A silent scream escaped his lips together with a small gasp when the teen woke up from his dream. He sat up in his bed, sweating, trying hard to calm down. Why was he dreaming this again now? The nightmare had disappeared for some time. Mitobe sighed, nearly inaudible, while he slowly put both feet on the ground and got up. After taking a shower and changing into his uniform, preparing breakfast for the whole family was his task. He loved cooking and he never thought of it as an annoyance. While cooking, the boy could distract himself from the nightmare he had before. Mitobe just didn't want to think about it now. If possible, he'd avoid thinking about it forever. But it wasn't and he knew that.
The oldest of his sisters always kindly helped him out with setting the table. Even though Mitobe made sure to prepare lots of different dishes, it would always turn into a battle for some favourite food. Right now, the twins were fighting for the last crocket and Mitobe couldn't help but smile. He tried calming them down and then split the crocket in half. Another argument solved, like every morning.
After packing his lunch box into his school bag, Rinnosuke waved goodbye to his siblings and left for school. Because of morning training he always left first. He stopped at the crossroad and looked to his sides. Normally, Koganei would already be there. They always met at the same spot to walk the rest of the way together. Mitobe waited, since he knew Koga would have contacted him if he couldn't come for any reason. Right then, he saw the brown haired boy running towards him in a hurry. "Sorry! It's just.. I kinda forgot we had homework due for today! I tried finishing them this morning, haha.. did you wait long?" Mitobe smiled slightly and shook his head. It were just five minutes or something, nothing worth mentioning.
They both kept walking after that, Koganei still talking about how hard the homework was and then telling his friend he found a new game that was really good. Rinnosuke always enjoyed listening to him. In terms of talking, Koga was the complete opposite of him. He talked enough for two people. But Mitobe liked that and with a smile and a slight nod or movement, Koganei would know what he wanted to say. "I'll lend the game to you when I finished it, okay? Ah, but the last boss is reeeeaaally hard!"
...
After they arrived at school they went to the gym for morning training. Riko had finished another hellish training plan for them. Running laps around the whole school ground was just the warm up. Swiping some sweat off his forehead, Mitobe took a deep breath. Somehow he couldn't concentrate well. His mind started wandering off to the thing he wanted to avoid: his nightmare. Why now? Training should help him not thinking about it, right? He shook his head hoping the bad thoughts would leave with that.
The struggle continued throughout the day and Mitobe had trouble paying attention to the lessons. He knew it was something he couldn't blame anyone else for. It were his thoughts, it was his mind, he needed to take control of it again. During lunch time, Rinnosuke was more silent than usually, if that was even possible. At least Koganei realized that his friend lacked the usual reactions to what he was telling him. "You alright? Or does the subject bore you? You know, you could always tell me what you want to talk about." Mitobe frowned for a second but regained his usual soft smile after that. He waved his hand as to say he was fine and also indicating the subject was alright, too. Worrying his friend because of this was something the silent boy didn't want to do. It was his personal problem. "Hmm.. alright then.." Koga seemed to accept his answer.
Even at the training after school, Mitobe wasn't really feeling better. He tried hard to not show anything. They did a practise match against each other. Mitobe was in a team with Kagami, Hyuga, Furihata and Koganei. Being in a team with Koga made him happy but even when they were in seperated teams, they always gave their best. Rinnosuke still had a hard time staying concentrated. He slightly bit his lip to stay focused on the game. His mind wandering off now would be the worst. Koganei passed to him and he made his signature hook shot and it went in with no trouble. They high fived and smiled.
Mitobe calmed down after that shot. Maybe the thoughts were gone now. Maybe it was just for a few hours and now they disappeared in the middle of training. Of course this was more of a wishful thinking. Furihata was clumsily storming forward with the ball, being followed by Kuroko who was ready to steal it. He saw Mitobe being wide open, with no one guarding him right now. He passed to him but tripped a little. "Sorry Mitobe-senpai!" The pass was a little too high.
Darkness. Scary eyes and darkness... Just for a second, the nightmare was back again. It was just for a small moment but it was enough for Mitobe to freeze completely. As he realized the ball was coming right at his face, it was already too late to stop it. A loud smacking sound was heard and the boy stumbled backwards a few steps from the impact. "Mitobe-kun!" "Mitobe!!" "Senpai!" He could hear his teammates voices but his vision went black. Kagami had catched him before he fell. They carried him over to the bank and layed him down.
It was dark again. Mitobe could feel a throbbing pain in his head. He knew he wasn't sleeping right now, so it wasn't a dream. If he wasn't dreaming, why could he see those eyes again? A stare that could look right through him. Rinnosuke couldn't stand it. His head shook to the side where the ball had hit him. Feeling the sharp pain he forced his eyes to open. Riko was looking at him with a worried expression. Though it faded a little as he woke up. "Idiot! Don't worry us like that!" She exclaimed and pinched his sides a bit. Mitobe had to rest till the end of the training. There was no visible wound on his head, but the impact was quite hard. Riko told him to see a doctor if he started feeling dizzy or sick. The teen nodded and made sure to express that he was feeling alright. It was just the normal pain after the hit.
Koganei still insisted on walking his friend home. Something was definetly wrong with him. Mitobe was always focused on the court. He would never miss a ball heading directly his way. When they arrived at Mitobe's home, Koga stopped him before he could open the door. "You know if anything is bothering you, you can tell me. Also if you're not feeling well tomorrow just text me. I'll tell the teachers. Alright?" Mitobe didn't move. He knew Koganei was his friend. He knew friends talk about problems. But this was something else. Something that he didn't even personally share with his parents. Of course they had a right to know and were informed about it by his doctor. Koga still looked at him waiting for any kind of reaction. Mitobe just nodded hesitantly and waved him a short goodbye before he turned around and entered his home.
A sigh went out of his lips. Maybe he should call in sick tomorrow. Seeing his doctor might help him. Mitobe was offered to eat dinner with his siblings, but he declined. Right now he wasn't feeling hungry and so he went straight to bed. And there he was, lying awake, too scared to sleep. Yes, he should see his doctor. It was all gone for so long and now it returned so suddenly that the teen wasn't able to handle it on his own.
Koga was on his way home and couldn't stop thinking about his friend's reaction. This wasn't him. All day long his behavior was just weird. But he insisted that he was fine. Why wouldn't he talk to him? Weren't they best friends? This was the first time that Mitobe's silence really agitated him. Koganei had heard that Mitobe was physically able to speak. So why wouldn't he? Just for that, for telling his friend about a problem that is obviously bothering him.. It really made him angry and it hurt him at the same time.
