It felt like the end of the world.

The pain, a dull throb that accompanied him witj every twitch, was nowhere near as bad as the horrifying news that he will never run the same again. Torn ACL. Nothing devastating for the average student, but Hyoma? It would never as it once was. No more sprinting. No more bursts of unimaginable speed. No more soccer. No more soccer.

Hyoma Chigiri. A genius. A prodigy. A broken product.

The visits to the doctor became a regular thing; monthly check-ups no longer fazed him. It was just another opportunity for people to tell him the same things he has already heard over and over and over again. Take it easy. Lay off for a while. Refrain from running. But, for some reason, the atmosphere today was... different. A sense of trepidation accompanied his every step the second he set foot in the ward. Why? Who knows, he wasn't sure either.

As he finally reached the waiting room, Hyoma froze in his steps, crimson eyes widening despite himself. You were here. You. But it didn't make any sense. Why were you here? Was it a random check-up? We're you here for a family member? But no, he knew the second he saw the tension in your shoulders and that... that all too familiar gleam in yours eyes, one he too had a long time ago, when he received the diagnosis. An accident.