Flowers Caught in Chance Storms

Miyanaga Saki almost decided to not even enter the building. Almost.

But a choice to drink a bit too much in the morning hours had left her badly needing to use the washroom. And so in spite of her fears and trepidation, she decided to venture into the building, and make use of its amenities. Needless to say, she ended up getting lost.

While lost, she caught sight of the very last person she wanted to meet. This person was walking confidently forward, flanked by close friends and allies. Upon glancing at this person, Saki nearly froze in terror, before her "fight or flight" response kicked in. And this time, it decidedly favored "flight".

So Saki raced away, but not as unseen as she had hoped.

Fear, flight, frenzy ironically led Saki to finding the washroom. Upon finding it, she scurried inside, and soon came to a stop directly in front of a small sink. She leaned over the sink, and took a moment to catch her breath. She closed her eyes to steady and reorient herself. Her breathing then normalized, and her vision cleared. She breathed a sigh of relief. But relief didn't last for long.

"Good day, Saki."

The voice was clear yet soft, confident and familiar…

Saki slowly turned around, shaking slightly, forcing herself to face the person who she had just been addressed by. The contrast was striking, for while Saki was trembling in fear, the other person in the room with her was the very picture of coolness and calmness. She held one arm loose at her side, and the other arm arched neatly with her palm on her waist.

"O-Onee…" Saki began nervously, before noticing the other person's eyes display the tiniest bit of displeasure over Saki's choice of words.

"…Teru" Saki said, in a rich mixture of admiration, hope, love, surrender, and sadness, all reflected by a tiny frown on Saki's face but also a slight sparkle in her eyes, "Good day."

Then a long tense pause, as Saki felt herself being sized up by her "former" sibling.

"Did you watch my match?" Teru asked.

"I…" began Saki uneasily, startled by Teru's question, "No, I missed it."

"A pity" said Teru in a low tone of voice, while casually walking by Saki to make use of the sink.

"It would have been… interesting to get your take on that match." Teru stated.

"I-I'm sure you did great!" Saki perked up, while Teru freshened up, "You always…"

"It was a harder match than most." Teru interjected, while casually drying off her hands, "That's why it would have been interesting to get your take on it."

"…Do you want me to watch your next match?" Saki asked.

"…You intend to be competing in it yourself, don't you?" Teru asked in turn.

"…That's right" Saki perked up, "Of course! That's what I'm here for. To face you!"

Teru stared intently into Saki's eyes, given how deeply personal her words now were. After another tense pause, Teru addressed her again.

"You don't want your team to think that." Teru stated, "You should put your team first, Saki."

"I… I know that." Saki said in a dejected tone of voice, "That's what you do, right?"

Teru's ever-stoic expression had remained steady throughout the entire conversation, but now her eyes betrayed an old longing…

"Good luck." Teru said softly to Saki.

Teru then turned to leave, before a stirring in Saki's heart caused her to speak up.

"…W-wait!" Saki exclaimed, just as Teru had grabbed the inside handle of the washroom door.

"What is it?" asked Teru, turning about so that the side of her face was facing towards Saki.

"W-what you said to the media…" Saki said, "You know, when you were asked about…"

"Shiratodaiis my family now." Teru interjected, while narrowing and briefly closing her eyes, "I… don't bear you any ill will. But the past can't be erased. Only moved on from. Good bye, Saki."

Teru then exited the washroom, leaving Saki behind and alone. Saki began to sob, feeling great loss and sadness. But she then washed away her tears, and tried to take hold of a tiny sliver of hope remaining in her heart.

The End

for now.