingly shouted, "We could have won the game! I told you to not do it but no, you have to show off and tried to dunk!"

I want to speak but there are no words that are coming out.

He added, "Didn't you promise to Senpai about going and winning the Nationals?! You also failed him!"

The other teammates tried to calm him down and since they are making a big ruckus, they left the hospital.

...

I couldn't say anything at all.

He was right. I failed them.

I failed my teammates.

I failed my coach.

I failed my parents.

I failed Senpai.

I failed everyone.

I failed my dreams.

I failed.

There's no backing out from this. I just failed, badly.

In the end, I couldn't do anything. I'm just a failure.