These Ties That Bind 36

Hinami was a football centered island. Everybody knew, and naturally nobody could deny the fact.

Yet an island in such an isolated archipelago was no doubt behind the times.

Popular belief claimed football was a male-centered sport. Yet Shuna had other plans. And she would stop at nothing to make them a reality.

After the mysterious boy that had given her strength vanished without a trace, Shuna was sure of what she needed to do. And after many years of rallying her fellow football-loving friends, she spearheaded the foundation of the female Hinami team. Girls from all grades ranging from middle school to high school could compete in the female league that was established a mere 2 years earlier.

Her dream had become a reality. Shuna could finally play her beloved sport, with her beloved Hinami Pirates.

During her time playing in middle school, she became fast friends with a girl a year older than her. The talented and straightforward Risa Haneda, sister of her friend, Kyogo.

Risa was an amazing player, and always a righteous person. The two clicked together almost too fast, both recognizing each other’s skills in the game. Soon, on and off the field the two were inseparable.

Shuna, the captain of the team, and Risa the number 10 and ace of the squad. The two girls felt like they were unstoppable.

But sadly, football and especially life, were not always a breeze. Hinami Pirates lost, and lost and kept losing. Morale in the squad dropped. As more female teams entered the competition after its founding, winning became even harder, and the competitiveness rose exponentially.

Suddenly, Shuna, the captain, was feeling pressured. All the fun she had while playing was paired with anxiety, an obligation to perform. An obligation to carry her team to winning every game.

But of course she could never admit it. The captain of a team never could. Not even to her very best friend.

Risa on the other hand, wanted to be the best. She undoubtedly believed she was. Losing hurt her more than anybody else on the team. And that’s why she normally talked about changing tactics every time the team didn’t perform.

Risa, Shuna and the coach spent countless hours discussing game plans and changes that would help them. But the two best friends didn’t always see eye to eye.

“We can’t do that, Risa! It’s not right.”

“What? Maybe staying on the bench will help her.”

“No! We need to stand by her!”

The discussion involved leaving one of their underperforming teammates on the bench. While Risa believed taking her out of the starting 11 would help her rest and regain her form, Shuna was a firm believer of sticking together as a team. She didn’t want to ostracize anyone.

“Girls! Please!”

Both practices made perfect sense. Naturally their coach who was caught between them knew that.

Ultimately, Risa backed down. For now.

During a game which Hinami had to win however… It happened.

Shuna was injured. It was her knee. The engine of one’s whole leg. The tackle she received wasn’t hard, but her landing was clumsy. Shuna felt something was wrong… but she didn’t want to believe it. A few minutes after that, she could barely walk on her own.

Alarms went off within the squad. Hinami could not afford to lose one of their two most precious players. They just couldn’t.

Yet they did. And they lost that game.

Some captain I am.

All the while Shuna blamed herself. How could she not help the team when her teammates clearly needed her?

That’s when she realized, the glass of her unwavering resolve had cracked. She had let doubt creep in. Her fun past time had turned so stressful she just wanted… to let it go.

But how could she? She loved that sport so dearly it hurt.

The next morning, supporting herself on crutches, on her way to the school doctor Shuna stopped dead in her tracks.

In the hallway before her, stood Risa talking to their coach and another of their teammates. All of them wore grim faces.

Ah, right. It was time for their morning recovery session. But what did they all look so…

Shuna knew not to interrupt but as a captain she just couldn't let it go.

No. As Shuna, as herself, she felt like she had to listen in. As rude and uncharacteristic of her as it were.

That’s when she heard Risa say…

“We need to be realistic, coach… We cannot rely on Shuna anymore.”

The words her best friend had said pierced her like broken glass. The same glass that had cracked, and was now in pieces.

When the coach mouthed her agreement, Shuna didn’t want to hear anything else. On her crutches, she made her way to the doctor.

All through the examination her mind was spinning round and round with thoughts fresh like open wounds.

Her team didn’t need her anymore… she wasn’t the captain anymore. Just a liability. Even her best friend had deemed her as such.

The young girl was on her last leg, and the last hit Shuna was bound to take, would cripple her for good.

“Shuna, I don’t know how to tell you this…”

“Eh?”

“Your Anterior Cruciate Ligament has ruptured.”

“What…?”

That was one of the worst knee injuries one could sustain through sports. The knee was the engine of the leg. Without it you cannot jump nor run.

Her recovery would take more than 8 months… she would miss this season and then some of the next…

Shuna’s dream, like a house of cards, came down on top of her.

She felt like… that was the end of her footballing days.

But her heart could not forget the sport. That’s how she became her father’s assistant. That’s how she came to study tactics.

Yet that was also how she and Risa became estranged. Shuna left the team, and never spoke to her best friend ever again.

Naturally, Risa tried to reach out, but it wasn’t enough to get through to Shuna.

For the Shuna she once knew seemed long gone.

❖ ⚽ ❖

“Wow…” Reo uttered, as Shuna finished airing out her own skeleton hiding within her closet. “…That’s what you meant when you said I’m not going back, huh?”

“What?’ After Shuna recovered from recounting her past, she quickly arched a brow at Reo’s question.

“Oops…” Reo was not supposed to have heard that, wasn’t he? Despite having completely forgotten, the damage done was not significant. After all he had decided to come clean with it sooner rather than later, maybe in order to prompt that sort of conversation with Shuna himself.

“Well I went out for some air during our trip to Nagashima and happened to overhea— Ouch!”

“That’s your punishment, for eavesdropping!”

“Hey it wasn’t intentio— OWOWOW!”

As Reo got to his feet, trying to guard himself from the oncoming forehead flicks, Shuna found the opening to stretch his face wide like a cloth.

When she was satisfied, and Reo’s cheeks were red enough, she let go, grinning.

“Ow.”

“You deserved it.”

“I did. And I am sorry.”

“Apology accepted.”

Reo’s whining didn’t last long of course, so the two of them soon shared a smile. Yet as the air around that cleared, the mist befalling Shuna’s traumatic past remained. And so Reo went ahead and prodded the subject once more.

“Now it all makes sense, though. Why you’re not playing while you love the game so much.”

“Right. But you don’t have to necessarily play football to love it.”

“I guess you don’t.” Then again, Reo played football but didn’t love it. Or did he? His head was a mess like always, he affirmed and shook his head.

Shuna, feeling like a weight was somewhat lifted off her shoulders produced a liberating sigh. “I guess we’ve both got weird stories about our footballing days.”

“Talk about a coincidence.” In truth Reo wanted to laugh. His own story was very much similar to that of Shuna’s. The pressure. Fun turning into an obligation. Success becoming the primary objective in contrast to the thrill of the game.

“So… the reason you quit was because of your injury or…”

“It was a combination of both…” Shuna turned her gaze downwards, still reluctant to go far into depth. Talking about it was one thing, and it looked like analyzing it was another. But still, Reo had to ask.

“And you never spoke to Risa again… you’re still estranged right?”

“Yeah, we were at least. Now she seems to want to get back into my life or more like force her way through. I’m at a loss as to what to do…” Shuna raised her gaze, and walked ahead, her feet kicking the sand, “After all we’ve been through together, I can’t find myself to completely deny her, you know?”

“You don’t have to.” Reo shrugged, a gesture that piqued his girlfriend’s curiosity.

“You mean…”

“I mean, I can’t see such a good friendship breaking up like that. Maybe you need to talk about it… Who knows maybe you misunderstood or—“

“Haaah…” Shuna sighed, “Maybe, but, I don’t know if I want to do that just yet. Or at all. I just…”

“Shuna…” Reo’s heart clenched at seeing her face looking so torn. She was still clearly having a battle without a winning side within her head, and only caused turmoil within.

Reo wanted to help… But how?

He wanted to tell her… that his heart was with her. He had to sort out his mess of a head and get things straight, if only for once.

“Shall we head back?”

With her bright usual smile, Shuna suggested, and Reo simply nodded. The couple walked on home, and separated at the girl’s front door, but…

Reo was still searching, searching. For what? He knew he couldn’t let things continue as they were. There was something clearly missing.

He had an idea. And quickly picked up his phone.

❖ ⚽ ❖

“Reo-kun?” Always addressing him with familiarity, Risa, Hinami’s star stood between the paved road and the beach, beneath a lamppost that had just lit into life.

“Haneda-san, thanks for coming.” Uncharacteristically formal, Reo nodded at his friend, who naturally arched a brow.

“Either something happened, or Shuna-chan will be very mad.” Risa concealed a grin, “For your sake, I hope it’s the first.”

“Come on, have some faith in me.” Reo shook his head, similarly amused. Both of them knew the other was joking. Past her perfect and composed exterior, Risa turned out to be quite easy to get along with, Reo had learned. She wasn’t as overbearing as Shuna’s story made her out to be, yet again Reo never got to know her as a teammate. People put on a different façade when sports, and more precisely football was involved.

“So what is it? You’ve kept a lady in suspense long enough.”

“Yeah, you’re right.”

Reo nodded, as the two of them walked off the beach and back to the familiar road towards the square. At this time of day, they passed by various families going home for the day, parents escorting their kids back after a long day of playing. It was the weekend after all, no official football was on the cards and midterms were coming up for the high school kids.

“I talked with Shuna about… why she left the team.”

“Oh…”

When those words escaped Reo, Risa’s expression visibly changed.

“I figured it could be something like that…” The blonde girl nodded to herself, folding her hands behind her back, instead of letting them move elegantly with her body. Her smile was tinged with melancholy, and anticipation of a kind she was evidently not familiar with. What would Reo tell her? Would he blame her?

Reo too felt conflicted. Shuna had told him she didn’t want to discuss it. She was more or less adamant about it. But he couldn’t just let it go… He felt a fire deep within him spurring him on to pursue that part of the past, and unravel the mystery around it. Dispel the mist around Shuna’s heart.

“Yeah, well, I didn’t know she was a football player to begin with.”

“She was a heck of a player… not just A player.” Risa still smiling, corrected Reo. A correction that he took in stride.

“Then you do know why she stopped, right?”

“I, ah…” For the first time since he met her, he saw the perfect and composed Risa waver. She was evidently lost for words. “I’m… not sure.”

“Really?” Reo arched a brow.

“Well, Shuna had an ACL injury on her right knee. It was painful for her, and she needed surgery and then some rehab… The atmosphere around her was not the best prior to that either…”

So Risa wasn’t aware of Shuna overhearing her saying she isn’t needed, huh?

That made sense, since eavesdropping was something you weren’t normally caught doing.

But for Shuna, her friend’s words hurt her more than any injury could.

“Yes, and no.” So Reo spoke, something that caught Risa’s attention.

“Meaning?”

“Shuna heard you talking with your coach and another teammate… You said the team couldn’t rely on her anymore.”

“What?!”

Risa raised her voice, causing all sorts of stares from passing denizens of the island to be flung their way.

“What do you mean?” Risa continued, this time lowering her tone so they wouldn’t become the talk of town come Monday.

“I mean just that. She came to see the school doctor that morning, and overheard you saying that yourself.”

Reo knew it may not be right to tell Risa all that. But he felt like miscommunication was the worst way for friends to break apart. There was just a glimmer of a possibility… Risa never meant any of that.

When all the cards are laid out, perhaps there is a piece that both of them are missing to complete the full deck.

“Wait… she heard me saying that? Reo-kun, are you sure?” Risa’s face was positively crest fallen. She could have never predicted that, despite being as smart as she was.

“Dead sure. She said so herself…”

“So all this time…” Risa stopped in her tracks, taking in a breath. Reo halted too, looking back at her with surprise and slight… hope within him.

“All this time… she thought the team didn’t need her? That I said so? Is that why she cut herself off from the team? Is that why she quit? Is that why she wouldn’t talk to me?”

Risa’s words left her throat like a barrage of pain. Suddenly it all made sense within her. She thought Shuna was avoiding her because Risa reminded her of the team. A team she couldn’t play for. A team that she had disappointed. But no…

The team had disappointed her. And the front runner of that bitterness was her very own best friend.

“But you said that didn’t you?” Reo pressed on.

“No!” Once again, Risa raised her voice, this time not caring if anyone else was there to hear.

“I never said the team didn’t need her! I only said we couldn’t rely on Shuna anymore because…” Risa gulped hard, “The doctor is my aunt’s friend… She told me of Shuna’s results even before she went for the checkup. I knew what kind of injury it was. She wouldn’t be able to play for at least the rest of the season…”

By the way the Hinami’s female ace winced, it was clear the memory of that day brought back bitter memories.

“Wait, so you didn’t say that because of her performances, then?”

“Of course not! Shuna was the glue of the team!” Risa clenched her fist tight, a passion burning in her eyes the likes of which Reo could have never guessed a composed girl like her had in her, “Shuna was the captain I could never be…”

Those last words were even heavier than they sounded. For someone as confident in herself as Risa, that declaration took more strength than a normal person could muster.

Despite the heaviness of the conversation, Reo’s lips curled up. Because his inkling had come true…

“So it WAS a misunderstanding!”

“Eh?”

“Risa, we can fix this!”

“Wha--?!”

Before the blonde girl could reply, the young man grabbed her hand and dashed down the road towards a familiar part of town. They were heading straight for Shuna.

❖ ⚽ ❖

Shuna sat on her bed, fresh from her shower, and looked out her bedroom window in thought. Her eyes could be glued to the view of the sea in the far distance, but her mind was evidently racing elsewhere.

Risa… Reo… Football…

She had mixed feelings for all.

All besides Reo.

The young man had solidified his place in her heart. Something that Shuna rewarded with the retelling of her past. Something she hadn’t even told her dad…

But her retelling brought with it the stinging pain in her heart. And in her operated knee…

Could she ever play football again?

Could she ever smile on the pitch alongside Risa?

“Shuna.”

“Yeah?”

The girl didn’t even notice when her mother had stepped into her room before she addressed her.

“Reo-kun is outside, and he says he wants to see you…”

“Reo?” Shuna snapped completely out of her trance at the mention of his name, “Why doesn’t he come in?”

“Well…”

❖ ⚽ ❖

“Risa…?” Shuna raised a brow, as soon as she stepped out to her porch, wearing only her father’s Hinami jacket, reaching just around her thighs.

Fair to say she wasn’t exactly amused seeing her boyfriend with her, especially after what she had said to him an hour prior.

“Shuna—“

“I’m sorry Shuna!”

Before Reo could take on the role of mediator between the two, Risa bowed so deeply she almost threw her back out, and apologized resoundingly.

Shuna was clearly taken aback by the sudden declaration, but soon turned to Reo, her eyes narrowed.

“What did you two do?”

“What?” Reo was baffled, “Nothing that warrants my apology, at least.”

“Oh, is that so?”

“Shuna!” Risa as straightforward as ever, walked between the couple and met her friend’s eyes squarely, “I’m sorry for everything until now! I never meant you weren’t needed in the team.”

“You did… what? Eh?” Finally, Shuna seemed to get what this night visit was about, “You mean… what I overheard you say?”

“Precisely.”

“I see.” For a different reason now, Shuna passed Reo another glare, yet this time more subdued.

“What? I had to clear up the misunderstanding.”

“What misunderstanding?” With narrowed eyes, Shuna turned to her friend, who clasped her hands tightly.

As Shuna jumped, Risa spoke, “I never said we couldn’t rely on you because you weren’t good enough. I only said that because the school doctor is an acquaintance and… she told me about your results beforehand.”

“Wait… You mean you knew about my injury and…”

“That’s why I said we can’t rely on you. We had to form a plan without you in it and fast. You were our captain Shuna-chan… with you out with an injury we were done for.”

Risa’s words hit Shuna like a train, her voice small and her face frozen.

“So you or the others… none of you wanted me out…?”

“No, of course not!”

“They never would want you out, Shuna.” Reo affirmed too, smiling.

“All this time I thought you were ignoring me because you wanted to leave the team. That you were afraid your injured knee would keep you from performing and that I would remind you of it every day…” Risa’s voice grew smaller for a second there too, but her eyes stood resolute still, “But now I know… That’s why I am apologizing.”

“No… Risa…” Shuna’s own expression grew pained too, as she drew in a shaky breath, “I should have been straight with you. Or at least angrier. Maybe then we could have cleared it up if I had just accused you.”

“That would be a sight.” Reo shrugged, trying to comment despite his better judgement.

“But if I’m honest… that piece of conversation I overheard just affirmed my suspicions… I myself felt like I wasn’t good enough…”

“That’s not true, Shuna-chan.” Risa was more reprimanding than apologetic now.

“Maybe I was afraid of my knee relapsing too… You know how ACLs are, right? One wrong move and—“

“No.” Risa shook her head. As her friend tried to cower away once more, this time the Hinami’s ace wouldn’t let her. She could never let her best friend go off on her own pity party again, “It will not. And you will never be a burden to anyone. Nor me, nor Hinami.”

Hearing Risa’s words, and seeing Shuna’s eyes turn glassy from tears of pent up frustrations that were slowly turning into hope, Reo couldn’t suppress his smile.

He had realized deep within. He loved Shuna. He was more than infatuated. More than smitten. More than a teenager in love.

He truly loved her.

And he wanted to help her, just like her presence had helped him.

So Risa and him, both bowed at the same time, pleading and hoping.

“Shuna-chan, please come back to the team!”

“Shuna, please go back to the team!”

As their cries reverberated off the quiet neighborhood, Shuna’s tears were on the verge of rolling down her face.

“You two…” She breathed, “But, I’m not physically in shape… It’s been almost two years since I left…”

“Training will help you get back in shape! The tournament doesn’t start until after midterms, there’s still time.”

“But… it may not be enough…”

“I will go on runs with you!” When Risa’s words weren’t enough to convince Shuna, Reo declared passionately instead.

“Before morning practice, we’ll go on a run every morning. We’ll start slow and build up our fitness levels from there. Together.”

Seeing Reo’s eyes so resolute and passionate, it was an understatement to say Shuna was surprised.

“But, you hate training, right?”

“Well, not if I’m doing it with you.”

“Wha—“

“Besides it was about time I trained a bit harder too. Hinami isn’t just a team for me either anymore.”

In between blushing, and pondering every single outcome like the overthinker Shuna was, she finally sighed in defeat. A defeat that her heart deep within counted as the biggest victory in years.

“O-Okay…” She wiped the tears that flowed freely now, and nodded with a red-cheeked smile, “I’ll do it.”

When Shuna accepted their proposal, Risa turned to Reo, her eyes shining in delight, and her face still in disbelief.

Without a word, Reo drew his girlfriend into a hug. A hug the three of them soon shared, as Shuna mouthed her thanks over and over.

❖ ⚽ ❖

After the heartfelt embrace, words of gratitude and the happiness that bloomed into hope, Shuna and Risa stood at the porch of the house, when Gonda’s head poked out the door.

“Why are y’all still standing there?” He motioned inside the house, “Come on in.”

Risa smiled warmly, still holding her friend’s hand.

“I need to go help my family with the pub, actually. But thanks coach.”

“Oh, Reo you were there too!”

“Hey, I’ve been here the whole time!”

As laughs erupted amidst the four of them, Reo exhaled and looked at his girlfriend, and Risa her friend beside her. No doubt they had much to talk about. Even if he didn’t have to help out at the shop, he still wouldn’t want to intrude.

“Risa, up for dinner?”

Shuna asked, catching her friend off guard.

“…If you’d have me.”

After exhaling away the doubts, Risa’s affirmation bloomed along her smile.

“’Course we do! Hina made quite the feast come look!”

“Well see you another time.” As Reo turned to leave, and Gonda and Risa waved him goodbye, Shuna stood rooted to the spot. As the door behind her closed, in one quick motion she dashed forward and almost tackled Reo into a hug.

A tight hug that wrapped around his back and squeezed his shirt.

“Thank you… Thank you, Reo.”

“Don’t worry about it, you helped me too. Although you weren’t aware.”

“I-it’s not the same…”

Even if he couldn’t see it, Reo could feel her sheering blush from the contact she made with his chest alone.

“You helped me, Shuna. In more ways than one… I was just repaying the favor.” Reo smiled as he said that, for he knew it to be true.

“I, uh…” From his peripheral vision, Reo could almost see Shuna’s ears grow as red as a ripe tomato, “Thank you, Reo….” She managed to spell out, her face still buried in his shoulder.

In a blink however, she separated from the hug, brought her lips to Reo’s, and lingered there for a moment.

The sensation was so sweet Reo couldn’t tell if her freshly bathed hair smelled any sweeter. But before he could say anything, she merely whispered.

“…Goodnight.”

And dashed back into her house, like a ninja or a track runner.

“Goodnight.” Reo smiled at the sensation, and stuffed his hands in his pockets, before turning towards the road.

As he walked, the young man sighed.

He had never guessed the extent of what would happen to him when he stepped foot in this island. For the first time in a long while, Reo woke up, trained and had fun, with the purpose of fulfilling something for someone other than himself.

Yet there was still a long way to go to fulfil what he set out to do.

The hard work was about to begin, come tomorrow.