A/N: Spat out a little bit of angst here. Or at least I guess that's what it can be called? We've shed some light on a little bit of Maki's background as well as Eli's, but now we're going to shed a little light on Umi this time around. Let's see what she's got going on, shall we?
*Important Plot Point* - This takes place during the fourth year of Umi, Honoka, and Kotori at Hogwarts. At this point, all nine of the girls are not even acquaintances. Umi only knows Maki because she's in Ravenclaw, and of course, she knows Honoka and Kotori. Honoka knows Rin and Eli because of their shared house and Umi and Kotori. And Kotori only knows Umi, Honoka, and Hanayo.
Don't want to cause a mix up here. Just letting you all know. :)
Edit: Version en español. (Gracias ZaRekPG)
- 54
"Miss Sonoda, it is of great importance that I must inform you that due to the injuries you have sustained on the Quidditch pitch, it is recommended that you discontinue your activities on the Ravenclaw Quidditch team."
As the words of the Nishikino Healer passed through her ears and registered into her brain, a great sadness washed over Umi's battered and bruised body as she lie there in bed in one of the many rooms of St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries.
She hadn't even bothered to meet the man's melancholy eyes. She'd known exactly what he was going to say. All she could do was stare down at the midnight blue blanket that covered herself.
Both hands gripped said blanket so tight that her knuckles were as white as a ghost. Honoka and Kotori were both at her side dressed in casual wear instead of the signature Gryffindor uniform for Honoka and the signature Hufflepuff uniform for Kotori.
Both of the girls had each laid a hand on Umi's as the man entered the room to give them the news. They'd had an inkling as to what he was going to say, too.
"Umi..." Kotori whispered as she felt the blue-haired girl's hands tighten around the blanket.
Honoka could only uncharacteristically remain quiet as she tried to process what he said. Now that what they feared had been said aloud, it was going to be hard to accept. That was for certain.
"Your spine was almost completely severed, Miss Sonoda. If it were to have been, indeed severed, it is quite possible that you may not have been here with us this afternoon."
That stung.
Kotori released the sob she had been desperately trying to hold in as a tear rolled down her cheek.
Honoka closed her eyes as a means to hold back her own emotions, her hand tightening over Umi's as well.
"if it hadn't been for the powers of Healing magic, it is also quite certain that you may not have been able to walk again."
Umi resisted the urge to grit her teeth at the Nishikino Healer's continuous string of melancholy words. Instead, she only continued to stare downwards, daring not to meet the eyes of the Healer or her two best friends.
After a few seconds of silence, Honoka gently spoke up.
"So, she can walk? Why can't she play Quidditch anymore?"
Nishikino looked over at the ginger-haired Gryffindor.
:Yes, Miss Kousaka. Miss Sonoda can walk, but we mustn't expect her to be up and active like she was. We'll keep her here for a few more days to rehabilitate her legs, and then she will be back at Hogwarts. Healing magic can only do so much. And it is recommended that she not participate in any sort of Quidditch activities for fear of repeating the injury to her spinal cord."
The Gryffindor nodded slowly in understanding.
"Do you have any questions, Miss Minami?"
The fourth-year Hufflepuff shook her head, yellow eyes only upon the blue-haired girl in the hospital bed.
"Miss Sonoda, do you have any questions?"
Umi slowly looked up at the Healer, meeting his eyes for the first time since he had entered, his sorrowful grays a different contrast to her somewhat angry ambers.
She licked the dryness off her lips before replying. "I understand completely. You have my thanks, Nishikino."
"It's no problem at all," The Healer said as he moved to make his departure out of the room. "I have other patients I have to attend to, but another Healer will be in to see you tonight. Good day, Miss Sonoda, Miss Kousaka, Miss Minami."
As he opened the door, Nishikino paused out of hesitation then quickly turned back to face the trio. "I really hate that we had to meet under these circumstances, Miss Sonoda, but my daughter thinks very highly of you. You might know her. She's in Ravenclaw as well."
Umi noticed the attempt at light-hearted conversation to ease the tension and sadness in the room, but she went ahead and answered his question with a nod. "Nishikino Maki. I haven't spoken to her personally, but I know of her. Good student. Very aloof, but a good student nonetheless."
"Hm," Nishikino hummed as he removed his glasses and wiped the lenses off with a part of his Healer robes. "If I must say, Miss Sonoda, you must be doing something correctly if a total stranger holds high regards for you."
The fourth-year Ravenclaw moved her gaze back down to the blankets as Nishikino placed his glasses back upon his face.
"Good day." He repeated. And with that, he closed the door behind him.
Umi released the sigh she had been holding in and tried to scoot back to where she could easily lean back onto her pillow. But her movements caused a sharp pain to quickly shoot up her back, causing her to grimace as a result.
"Careful," Kotori whispered worriedly, her hand moving from the blue-haired girl's hand up to her shoulder. "That was a really nasty fall you took, Umi."
"I'm fine, Kotori," Umi protested weakly as she slowly rolled over on her side and pulled the covers up to her chin. "Just tired and a little sore is all."
"Are you hungry or thirsty? We can walk down the hall and get you some water! Plus, my mom's owl sent me a package to give to you earlier this morning! It's a loaf of her freshly baked bread!" Honoka broke in, gesturing to the unwrapped package she had sat on the windowsill when she and Kotori had first came into the room.
A small, sad smile quirked at Umi's lips. It was nice of Honoka and Kotori to come immediately out to see her as soon as they learned she was allowed to have visitors. Despite the worry of them missing school because of her, Umi couldn't think of anyone else she would rather have here with her at this moment in time.
But at the same time, another part of her brain flashed back to the events leading up to her injury yesterday. The Quidditch matchup between Ravenclaw and Gryffindor had been competitive to say the least. Both Ayase and Parker fought each other to the death as they hurried after the Golden Snitch, while Umi and her fellow Ravenclaw Chasers fended off the opposing Gryffindor Chasers for the Quaffle.
Even though it had only happened yesterday, Umi still didn't have the slightest clue as to what she had been thinking.
It had been a slight misstep. Only a slight one. Umi just couldn't understand how she could have been so careless with her mistiming. She and the team almost always focused on their formations more than anything else whenever it was their turn to have practice out on the Quidditch pitch, so of course that was memorized into her brain. The formation wasn't the problem.
She just didn't think about the possibility of losing her balance.
One of their formations included one of the other Chasers tossing the ball over to Umi, who would in turn stand on her broom and meet the Quaffle with a jumping kick to send it sailing into one of the three hoops.
That was what was supposed to happen.
Instead of landing back on her broom like she was supposed to, she had somehow lost her balance and the next thing she knew, she had landed down on the grass below with a sickening thud.
She could remember screaming out in pain for a mere few minutes and passing out before the Healers could even reach her.
Now, here she was. Laying in this dreary old hospital away from school with nothing but the absolute sadness of not being able to play again to occupy her mind.
"Umi?" Honoka prodded, sensing the distress of her best friend. "Are you gonna be okay?"
The blue-haired Ravenclaw sighed once more and let out a depressed chuckle. "They were going to make me the captain of the team next year. Did you know that?"
The Gryffindor and the Hufflepuff looked at each other worriedly. For them, seeing Umi like this was very rare. But if they were told they couldn't do something that they loved and lived for every single day for risk of hurting themselves even worse than before, they would most likely react the same way.
"No," Kotori began albeit slowly as she wracked her brain for something to say to swing the conversation around to prevent it from reaching its destination. "We didn't know that, Umi."
"It was an honor, you know? To be selected as captain for next year's team. All that hard work and effort I put in on and off the pitch finally paid off. But, I guess it's all for naught now, isn't it?" Umi spoke softly.
Honoka and Kotori remained silent. The ash-haired girl's tear-stained face had dried up somewhat, but with the way Umi was currently speaking, it wouldn't stay dried for long. Honoka was trying so hard to keep her emotions in check, but she couldn't help the small little tear that trickled down her cheek, not even bothering to wipe it away.
But what could they say? Sugarcoating Umi's situation would not help at all. It would most likely end up hurting her way worse if they were to do that. So, they just let Umi vent. No matter how hard it was for them to hear.
"It's funny," Umi began again. "How one tiny little screw up can cost you something dear to you."
That was when the Gryffindor and the Hufflepuff both witnessed the breakdown of their normally tactful best friend as a wild and uncontrollable tremor surged through her shoulders.
"It was one of the very few things that made me happy! Now, I can't play anymore or I might break my fucking back again!"
And just as Umi's dam finally gave way and her sobs were released, Honoka and Kotori could no longer hold back their own and leaned over from their chairs and cried with her, the ginger-haired girl resting her head on Umi's back and the ash-haired girl resting her own on Umi's temple.
"Shhh," Kotori shushed through her tears in an attempt to soothe the Ravenclaw and stroked a hand through her long, blue hair. "It's all going to be okay, Umi. We promise. We'll just have to take this one day at a time. It's all we can do."
Honoka sniffled. "For now, you cry all you want. No one deserves to hold in their pain. You let it all out, okay? We'll be right here. We'll make it through this."
And Umi did just that. Cried until her strength finally gave in and fell asleep with her two best friends at her side.
A/N: Damn, that was intense. Really hope I didn't overdramatize it. XD
I apologize for the shortness, but I feel like this is all that needed to be said for this situation.
By the way, I named the Ravenclaw seeker Parker because I really like the name for some odd reason XD, plus I wanted to add someone British to show all of y'all that it won't all be Japanese names. This is Hogwarts, after all. Tons of diversity.
Anyway, keep Parker here in mind because she just might make an appearance in a future fic. Don't worry she won't be shipped with anyone.
Until next time, y'all!
- 54