~Tsubasa's POV~

The other guys are weirded out at first about Ryuga being here, but they eventually just ignore him. I get the feeling he likes it just fine that way.

At noon, we stop at a river. It's hot today, and everybody has been complaining; I told them once we break out of the trees onto the coast, it will be better. They are excited at the prospect of the river. They wander around on the banks like sheep, eating sandwiches, until lunch is finally over with and they can swim. I hope there are no snakes.

Keith and Jason lead the crazy gang, diving into the water and whooping at the chilliness. I don't feel like swimming, so I sit on the bank. Then I see that Ryuga hasn't yet eaten.

I bring a sandwich over to where he sits. "Are you going to eat?"

"No."

"'No'? That's it? Just...no?"

"Yes, no."

He should eat something or I know he'll be tired later on. "We aren't taking any breaks until tonight", I say. "You might end up getting sick."

"You're the one who busted out of the hospital."

"I just think that you...uh, I..." I am distracted by her again. Madoka sits on the bank several yards down from us, dangling her feet in the water. I thought I left this all behind in Metal City.

Ryuga taps me on the knee. "Tsubasa?"

What was I going to say? "Um, I forgot what I was going to tell you. Nevermind."

Ryuga squints down the bank to see what I was looking at. "Hey, do you - "

"No." I don't want to talk about it.

"Do you even know what I was going to say?"

"Whatever you were going to say next, No."

"So if I asked if maybe I could have that sandwich after all, you'd say no?"

With a sigh, I hand it over.

"No, that's not what I was going to ask. I wanted to know if you l- "

"No! Stop bothering me!" I get up and hurry away.

A moment later, who should come walking by my place of solitude but Madoka. "Tsubasa, are you OK? Did Ryuga chase you off or something?"

"I, n-no, it's, I...um. Um, I actually, um. I should just, go, over here." I stand quickly. I need to leave before I start hyperventilating. But she follows.

"You're doing that again. You're shutting me out. You just don't like to talk to people, do you?"

"No, it's, it's just that, well...I saw this." I pick up a branch that I saw on the ground. "And...I was going to give it, to - to you. I mean to Ryuga. Unless you want it." I hold out the stick to her. I feel like such an idiot. What's wrong with me? I am absolutely certain this never happened before.

Before, when we were travelling the world to fight in the championships, I could get by with being aloof and keeping my mouth shut. But now that I'm the leader of the rescue team, everybody wants to talk to me. I was glad to leave her behind because I knew I wouldn't get distracted if she wasn't here, but now she's here, and now I'm distracted all over again.

Madoka looks at the branch quizzically. "That's...nice of you, but...no thanks."

"I insist." I shove the stick at her and she takes it, looking surprised. "I didn't have time to gift-wrap it. I..." Dumb things keep coming out of my mouth.

"I'm going to leave now. For real. Bye."

"Tsubasa?"

"I forgot...my gloves?"

"You're wearing your gloves", she reminds me flatly. I need to get out of here, now. I can't keep talking to her or my brain will explode, or I'll faint, or something. I'm sure of it. Those butterflies just will not stop flying around. I rip off my glove and throw it into a bush. "Now I'm not. M-Madoka, I really need to go, or, uh..."

I forgot what I was going to say again. Nobody else has ever had this effect on me. "I've just got to leave. Right now. I will be back sometime in the next hour. It is urgent."

Madoka watches me leave. I can feel her eyes on my back as I sprint into the bushes, grabbing my glove on the way.

As my feet pound along the trail, back a ways, I think hard. I need to figure out why I'm all fluttery all of a sudden. There are a lot of variables; the one constant seems to be Madoka.

When she's near to me I can't form a coherent sentence; my insides flip upside down.

When she catches my eye my soul flies away along with my brain. When she smiles it's contagious to me, even if I'm feeling cranky.

She isn't really exceptional at all; she is shy sometimes, smart and talkative at others. She's the kind of girl who gets her hands dirty instead of letting everyone else do it for her. She is not the kind of person who catches people's eyes. So what is it about her that gets me all floaty?

I think I'm in love.