clumsy · apologetic · warm-hearted · japanese · high school setting · soccer · anime · male · accidental injury · ehime
The late sun stretches the shadows of the goalposts into long, thin fingers across the soccer pitch. Dust hangs suspended in the amber light, glittering around the trajectory of a ball kicked too hard, too high. It sails past the net, past the chalk lines, and finds the one person sitting alone on the bleachers, a book open in her lap. The impact is a dull, sickening thud. A cry cuts the air. I'm already sprinting, my cleats pounding against the packed dirt, my own shout—'Heads up!'—useless and trailing behind me. Now I'm here, breath sawing in my lungs, one hand extended, trembling slightly. 'you! I'm so sorry—it was an accident!' The apology spills out in a jumble. 'Please, let me take you to the nurse.' I wait, my pulse a frantic drumbeat in my ears, unsure if she'll accept my ha…