Words: 876
Setting: post-series
Summary: Ringo still has regrets about that day
Reminder
"Oh man, that was one hell of a workout," Ikki groaned, stretching his arms with a sigh. He turned his head slightly towards the person walking next to him, eyeing her with a pout. "You can be a real slave driver, in case you didn't know that already."
Ringo rolled her eyes at his comment, scoffing. "If you just practiced more often, it wouldn't be that big of a deal. You've been sloppy lately."
"Tch. My form is just fine."
"Your form is absolutely awful!"
The pair had just returned home following a somewhat grueling AT run. After enough pestering from Ringo, who kept complaining that his skills were starting to get rusty, Ikki grudgingly relented into going on a practice run with her tonight. What he didn't know at the time, however, was that Ringo planned to push him like some sort of personal trainer, insisting that they ride until neither could stand anymore. An intense few hours of one-on-one races and revisiting complex tricks left them completely spent, and so they finally decided to call it a night.
Upon reaching the upper floor, Ikki started heading towards the bathroom. "You can take a bath first, if you want," he said, swiftly removing his sweaty shirt. "I'll just grab something to dry myself."
"S-sure," Ringo stuttered, catching herself staring at his toned body.
A moment later, Ikki stepped back into the hallway with a towel in hand. "All yours."
Just before she was about to go enjoy a relaxing bath, Ringo spotted something out of the corner of her eye that caused her to freeze in place. She wasn't immediately sure if it was just the lighting playing tricks on her, but what she did know was that her curiosity wouldn't let her off the hook.
Following Ikki as he headed to his room, Ringo tiptoed nimbly towards him. "Wait," she called, as she caught up to him. Before he could do an about-face, she gently placed the palm of her hand against his back, whispering, "Don't turn around."
Ikki hummed in confusion, keeping still as he was told. "What's wrong, Ringo?"
Ringo's expression fell as her suspicions were confirmed. It wasn't easily discernable from a distance, but up close, she could easily make out a discolored scar that ran across Ikki's back, starting from his shoulder to about halfway down his spine. Although he had a few other smaller, less prominent scars on his body, this one struck her the most. Judging from the intrinsically jagged pattern of what was once the wound, Ringo right away knew exactly where he got this from.
Delicately running the tip of her finger down the length of the marking, Ringo whispered in a morose tone, "I did this, didn't I?"
Looking over his shoulder, Ikki realized what it was that she was pointing out. "Oh, that thing?" he replied in his usual way. "Yeah, I guess it's from when we had that fight. Don't worry about it, though, no one noticed it anyway."
Except she did notice it, and unlike the other scars on his body, she was responsible for this one. Ringo gritted her teeth in frustration, reflecting on her actions on that fateful day. While it was true that Kanon instigated the chain of events that took place, and Ikki's harsh reaction made the situation worse, Ringo couldn't help thinking that if only she acted more calmly, things might have turned out differently. In fact, if she maintained her composure and just talked through everything, insisting that what he saw was nothing more than a misunderstanding, then she might have never let her emotions get the better of her. And, more importantly, she never would have permanently blemished the body of the person she loved.
"I never even apologized," Ringo whispered, resting her forehead against his back. In her mind, this was her single, biggest regret from that whole ordeal. "Even if it was a long time ago, I don't know how you don't hate me for putting you through that."
"Baka." His curt reply caused her to stand up straight. Turning around to face her completely, Ringo felt her body stiffen as she saw the serious expression on Ikki's face. She tensed as he reached out and took her hand, placing it over his heart. "Do you really think I would hate you because of something like that?"
Ringo wasn't sure how to respond, though the gentle thumping of his heartbeat reassured her that he was being completely genuine.
"I mean, we both went a bit crazy back then." Ikki put on an uneasy smile, as he looked into her eyes. "But that fight showed me that I still had a very long way to go, and this scar is like a constant reminder to always keep me on my toes. In a way, I'm glad it's there."
Feeling the tension leave her body, Ringo exhaled a breath of relief. "I never knew," she whispered, returning his smile with one of her own.
Ikki leaned towards her, and planted a quick kiss on her forehead. "Tell me next time, instead of bottling that stuff up, alright?" he said, seeing her nod in response with renewed vigor. "Now go take that bath, you're all sweaty and gross."
