Gone Ennotana

Into The Backwoods

Ennoshita's POV

"This next one is a Shinzen special - a backwoods uphill run, according to Kuroo," Daichi Sawamura said. Everyone sighed, but stood up to go outside. The Karasuno volleyball team were at a training camp at Shinzen Academy in Saitama, and they had just lost the last game of the day.

They started the run. Hinata and Kageyama immediately surged to the front, both trying as hard as possible to get there first. Daichi and Sugawara rolled their eyes at each other. Sometimes, the freak twins were too much for even the team parents to handle.

Ennoshita Chikara, meanwhile, slowly fell to the back. He wasn't a very fast runner, so he was often one of the last players to finish their runs.

After far too long, he reached the top of the hill. These were indeed backwoods, so nothing other than leafy trees and various shrubs were visible. He looked back on the trail, where Yamaguchi and Tsukishima were just vanishing around the corner. Everyone took a short break at the top before running back down at their own speed. Ennoshita put his hands on his knees, panting.

The second year stepped backward. The ground slid out from under him. His right foot slipped, twisting sideways and dumping him onto the loose rocks. His arms flailed frantically, but there was nothing to hold onto as Chikara fell backward onto the loose slope, away from the trail. Ennoshita slid down it, his right foot screaming in pain. But instead of evening out to level ground, the slope became steeper until he was practically flying down the hill in an uncontrolled skid. Small, sharp rocks stung into his skin all over. Then his head thudded into something large and solid. The impact knocked him unconscious.

Sometime later, the wing spiker opened his eyes. Everything was blurred around the edges. He was laying curled up beside a huge gray stone. Pebbles dug into his ribs, and his head throbbed. His right foot felt like it was on fire, and Ennoshita was pretty sure it wasn't supposed to bend that way.

Liquid trickled down the back of Chikara's neck. The second year raised a hand to his dark hair. It came away red. My head is bleeding, he thought. I probably have a concussion, then. "Shit," he cursed aloud.

Luckily, Ennoshita was smart and had done some medical studies for Health class. Concussions make you extra tired, confused, pass out, and have blurry vision, he thought. Really bad ones give you amnesia and hallucinations. Well, I wouldn't know if I had amnesia and hallucinations or not, so that's not helpful. But I did black out when I hit that rock, my head hurts and my sight is blurred so.... Oh, this is just great. Yep, I have a concussion.

His hands trembled. "Keep it together, Chikara," he said to calm himself. He looked down at his right foot, which was bent sideways and under him. He stretched out and carefully took his shoe and sock off, revealing bright red skin. It was already swelling, but Ennoshita didn't think it was broken. Sprained was more likely. He held the awkwardly bent foot with both hands. This is really gonna hurt. Bracing himself, he shoved it back into the normal upright position. Fire emanated from the foot and raced through his nervous system. In other words, it hurt like hell.

A yell echoed through the forest. Chikara blinked away tears of pain. Crying won't help, he told himself. He looked around. Where am I? I don't see the running trail anywhere. Stars danced in his vision, disorienting him. His head rang louder. He pinched himself.

"Stop it," he growled. "Panicking won't solve anything." He apprehensively levered himself up with a nearby tree, but the moment he put weight on his right foot he fell again. Ennoshita bit his lip thoughtfully. He'd seen images of splints in his Health class textbook. Maybe he could make one.

"May as well try it," he said to himself. The wing spiker grabbed several sticks from around him. Wait, I don't have any rope. Then he plucked experimentally at his white shirt. Well, I hate to ruin this shirt, but I don't have any other options.

Chikara tore the bottom of his shirt off, forming a long strip of cloth. He bound the sticks to his foot, and tied the cloth ends so it would all stay together. Hopefully. The second year pulled his sock back on, but he couldn't quite fit his shoe all the way back on. Ennoshita settled for getting as much of his foot into the shoe as possible, which was about halfway in.

I don't have a phone either. You aren't supposed to have them during games and these shorts don't have pockets. Talking seemed to help him stay calm, so he spoke again. "I wonder if anyone is looking for me?"

"Probably not. I blend into the background very easily." Chikara bit his lip, worried. He didn't mind most of the time, but sometimes he really wished he was more memorable. Like right now.

Lost, forgotten and alone, he thought. He sighed. Even Kinoshita and Narita, who he hung out with all the time, forgot about him sometimes. The wing spiker was a third wheel with them, since they were happily dating. Ennoshita had even started practicing alone in the evenings lately.

Wait. Oh fuck.

No one would notice he was missing till tomorrow at least. It was the last game of the day. Players often practiced alone or in groups with other teams after the games were over, and no one was expecting Chikara. Dinner was an informal affair, and it was common to eat at different times. No one kept tabs on each other's locations.

Ennoshita probably stunted the growth of the trees around him with his subsequent language.

The wing spiker got up, hanging onto a tree for support. I don't know where I am, but that's not going to change if I just sit here, he thought grimly. He lowered his right foot to the ground and breathed a sigh of relief as it held his weight. Painfully, of course, but it held. Chikara started walking.

After a while, he realized he was veering sideways. Must be the concussion affecting my balance and sense of direction. Damn, this situation sucks ass. Ennoshita kept walking, but he was well and truly lost by now. He stopped when it became too dark to see in front of him.

"I hope there aren't any predators in these woods," he muttered. Right on cue, a howl echoed through the forest. Chikara's head shot up. That's it. I'm spending the night in a tree. Ennoshita was a levelheaded person, but right now his foot was sprained, he had a concussion, and he was lost in a forest with something howling.

The second year grabbed the limbs of the nearest tall tree and pulled himself up by the arms before throwing his legs into the air, hanging in a sloth position and ignoring his screaming foot. He twisted so he was laying on his belly, then reached up and caught the branch above him. He got his feet under him and climbed higher. He eventually found a good spot to sit.

Lost, forgotten and alone.

Another howl went through the forest. Ennoshita didn't sleep at all that night.