Author's Note: I don't know what to say, let's just get to the story.
Chapter 1: What's Wrong with Me?
History just seemed longer than usual for Ryoko. She was even more exhausted when she arrived in class that morning, twenty minutes later than usual. Ryoko had been the center of attention the entire week for coming in late, and in such a terrible condition too. Everyday she would practically drag herself to her seat. Even the toughest K-Fights she'd been in seemed like a walk in the park compared to what she was going through right now. It was rather difficult for Ryoko to pay attention to the lecture as well, her queasy stomach was starting to act up again and she was more focused on losing her lunch again than on her class work. Finally, after what had seemed like an eternity, the bell rang.
As usual, the entire class would run out of the classroom, toppling every desk and pushing every chair as if they were running for their lives if the school was on fire. The room was empty within the next second, well almost empty. Ryoko was barely halfway out of the room; even the teacher had already left to go on his break.
"Ryoko, there you are," Hitomi looked into the room to find her friend leaning against her wooden sword, using it as if it were a third leg.
"Oh, hi Hitomi," Ryoko forced herself to stand, using whatever energy she had left.
"Ryoko, are you okay? You've been like this the entire week," Hitomi pointed out.
"You're not the first person to tell me that," Ryoko remembered her aunt's concern earlier that day.
"Yeah, I've been noticing that you almost passed out on your way to school this morning too," Daisaku suddenly appeared in the corner of the room, his trademark camera in hand.
"This is really pissing me off, you know!" Ryoko snarled as she swung her wooden sword to the floor. "Ugh!" Ryoko suddenly found herself using the very same object to support from the floor again.
"Come on, Ryoko, maybe some lunch will give you your energy back," Hitomi suggested as she help her friend back to her feet.
"Nah, I'm pretty sure some swing practice at the kendo club will do the trick," Ryoko proposed.
Swing practice didn't seem to do the trick for Ryoko, if anything it took even more out of her. Just the putting on the trademark armor was a chore itself, the matches themselves were even more grueling. Not once was she able to strike any of her opponents, no matter how inexperienced they were.
"Hey Ryoko, is something the matter?" Tatsuya asked after her last defeat.
"What do you mean, senpai?" Ryoko turned to the club's captain.
"You haven't been able to beat one student today," Tatsuya pointed out, "normally you would hit the others around so much that you would chase them out of the dojo."
"Well I guess I'm just not in the zone today, that's all," Ryoko mustered up her best smile. "Maybe a match with you should bring me right back."
"You know what, I think you're right," Tatsuya took hold of his bamboo sword. "Shall we?"
The two took their usual places on the mat, Ryoko on the east side of the room and Tatsuya on the west. Both held their bamboo swords high, their legs pushing against the padded floor in the next second. Ryoko struck first, her blade clashing against Tatsuya's for a mere second. Within the next moment, the two were on opposite sides of the room. The adrenaline had suddenly returned to Ryoko's system, she felt as if she could take on the whole world. Ryoko took the initiative once more, charging at full speed, her bamboo blade slicing the wind as it swung from the east.
"This is it," Ryoko thought to herself, knowing that her senpai would be unable to block this strike, "I've got him, there's no way..." the energy in her system was suddenly beginning to drain.
Before anyone knew what happened, the mighty Ryoko Mitsurugi was now on the floor, unconscious. When she awakened, the white tiles of the infirmary greeted her, along with the concerned faces of Hitomi and Daisaku.
"Oh good, you're awake," Daisaku breathed a sigh of relief after his idol's eyes sprang open.
"Are you all right?" Hitomi asked.
"What happened?" Ryoko asked as she placed her palm over her forehead. "The last thing I remember I was in the kendo training hall and then..."
"Tatsuya-senpai brought you here," Hitomi informed Ryoko, "he said that you passed out suddenly during your kendo match. Ryoko, are you feeling all right?"
"Yeah, I'm fine," Ryoko answered, trying to shake the groggy feeling in her head, "it's no biggee, really."
"I don't know about that, Miss Ryoko, I don't think it's normal for someone, especially one as fit as you, to just suddenly pass out for no reason," Daisaku pointed out. "I mean, look at Shizuma Kusanagi, I've never seen him black out suddenly during his street fights."
"Don't bring up that Red Monkey, okay?!" Ryoko suddenly exploded.
"…I'm sorry," Daisaku apologized, "I shouldn't have brought him up."
Ryoko didn't like Shizuma, at least that's the impression she gave everyone. He was always rude and full of himself. Ryoko couldn't be with Shizuma for more than five minutes before a fight between the two would erupt. It's true she got angry whenever they talked about him, but not like this, she would never explode at the mention of his name.
"No, I'm the one who should apologize, Daisaku," Ryoko felt bad for her friend, "I shouldn't have yelled at you like that."
At that very moment, the subject of Shizuma Kusanagi returned. Just after Ryoko had apologized, a crowd was gathered outside the main building of Daimon High School, all of them awed by the tune as if they were hearing it for the first time. The screams of Shizuma's keyboard were enjoyed by all within the vicinity, well, almost all. There was always one person who never liked the antics of the navy-haired street fighter, and that person was Ryoko.
Ryoko took little time to jump out of the infirmary's bed and quickly rushed outside in front of the crowd to catch a glimpse of the navy-blue-haired street fighter. Without wasting a moment, Hitomi and Daisaku immediately followed.
"There goes that stupid Red Monkey again," Ryoko shot her usual glare at her arch-rival.
"You know, I've been noticing that you've been more annoyed by Shizuma than you ever were this entire week," Hitomi pointed out to Ryoko, only to find her approaching the building.
"Huh?" the blaring tunes suddenly came to halt. "What do you want, Sasquatch?" Shizuma asked with his trademark name for his arch-rival.
"Ryoko?" Hitomi began to approach her friend as she stood there unmoving.
Ryoko's eyes continued to peer into Shizuma, they weren't narrowed or anything as they usually were when the two were arguing. She wasn't smiling either; her face was wearing a serious expression. Shizuma's glare melted away within seconds, replaced with a look of curiosity. The two continued to stare at each other for what seemed like an eternity, until Ryoko turned her back toward Shizuma, making her way back into the crowd.
"Hey, wait, Ryoko," Hitomi and Daisaku chased after their friend.
"Can you guys leave me alone for a bit?" Ryoko suddenly asked her two loyal followers, "There's something I have to do."
"Sure, no problem," Daisaku told Ryoko as he and Hitomi began to back away.
"And I don't want you hiding in those bushes either, Daisaku!" Ryoko ordered, shooting a glare at Daisaku.
"Yes, ma'am!" Daisaku quickly nodded and ran.
"I'll be seeing you later, Hitomi," Ryoko waved goodbye to her friend.
Ryoko was alone now, just as she wanted. True she felt bad from the sudden request, but there was something she needed to do. Walking to the observation point of the school, Ryoko couldn't help but notice two fellow students sitting together. The two of them were eating together, talking about something Ryoko couldn't comprehend, all she knew was they were having a good time, enjoying each other's company. She couldn't help but smile at the sight of the two as the couple joked with each other. But that smile quickly turned into a frown when the young man placed his hand on the girl's. The sight created some kind of substance inside her eyes, barely locked away by her emotions.
Without looking back, she returned to her trip. Ryoko had reached the observation point in no time; she always went here when she wanted to be alone. But she wouldn't be alone for long, she wanted someone to come here, to meet with her.
"Ryoko?" the person whom she was waiting for called. "Hey, what's wrong?" Shizuma asked as Ryoko peered into the school below them.
"Shizuma, do you... remember what happened at Daisaku's party a week ago?" Ryoko asked after a few moments of silence.
"…Yeah, I remember," Shizuma slowly nodded, "but I thought you said…"
"There's no way we can keep it a secret any longer, Shizuma," Ryoko told him, her eyes still turned to the school.
"Why's that?" Shizuma asked, concerned.
"It's because…" the liquid within her eyes began to escape, "it's because…"
"Because what?" Shizuma turned to Ryoko.
"Because I... think I'm pregnant..."
Author's Note: A cliffhanger already. Well, what do you readers think, leave me a review, but I don't take flames, all right. Anyway, if you guys also read Rurouni Kenshin, I've posted two fan fics of that series in the Rurouni Kenshin section of ff.net, be sure and check them out. My fics are 'The Twin Dragon Arc' (it was written two to three years ago so it's not very good in my opinion) and 'Crimson String' (I'm still not done writing it, but I try and update it every Sunday). Well, I'll try and update this fic soon, okay, later.