Chapter 5
Sunday afternoon, Rikkai University Tennis Club.
"Minister Yukimura has asked for leave?" Marui Bunta felt strange because he hadn't seen Yukimura all day.
Niou Masaharu took up a shady spot. "Pfft~ Maybe they're busy with the beautification committee's activities. After all, every member of the school has to participate in the Kaihara Festival, and many of the regular candidates who had multiple positions this morning weren't here."
Many of the regular players in the tennis club who had no extra burden went to the tennis court to practice in the morning, and no one connected Yukimura's leave with the hospital examination yesterday.
When the Umihara Festival is approaching, not only Yukimura, but even Sanada sometimes arrives a little late, saying hello in advance. Everyone can see the effectiveness of Yukimura's practice in the tennis club.
Sanada made up for some of the extra training, knowing that his bad premonition had come true.
Under normal circumstances, Yukimura would not miss training today.
Maybe his teammates didn't know, but how could Sanada, who was in the same class as Yukimura and was in the student council, not know about Yukimura's situation?
The empty training grounds where Yanagi Renji had left Sanada. "Sanada, after the club work is over, come with me to Kanagawa Daiichi Hospital."
"It's Yukimura, right?" Sanada clenched his racket.
Yanagi Renji nodded. "Let's check on the situation. It's probably quite serious. I don't think we can keep it secret for many days. We also have to consider the situation in the tennis club."
Sanada left the tennis club on time, but Yanagi Renji left first.
The actions of the two did not attract any attention. Yanagi Renji usually collected intelligence and his training time in the tennis club was irregular.
Sanada usually leaves later, so it is normal for the time he is injured to change.
The Rikkai University Tennis Club has a clear rotation schedule. Non-players are divided into groups of two and are the last to lock the door. Players have separate keys, and the one who trains last is responsible for checking before leaving and cleaning up the court they have used.
At Kanagawa First Hospital, Sanada and Yanagi Renji arrived at the hospital.
"You're quite punctual, coming here right at the appointed time?" Yukimura pursed his lips, not knowing how to explain that he couldn't participate in the previous agreement, Rikkai University's three consecutive championships.
Sanada hesitated to speak, and precisely because he knew the answer, he couldn't ask any questions rashly.
Yanagi Renji asked calmly, "What's going on, Yukimura? You wouldn't specifically call us to the hospital for a common illness."
If it is a common minor illness, such as a cold or fever, Yukimura may represent you to insist on going to school and participating in club activities. If the problem clearly requires hospitalization, it is not serious. Yukimura will explain the approximate time of absence over the phone. Only for more serious illnesses and the situation cannot be confirmed will two people be required to come. In addition to club matters, everyone is also good friends.
"It's suspected that he has Guillain-Barré syndrome and needs to be hospitalized for examination. If conditions permit, the doctor recommended Tokyo's Kanai Hospital, where there are experts." Yukimura felt like the sky was falling when he got the news yesterday.
Yukimura and his family went for more detailed tests, but the results were not good. It was impossible to hide this illness from his family. This was the first time Yukimura experienced the meaning of being at a loss.
Not only life, school, and clubs, everything is going in a bad direction.
Sanada remained silent. At this moment, anything he said felt futile. All he could do now was listen to Yukimura's story and wait for him to calm down.
There isn't much information about diseases in Yanagi Renji's database, and a simple search for this kind of proprietary name will yield the answer.
If the Guillain-Barré syndrome is confirmed to be true, it would be fatal for athletes, and Yukimura would never be able to play tennis again.
Now Yanagi Renji didn't know what to say. He just hoped that the examination was correct and it was another minor illness.
Yukimura entrusted all of his school responsibilities to Sanada and Yanagi Renji, who had come to visit him. "I'm going to be hospitalized today, and I've already requested leave from school. I'll put off the tennis club as much as possible. I've already sketched out the basic plan for the Kaihara Festival, which is the beautification committee's responsibility. It's in my locker at the tennis club, so Sanada can take it to Sato-kun. Also, tell Shimizu-kun from the gardening department, if it's convenient, to take care of the cornflowers I planted there. When they're ready, Renji can take them to the tennis club for me..."
"I understand. Yukimura, it'll be fine." Sanada felt that although he was clearly talking about the facts of the future, the words were indeed meaningless at the moment.
Yanagi Renji put away his notebook. Nothing was decided yet. "Don't worry, Yukimura. We'll wait for you."
After parting with Yukimura at the hospital gate, Sanada and Yanagi Renji walked quietly on the way back to school, no one spoke.
At the gate of Rikkai University, they looked at each other in bewilderment.
"Sanada, let's wait for news first. The tennis club can't be in chaos." Yanagi Renji didn't know what to say. If the disease Yukimura had was real, what should he do?
Sanada nodded. Words could not describe how Sanada felt right now.
When Sanada learned about Yukimura's illness, he had already been diagnosed and was waiting for treatment at Kanai Hospital.
With blessings for his good friend, Sanada naturally hopes that Yukimura will recover and defeat the disease.
Yukimura had collapsed in October, at the end of an overseas training session. The Rikkai University Tennis Club's new qualifying round had just begun, the Umihara Festival had concluded successfully, and the club's plans for the new year were largely complete. There wasn't much to hand over, not even this meeting where Yukimura seemed to be laying out his final wishes.
At that time, Yukimura, who was at Kanai Hospital, had already accepted the reality of his illness. Despite his frail appearance, he still carried himself with the demeanor of a general, discussing the performance of the prefectural tournament with the regulars, never once revealing his vulnerable side. The most Sanada saw was Yukimura's brief hesitation before opting for surgery...
Sanada had never seen Yukimura like this before, and only then did he realize that Yukimura was one year younger than him.
He is not the invincible Son of God, but someone who actively treats and treats patients.
If the same disease happened to him, Sanada didn't know what to choose: to undergo surgery with the risk of death and a high probability of recurrence, or to be conservative but safe and just muddle through.
If it were the 14-year-old Sanada, he might have faced it without hesitation, but the head of the Sanada family was unable to give a direct answer from his heart.
Tennis was once a thing, and kendo was stuck at a bottleneck. Was there a need to risk one's life? Sanada firmly said no. There was no need to surpass his peers, as Sanada was the strongest in kendo among his peers. Even more ambitious goals were within reach, and even if there was a gap, it was a clear gap.
The final result will probably be acceptance. Sanada cannot imagine a future without kendo and calligraphy.
In the second grade class B, Sanada and Yanagi Renji have been worried about going to school these days.
The low pressure created by the two people made the entire second-year Class B become the class with the best classroom environment in the teacher's mind in recent times. It is also the only class on the Rikkai University campus where the teacher leaves faster than the students when the bell rings.
"Class dismissed!" The math teacher didn't want to stay even a second longer. He could leave any unfinished questions for another time. It was like revisiting the exam room. Sanada was already putting a lot of pressure on this class, so what had become of Yanagi Renji? "I can't stay in this class for even a second longer."
No news is bad news, and any news is either a mistake or a confirmed diagnosis, half and half. Knowing that Yukimura might be ill, Yanagi Renji had Guillain-Barré syndrome checked out these past few days.
The recurrence rate and cure rate of this disease are not very friendly.
Yukimura hadn't been to school for so many days, and his classmates all knew that he was sick and needed treatment, but the tennis club was not so easy to get rid of.
The head of a department is the most important person in a club, and the establishment of the department's activities is inseparable from the personal charm of the head.
As for the Rikkai University Tennis Club, not to mention the non-regular players, the news of Yukimura's illness has already spread among his classmates.
But if you haven't had your period for a week, it's not a minor illness.
On the main course, a few people who were unaware of the situation were practicing absent-mindedly.
Marui Bunta held a dumbbell in his left hand. "Minister Yukimura has been on leave for a week. What kind of illness would warrant such a long absence? My wrist is almost healed."
"Bunta! Don't overtrain, you're just the right size." Jackal Sanghara counted the number and reached out to take the dumbbells in Marui Bunta's hand.
Marui Bunta let Kuwabara take the training equipment. "I see. It looks like I'll have to pay off the balance by next Friday. Yagyu, do you know anything?"
"The Student Union Beautification Department has completed the task it was responsible for, so it's hard to tell. If you want to know the situation, wouldn't it be faster to just ask Yanagi and Sanada?" Yagyu Biroshi said this. In fact, he guessed that Yukimura's test results were not very good. If there was accurate information, everyone would understand it directly from Sanada. It must be a very serious situation that cannot be said directly, and they would rather waste time.
Niou Masaharu has already received some not-so-good gossip, that he once exchanged identities with Yagyu Hiroshi to take an elective course. Niou, who likes to violate rules within a reasonable range, used his expertise to cosplay a classmate who was not in good health. When submitting a form, he pretended to knock over the teacher's file, from which he saw the length of Yukimura's leave. That was no minor illness. Considering that Yanagi Renji and Sanada avoided talking about it, it was obvious that there was a problem. "Pfft~ Minister Yukimura's situation is a case of power. His classmates all know that Yukimura is sick, and those who are more familiar with him should know what Yukimura's illness is and when he will be back. Could it be that Sanada wants to usurp the position of minister during Yukimura's absence?"
Niou was joking, but Marui Bunta was still instigated by the statement that the members should be aware of the president's situation.
In the tennis club office, Yanagi Renji was discussing tennis club matters with Sanada. "With Yukimura's long absence, some speculate that most people haven't changed much, aside from a decrease in overall training time. The effectiveness of the regular players' training has been severely impacted. For them, regular practice has a physical inertia, and it's easy to tell whether they're putting in the effort. Also, Yukimura has been transferred from Kanagawa to Kanai Hospital in Tokyo, and he's doing better. Yukimura's condition won't be hidden until he takes another leave, at least from the regular players."
"Then let's go visit Yukimura together, and there's the early qualifying round. Don't even think about Kirihara's match; Mori-senpai announced his retirement a while ago. He'll have his match after the finalists are drawn, and then he'll play a solo match. Also, I have an idea about the finals group..." Sanada knew Yukimura's condition would eventually become known, and he considered some countermeasures for the latter possibility. As he spoke, a tic-tac-toe swirled around his head. 'Are these Rikkai University regulars idiots, or has Kirihara Akaya's arrival lowered the bar for Rikkai University's regulars?'
In addition to the concern of the clubs and the tennis team, students who are on long-term sick leave in the class will also send class representatives to visit. Yukimura is so popular in school, and the people in the fan club will also propose to the teacher who to be selected to visit.
The news on campus can be calmed down with time, but the tennis club does not have that much time to waste and needs new stimulation to keep the players focused on competition and training.
"No problem, then those eavesdroppers can come out now." Yanagi Renji looked helplessly at the edge of the mirror behind Sanada, where the reflection was crystal clear. Putting aside the angle of the mirror, Sanada's expression alone spoke volumes. Halfway through his speech, the look on Sanada's face was like that of Kirihara Akaya being late. Yanagi Renji understood the entire situation without needing to calculate data; only Niou Masaharu could have done that.
Marui Bunta was originally ready to go and ask for an explanation with high spirits, but when he saw Sanada's face at the door, he suddenly lost motivation.
Yanagi Renji was talking about Yukimura inside, and Marui was eavesdropping by leaning against the crack of the door.
Jackal Sangyuan was afraid that there would be a conflict due to the heat of the moment, so he followed and saw Bunta hiding on the side and making gestures towards him.
The people instigated by Niou Masaharu naturally followed behind. Yagyu Hiroshi was pulled here by Niou Masaharu, so of course he didn't resist much.
In the end, there were only four of them eavesdropping.
In panic, the jackal Kuwahara became a scapegoat. Niou Masaharu wanted to run but was caught by Marui Bunta by his trouser legs, and the three of them fell down in a heap.
The only exception was Yagyu Hiroshi, who stood tall and straight, calmly adjusting his clothes.
"Too lax! 50 laps!" Sanada said, turning his gaze away from Niou Masaharu and Marui Bunta, who were sitting on the floor arguing over who had been caught eavesdropping, and returned to dealing with paperwork. During Yukimura's illness, many of the club's documents requiring review by the club leaders had been transferred to Sanada.
Yanagi Renji closed his notebook and stepped over the obstacle. "Did you hear that? We'll see Yukimura next week. Your training performance will also be included in the report."
Even when the Rikkai University campus was usually deserted, the track was still echoing with the arguments between Niou Masaharu and Marui Bunta.
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