"Please, just one note, Riko…"
My hands trembled on the keys, even with Dia-san's hands on top of them, supporting me. All the flashbacks came to me. The whispers and murmurs of the audience after I abruptly stopped playing. My mother's concerned pleas to get me to keep playing.
Everything went black that day.
Like my first day at Uranohoshi, when I couldn't hear Matsuura-san calling out to me, I couldn't hear my mother's cries. All I could hear was my heartbeat, thumping a thousand times a second. That sound alone, blocked everything else out.
"Gomennasai… Gomennasai… Gomennasai…"
"Please, Riko…" Dia-san whispered. "Please, for me?" She sat beside me on the bench. I clenched my fists, and turned in the bench, crying into her chest. "Riko…"
"It's no use… I… I just can't…!" I felt her arms wrap around me.
"Oh, Riko…"
"Gomen…" I sobbed. "Gomennasai…!"
"Shh, shh…" Dia-san ran her hand through my hair. "It's alright. Let's stop here. We can always try again." I whimpered, hugging her tighter. "Oh, Riko, I'm right here." I felt her lips touch my temple. "I'm not going anywhere." After a few minutes, I had managed to calm down. Still in my girlfriend's arms, I sniffed before pulling away. She pressed a hand to my cheek. "Why don't we go have lunch, now, okay?" I gave a small nod, before she kissed my forehead. "Let's get out of here." She took my hand, pulling me off the bench, before we closed the door to the Music Room.
We made our way up to the roof, seeing Matsuura-san, Mari-san, Chika-chan and You-chan all having their lunches.
"Ah, Riko-chan!"
"Hey, Riko-chan!" Matsuura-san greeted with a wink.
"Riko-chan! Ohayousoro~!" I smiled at my four friends.
"Where are the first-years?" I asked.
"They're in the library, studying," Matsuura-san answered.
"Apparently, it's for a test that's worth a hefty percentage of their grade…" Mari-san added.
"I do hope Ruby does well," Dia-san dreaded, her head low. I chuckled, placing a hand on her shoulder.
"I'm sure she will." I reassured her.
"That aside… You two have been pretty hot with each other lately, haven't you?"
"Eh?!" I blushed. "Matsuura-san, w-what do you—"
"Firstly, it's Kanan. Secondly, Dia already told us." I laughed, looking to Dia-san.
"Seriously?"
"Okay, to be fair, I had no rebuttal whatsoever with those two!" I giggled, scratching the back of my neck.
"So… You-chan and Chika-chan, you both…" My best friends smiled at me.
"Yep, we know," You-chan replied.
"And, we support you all the way, Riko-chan!" Chika-chan added, giving a thumbs-up. I smiled softly at them, and went over to give them a big hug. They returned their embrace tightly, squeezing me. I laughed in their hold.
"Thanks, you two."
"We should have our lunch now, Riko-san."
"Right."
There was something that I hadn't anticipated.
Sure, I did everything I could to avoid Natsume-chan so far, during the day. But, there was one class that I had overlooked.
Gym class.
Not only was Natsume-chan part of my group, but… there was the matter of the locker room.
Girls were chattering away as they changed into their jerseys. I cautiously looked around me. I glance to my left to see Natsume-chan stepping over to me. I immediately avert my gaze. As I untied my uniform ribbon, I felt her arms wrap around my waist.
"Kyaa!"
"Will you relax?" she whispered. "It's just me."
I quickly turned around, my back banging to my locker. A chill ran down my spine from the cold surface.
"Natsume-chan…" There were scattered whispers around us. Natsume-chan glanced around us, and clicked her tongue. Before I could resist, she grabbed ahold of my right wrist. She pulled me into the showers in the locker room. She pinned me to the wall, pinning both my wrists. "Natsu—!" What I didn't notice… was that Natsume-chan still had her shoes on, while I was barefoot from changing into my jersey. She used this chance to crush my foot. Before I could cry out, she crashed her lips onto mine. My eyes were shut tight. A single tear rolled down my cheek. From the pain of my foot being crushed underneath hers. From the frustration of not being able to fight back.
You're finally mine…
Please, stop…
That's right. Beg for me. Beg for your "President" girlfriend to come and save you.
Eh?! How did you know about—?
Don't worry about that. For now, just be a good girl, and keep crying. Keep those tears flowing.
I felt her tongue slip inside my mouth. I opened one of my eyes and glanced over Natsume-chan's shoulder to see… You-chan!
I squealed over Natsume-chan's lips, hoping and praying that You-chan heard my cries. My eyes gleamed when I see You-chan turn my way. Her eyes widen.
"Riko-chan!" Natsume-chan opened her eyes, peering behind her. I took this chance to bite down on her lip. She cried out, finally lifting her weight from my foot and stepping back. She released her grip on my wrists. She growled at me.
"You bitch…!" A second later, You-chan had her in a headlock. "Ah! Hey!"
"What d'you think you're doing?!" You-chan roared. She peered over to me. "How could you think to hurt Riko-chan?" My lips quivered at her words. "Are you okay?"
I glanced around the room to see some girls coming in to see what the commotion was. I saw a girl look down at my feet.
"Ahh! Sakurauchi-san, your foot's in really bad shape!" You-chan's eyes followed hers, and she tightened her hold on Natsume-chan.
"How dare you!" she growled.
"Hang on, Sakurauchi-san! I'll get the teacher!" I slowly lowered my head to see my foot. A few of my toes looked slightly purple. My eyes widened. I looked over to You-chan and Natsume-chan. My vision began to blur, just as the coach came running into the shower room to check on me.
Then, it all went dark.
You've got a whole army behind you, don't you?
They're my precious friends. They do whatever they can to protect me.
Tch. You had your way this time, Riko. Next time, there won't be anyone to save you. Just you wait.
"Natsume…chan…"
"Riko!"
"Thank goodness you're awake!"
I slowly peered my eyes open, to see my bedroom ceiling.
"…Eh?" My eyes go to my wrists. They had ice packs on both of them. The red scrunchy rested beside my left wrist. An ice pack was also resting on my toes. Finally, my eyes peer upward to see my mother and my girlfriend staring down at me, concerned. "Mama… Dia-san…?" Dia-san breathed a sigh of relief. She leaned down, and pressed her forehead against mine.
"Thank goodness…" I see a single tear run down her eye. My breath hitched at that. "I was so worried," she whispered.
"Your last class of the day was gym, so it was perfect timing for you to be sent home," Mama said, smiling softly. A second later, she frowned. "I do have a bright idea of who did this to you, though."
"Mama…" Seeing my mother so heartbrokenly worried caused something to prick at my heart. I cried. "Gomennasai… Gomennasai…"
"Shh…" Dia-san pressed a hand to my cheek as the tears flowed freely down my face. She pressed her cheek to mine, kissing my tears away. She wrapped an arm around my stomach, leaning closer to me. Through my teary eyes, I could see Mama stand up from the floor.
"I'll leave you two alone." She smiled sadly before leaving the room. I weeped softly, still feeling Dia-san's weight beside me.
"You-san told me everything," she whispered as I cried. "I'm forever grateful to her; she saved you." I sniffled, turning to meet her eyes. "I wasn't there to protect you, like I promised. If anyone should be apologizing, it's me." She wiped my tears with her thumb. She smiled sadly, peering down. "I… happened to notice the pill bottle on your nightstand." I sighed heavily.
"I was hoping you wouldn't see that." She chuckled.
"… What are they for?"
"Anxiety. I take them every night before bed. Well, before I call you at night." She smiled softly at that, placing a kiss to my cheek. "I started taking those a few months after the piano performance. That was when I decided to break things off with… Natsume-chan." She nodded, understanding. "You-chan… I dragged her into this."
"Stop right there," Dia-san said sternly. She gazed into my eyes. "You called out to You-san, and she helped you in your time of need, without hesitation. Don't think of it as you 'dragging her' into that." I peered down shyly. "You had no control over that situation."
A bitter laugh left my lips. "I sure didn't…" I groaned at the soreness on my wrists. "I didn't realize how strong Natsume-chan had become. If that had gone on any longer, she would have—"
"Broken your wrists."
"… Yeah." I laughed. "Although, I know for a fact my foot must be pretty banged up." Dia-san lent a smile.
"I'll have you know, Amamura-san only got away with breaking a few of your toes." I sighed heavily at that. "Your mother isn't letting you off so easy, though, so she's insisting you take some time off. Well, before seeing the doctor." I bit down on my lip. "She's taking you to the hospital in the morning." She reached down to carefully place her hand on top of mine. "And I'm coming with you." Before I could rebut, she placed a finger over my lips. "I called Mari-san, and she gave me permission. I asked the Vice President to take care of everything in the Council, anyhow." She lent a smile. "I'm not leaving your side this time." I sighed, leaning into her.
"What would I do without you?"
The next morning, as promised, Mama, Dia-san and I drove to the nearest hospital. We checked in, and the doctor got a good look at my injury.
"Hmm… This looks pretty bad, Sakurauchi-san," the doctor observed. "Luckily, these fractures aren't terrible enough to require surgery. However, they do need to be snapped back into place." I squeaked at that. The doctor pursed her lips. "As you can imagine, it'll be painful. Are you prepared for that?" I whimpered, before looking up over to my mother and girlfriend. I took a deep breath before slowly releasing it.
"Yes," I replied sternly. The doctor nodded, stepping off of her chair.
"Alright." She looked to Mama and Dia-san. "I'll be counting on the two of you to support, please." They gave a nod.
"Hai, Sensei."
"Are you ready?" The doctor held my foot gently, slipping her fingers between my toes. I gave a quick nod. Mama and Dia-san were on either side of me, holding my hands. I took a few deep breaths. "I'm starting with one, okay?" Another wordless nod, before I looked away.
Three, two, one… Snap!
"Ahh!" I cried. My breathing quickened, the pain sending a rush of adrenaline throughout my body. I gripped Dia-san's and Mama's hands as tightly as I could.
"You're doing great, sweetheart."
"Riko, hang in there!" I nodded, giving the doctor the cue.
"Okay, ready? You still have two more to go." I groaned lowly.
"Nnngh, she broke three?" I heaved.
"Yes," Dia-san sighed. I hung my head low.
"Sensei, onegaishimasu."
"Here goes the other one."
Three, two, one… Snap!
I whimpered, grinding my teeth before groaning lowly.
"Last one, Riko. Are you okay to keep going?" Mama asked softly.
"You're free to take a break, if you'd like," the doctor suggested. I shook my head.
"No, I wanna get this last one over with. Please, Sensei." She bit down on her lip before giving a nod.
"Okay. Here it comes."
I whimpered as I counted in my head.
Three, two, one…
"Mmmmm!" The last snap seemed to be the loudest. I cried softly at the pain, but soon breathed deeply, loosening my grip on my mother and girlfriend's hands. Dia-san and Mama leaned down to place kisses on my cheeks.
"You did it, sweetheart."
"Good job."
"Now, the worst is over, the rest is pretty simple," the doctor explained. "Rest the injury, ice it, wrap it to decrease the swelling, and make sure to keep it elevated, with a comfortable pillow." I gave a nod. "Do not put any amount of pressure on this foot, understand?" Another nod. "Alright, then, I'll set you up with a cast." The doctor left the room, leaving me alone with Mama and Dia-san. I laid my head back onto the bed.
"Tired?" Mama guessed.
"That should be obvious," I laughed. "This is not how I wanted to start my year off at Uranohoshi… So much for less absences."
"This isn't your fault, Riko," Dia-san insisted. "Amamura-san… she went too far!" I gave a nod.
I wonder how the school will react when I come back…
