Chapter 56 : Furihata's Condition

*Beep… Beep….. Beep...*

Furihata didn't know nor could he remember what happened before. All he knows is something hit his face hard and all of the sudden, he passed out. So, when he gained his consciousness back, his mind is running wild, trying to form any idea about his condition.

'Where am I?'

'What is that annoying beeping sound?'

'Why is this so dark here?'

'Oh, stupid of me. I forget to open my eyes.'

He opened his eyes slowly, trying to find out at least where is he. But a second later, he closed his eyes quickly as he was blinded by the light.

"Uughh.."

He groaned weakly at the sudden lighting exposure. But that is enough to gain the attention of everyone in the room.

"KOU-CHAN!"

"Oof!"

Suddenly, he was engulfed in a tight bear hug by the voice that he identified as his mother.

"Mom… Cannot…Breathe…" He moaned weakly. However, his mom couldn't hear his mutter as she keeps mumbling under her breath.

"Thank God.. You are okay…"

Furihata who still doesn't know what happened decided to turn his attention from his mother to his surroundings. And after a few seconds, he finally realized that he is in the hospital.

"What happened?" He asked with a hoarse voice. The other person in this room who he assumed was a nurse offered him a glass of water before she replied,

"You passed out in the middle of the basketball game in Tokyo Gymnasium. Do you remember that?"

Hearing the words basketball and Tokyo Gymnasium, his brain finally reconnected again to his memories, allowing him to remember what happened.

"My head got hit by something hard before I lost consciousness. Elbow?" He asked the nurse.

The nurse just nodded sympathetically, confirming what he asked.

"I don't really know what happened in the game. But your opponent accidentally hit your head with his elbow, resulting in you almost swallowed your own tongue. You are lucky, young man. If not for the quick reaction from the medic team on the court, there is a possibility that you will lose your life."

"I don't understand."

Furihata gulped nervously at the mention of almost losing his life. As long as he could remember his internet surfing, he has never heard anything about someone dying because of swallowing his tongue. Hell, he didn't even think it is possible for someone to swallow his own tongue.

The nurse gives him an understanding look, probably knowing what he is thinking right now.

"I will put it in a simple term." The nurse started explaining. "The 'swallowed your own tongue' term is not completely true, per se. But it was not that far from the truth. What really happened is when you got your head hit by your opponent, it forced your tongue to move back to your throat, and it blocked the airway from the heart to the brain. That's why people on the internet would use the term 'swallowing your tongue' in case an incident like this happened."

Now, his face is getting paled as he could imagine the implication of that and why he is almost losing his life. However, the nurse didn't notice that and continued her explanation.

"This kind of accident often happened in a football match. But I have never heard it happen in basketball. Just as I said before, you are lucky someone knows the first aid of this case. If no one knows what to do, you will probably die due to the lack of oxygen supply to your brain."

Furihata took a deep breath, trying to calm his nerves. And suddenly, he noticed his mom hasn't said anything since she hugs him.

"Mom?"

He tried to get his mother's attention. But all he ever received is a little snore that come from her. When he looked at her, he found his mom falling asleep in such a weird position, using his arm as a pillow

"She is exhausted right now, probably." The nurse suddenly spoke again when she also noticed his mom's state. "She run frantically the moment she heard you passed out. And after that, she kept staying beside you in anxiousness, waiting for you to wake up. I lost count of her 'Is he alright?' question that pestered me for almost a day."

Furihata didn't say anything immediately. He processed what he just heard from the nurse before asking,

"How long have I lost my consciousness?"

The nurse checked her watch for a moment before she replied shortly,

"About seven hours, I think."

He widened his eyes in surprise, didn't expect that he would pass out for that long. However, the surprise feeling didn't last long and it was replaced by a pang of guilt and shame for himself to makes his mom this worried. It get worsened when he saw a trace of tears below her eyes.

'Fuck! I am the biggest jerk in the world right now.' He cursed himself inwardly.

"This is not your fault, you know?" His thought was snapped by the sudden voice from the nurse. "You will probably blame yourself for worrying your mom to death like this. But this is sports, and while not often, a horrifying accident like this could happen to anyone. It is just unlucky of you to be the victim."

Furihata sighed tiredly as he smiles a little at the nurse.

"Thank you, Sensei." He nodded at the nurse, giving her a grateful expression. The nurse nodded back before she stood from her seat, covering his mom with a thick blanket.

"Well, I will continue my job now. If you have something to say, just press the emergency button beside you, and I will be here. I hope you have a speedy recovery here. Good night."

Furihata nodded, his eyes following the nurse as she left the room. He keeps staring at the door for a while, his mind is trying to recall his memories of what just happened to him today.

"Aaah.. Now I remember.. I got too greedy, trying to snatch the rebound from behind. This reckless action almost cost me my life. I need to be more careful from now on. But that means I still don't know the result of the game! Did we win? Was Riko-senpai forced to play Red without me on the court?"

And with that, his entire night is filled with the thought running wildly inside his mind.

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Furihata didn't know when he was falling asleep. But the next moment he regained consciousness, he could hear the chirping sound from the bird outside of the hospital. When he opened his eyes, he saw his mom sitting beside his bed, giving him a warm smile, a trace of tears that he saw last night has already gone.

"Welcome back, Sleepyhead! How is your feeling today?"

Before he could give an appropriate answer, his stomach grumbled loudly, causing a chuckle from his mom.

"Wait a minute. I will re-heat the chicken soup I bought last night."

Furihata could only nod as he saw his mom leaving his room, preparing the food. A minute later, they both spend their time together in silence as Furihata eats the chicken soup his mom prepared.

"I am sorry, mom." Furihata finally spoke, breaking the silence in the room. "I was too reckless yesterday, and you have to be here and left your job to accompany me."

His mom gives him a soft smile before she replied,

"Don't worry about my job. I have already had clearance from my boss to take three days out this week. He doesn't have any problem with it after I explained your condition."

Furihata sighed in relief after hearing that. He doesn't want to put his mother into trouble because of him.

"However…" His mom added immediately. "I will say I am not happy with you right now. From what I heard from the doctor; you were just one step closer to the death door yesterday! Please, don't do something reckless again, okay?"

Hearing the soft plead and looking at the watery eyes that his mom displayed, Furihata felt like the biggest jerk in the world and wanted to beat himself right now.

"I am sorry, mom."

In the end, that was the only thing he could say, as he couldn't promise he wouldn't get into any accident in the future. His mom also knows Furihata couldn't control this kind of accident to happen even with how careful he is, so she decided to drop this topic and change it to the lighter one.

"By the way, you should wash your face. Your friends will probably come this morning."

"From the basketball team?" His head perked up at the mention of his friends. He couldn't wait to hear the result of their game yesterday.

"Of course, it is the basketball team. Who would you expect? Hana-chan?"

Furihata groaned as he saw the teasing smile on his mom's face, knowing what is about to come. His mom let out a small giggle before she added,

"Don't worry, Kou-chan. I have informed your condition to her yesterday. She will also visit you later. Make sure you look good!"

"Mom, I am a patient here! Why should I look good?"

"Why, of course, to give a good impression! Imagine her reaction when she saw you lie here in the hospital after your heroic fight for the school. Maybe she would reward you with something nice?"

She wiggled her eyebrows slightly, implying something spicy.

Knowing his mom would never stop if he keeps answering her, Furihata just rolled his eyes in exasperation as he raised from his bed and said,

"I will wash my face."

Thirty minutes later, true to what his mom said, Hyuga and Riko come to visit him.

"Sorry to disturb you!" They both bowed at his mom before she waved her hand, inviting them to join her.

"Don't worry about it. Come in, come in!"

Riko and Hyuga looked at each other for a second before they both nodded, stepped inside the room, and took seats beside Furihata's mom.

"So, how is your condition? We bring you some fruits, by the way." Hyuga asked while delivering a basket full of fruits to his mom, who seems to be delighted when she received it.

Furihata shrugged before he replied,

"I don't know. The nurse said I am fine, but she didn't tell me anything else. How about the team?"

Hearing that he is fine, Hyuga and Riko suddenly let out a relieved sigh, releasing the tension that weighing their shoulder.

"I am glad you are fine. As for the team, they are taking a week off after the game, so we will gather once again next week. You will not miss that much." Riko answered his question.

"Haa… We are so dead tired after the game yesterday.." Hyuga added with a tired expression. "I heard Izuki even had to have a sleepover in Koganei's home because his parents couldn't pick him up."

Furihata nodded, could imagine his teammates' condition. However, there is still one question that bulges his mind and both Riko nor Hyuga haven't answered yet.

"And how about the game? What is the final result?"

Both his senior looked at each other with wry smiles as they heard the expected question before Riko answered,

"We lost the game."

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Author note :

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