Author's Note: Thanks for all the reviews, they help keep me going. Anyway, I've been thinking about putting a lemon chapter in this fic, but I'm not sure yet. I'll let you guys decide, just tell me if you want one or not when you leave your review, okay? Oh, and just to tell you ahead of time, this chapter's kinda slow.
Chapter 5: Hold Me
The entire auditorium was packed, the cheers of many students echoed throughout the building. The ring was set, the ropes were just tied, the mat swept, and the announce tables shined. In front of the ring sat the two usual commentators, Principal Todo and Tamaki, and outside the ring say Ryoko's trademark fans, Hitomi, with the med kit handy, and Daisaku, with his trademark camera in hand. The cheers grew louder as the crowds rose from their seats as a flash of red appeared from the ring's entrance, everyone began cheering her name.
"Ryoko! Ryoko!" the crowds cheered as the samurai girl made her way to the ring.
Ryoko kept her eyes to the ring as she kept a straight face, her sight locked at the task of hand, never swaying toward anyone in the crowd. Her first K-Fight flashed through her mind with her next step, she remembered the adrenaline that rushed through her veins as her wooden blade struck down her senpai, Azumi Kiribyashi. She took a second step, and another K-Fight flashed through her mind. She was fighting with a fellow classmate from math, he went down so easily compared to Azumi, one strike to the stomach was all it took. Her foot stepped once more, her third fight flashed through her mind. With every step that Ryoko took, another fight would flash through her mind. Her eyes slowly began to fill with tears as the ring grew closer, yet her head was still kept high.
"Crying doesn't befit a woman like you, so smile," Shizuma's words echoed in her ears.
"I know," Ryoko said, finding herself in the ring in the next moment.
"And here's our champion, Ryoko Mitsurugi!" Tamaki announced as the students cheers blared once more throughout the auditorium.
For once in her entire K-Fight career, Ryoko turned to her audience. Her eyes spun in all directions as she turned to look at everyone of them. Those smiles and cheers, she had never really appreciated them until now. The tears wouldn't escape, she wouldn't let them.
"Not now," she told herself. "I haven't even announced my retirement and I'm already getting emotional."
"And now for the brave soul who wishes to challenge our red-haired champion," Tamaki turned to the curtain behind her and Principal Todo. "She's no stranger on this campus, we all know her as the president of the Flower Arrangement Club and Master of the Kiribyashi Naginata style, but also as the eternal number one competitor for the K-Fight Championship, let's give it up for Azumi Kiribyashi!"
At the moment her name was announced, the rose red curtain flew open. Standing there was the elegant Azumi Kiribyashi, naginata in hand, her silky black hair tied, and several sakura blossoms pouring down on her. As usual, the mask of happiness was drawn on her face, her lips stretched from ear to ear as she slowly stepped into the ring. The name of her challenger was no surprise to Ryoko, these two had met many times in the K-Fight ring.
"How did I know it was you, Kiribyashi-senpai?" Ryoko groaned at the sight of her rival.
"My dear Miss Mitsurugi, it's pleasure to fight you once more," Azumi greeted her opponent. "The last time we fought I believe was when we couldn't decide who would make a boxed lunch for Lord Tatsuya, isn't that correct? If I can recall, that match ended in a draw and poor Lord Tatsuya ended up in the nurse's office because of that travesty for a lunch you made for him."
"It wasn't my lunch that got him sick, it was your's, Senpai!" Ryoko yelled.
"No, it was your's," Azumi snapped back.
"No, your's!"
"No, your's!"
"No, your's!"
"There they go again," Hitomi sighed as the two warriors continued their bickering.
"Miss Ryoko, if you don't do something soon, it would be summer vacation as soon as the match started," Daisaku sighed.
"Well why does it matter," Azumi sighed after a few more lines of arguing, "let's just leave it that it was your fault, okay?"
"Why you stupid...!" the grip around Ryoko's blade tightened.
"Now then, shall we begin?" Azumi asked as she held her naginata before her.
"...no, we won't," Ryoko told Azumi as she dropped the slab of oak in her hand.
"What?!" the word suddenly sprang up throughout the entire building.
"...I ... surrender my championship to you, Azumi Kiribyashi-senpai," Ryoko repeated, shunning the entire school, "and I do so without a struggle..."
"Miss Ryoko?!" Daisaku stood shocked over her words.
"She can't do it," Hitomi said as she watched her friend stand frozen in the ring, "she can't fight while she's bearing her child, she just can't."
"Miss Mitsurugi, please explain yourself?!" Principal Todo ordered after grabbing the microphone from Tamaki's hand.
"You can't just surrender to me just like that," Azumi told Ryoko, "I was expecting Lord Tatsuya to see an excellent fight today. You can't just leave me here like this, you'll make both of us look bad!"
"...I have my reasons for surrendering," Ryoko answered.
The entire crowd grew silent after the samurai girl finished her words. The tears were starting to fall now, her lip began to quiver, and her knees shaking. She wouldn't allow herself to cry now, not in front of the people who looked up to her. Her eyes circled the entire auditorium once more, seeing all the surprised looks that surrounded her brought another river of tears to her eyes. This was the peak of her K-Fight fame, there was no way she'd go out crying like a child.
"Good-bye, everyone," she said before making her way out of the ring for one last time.
All that happened one week ago. Daisaku had recorded the entire event and gave a copy of it to Ryoko. Everyday since then, Ryoko would watch the tape over and over again after school. It was always difficult for her to watch. The mighty Ryoko Mitsurugi had finally fallen out of the ring, defeated not by another warrior, but by the one inside her womb. Ryoko was now a normal student, her name has been quickly forgotten by her many admirers, hardly anyone remembers her name anymore. Azumi became the K-Fight Champion shortly after Ryoko's retirement, one could not walk down the campus and not hear her name. Ryoko had also became a stranger in the Kendo Club, her name was quickly erased with her retirement. Her Kenjutsu lessons at the Hiten Shrine were also put on hold, yet Miyuki and Master Tessai have still not forgotten her name. None of this was easy for Ryoko, but she knew that it was all for the best.
"Ryoko," Madoka knocked on her door, "Shizuma's here."
"Bring him in please," Ryoko ordered.
Not all things that came about this last week were bad. Shizuma would often visit Ryoko later in the day, dropping by to say hi and give her some more money for the baby. They had become good friends in the past few days, they'd never argue as much as they did in the past.
"Hey," Shizuma greeted her as he entered the room.
"Hey," Ryoko smiled.
"I got some more money for the baby," Shizuma quickly handed her his latest pay check.
Shizuma never told Ryoko how he got the money, he would always tell her that he got a part time job working at warehouses where he would move boxes and stuff around. In case she ever got suspicious, Shizuma also carried with him a fake worker's ID. No one knew Shizuma's true occupation, well, almost no one. Everyday after visiting Ryoko, Shizuma would head over to Ikeburo and some more money for his child, Sarah was always there to cheer her Nagi on. She never learned what happened between him and Ryoko that evening, Shizuma wasn't able to tell a single soul about what happened that night two weeks ago.
"Thank you, Shizuma," Ryoko took the bills and placed them in an envelope.
Ryoko had been saving up all the money she had received from Shizuma. There was quite a bit inside the envelope, though it was only probably only enough to support their child for one year. Ryoko had been contemplating getting a part-time job at the Daimon Outlet Center, but Madoka wouldn't allow Ryoko to leave the house, at least when Shizuma was around.
"So how are you feeling?" Shizuma asked.
"All right, I guess," Ryoko answered.
The had to be careful what they talked about, if Madoka overheard a conversation she didn't find appropriate, she would toss Shizuma out the door in the next second.
"Ryoko, I have to go back to work!" Madoka suddenly called. "Something's come up at the hospital and they need more nurses over there."
"All right, I'll see you later then," Ryoko called to her aunt.
"I should get going to," Shizuma said as he began to make his way out the door.
"Wait, don't go," Ryoko called to him, "you just got here."
"Your aunt probably doesn't trust me to be alone with you," Shizuma explained, "so I'll see you later."
"No!" Ryoko quickly took a hold of his hand. "Please stay."
Her hold was firm, yet her fingers were gently caressing his. He turned to her eyes, losing himself in those violet orbs. They looked sad, rivers of tears would just flood down her face if she were to blink. He could see his own reflection sparkling from her pupils, he could see how much he really didn't want to leave. He couldn't bear to see her like this, he had to stay, for both of their sakes.
"All right," Shizuma nodded, "I'll stay."
"Thank you," Ryoko said as she wiped away the residue beneath her eyes.
Shizuma turned to Ryoko's bed, finding a seat by the mattress's edge. Ryoko sat next to him, her eyes drawn to the floor as she began contemplating what to do from here. She was waiting for him to say something, but it seemed as if Shizuma had been doing the same. Both of them began thinking, remembering what had happened a week ago before Ryoko announced her retirement to the whole school. Now that both of them think about it, they never did have that kiss, and for once, they were all alone. Maybe they could have it now? Was it too soon? Could they even have it if neither of them hasn't even said a word?
"Shizuma, " Ryoko was the first to speak.
"...yeah?" Shizuma broke out of his thoughts.
"...two weeks ago, you asked me if I thought friendship could evolve into something else," Ryoko recalled, "why is that?"
"Well... uh, you see...," Shizuma had suddenly found stuttering once more.
Her charm had taken hold of Shizuma, making the mighty street fighter a blubbering fool. He didn't seem like a fool in Ryoko's eyes, she found his stuttering cute. She never thought she'd see the day her arch-rival tripping over his own words. It brought a smile to her face to see him struggling, she could watch him be like this all day and not grow bored at all.
"You see what?" she decided to tease him by throwing him some of her own words.
"Well, it's just that...," he still found himself speechless.
He had to say something, but what? Shizuma didn't seem to be going anywhere with words at the moment, so he had to do something, anything to get him out of this mess. How could he answer her, there was only one thing that came to mind. Without holding back, Shizuma quickly took hold of Ryoko's shoulders, drawing his lips toward her's. Her lips were so soft, so moist, finally he could taste the ambrosia inside her mouth and remember it. Ryoko stood shocked at what had just happened.
"Is this a dream?" Ryoko asked herself. "This can't be a dream, please don't let this be a dream," Ryoko chanted to herself inside her head. "If this is a dream, please don't wake me up."
She wanted to savor this moment, her eyes slowly shutting so she could focus on the sweet taste resting before her lips. She began suckling at it's contents, her tongue slipping through the barrier of his lips to find more. It met with his, the two wrestling one an another back and forth, fighting over the delicious sweet inside the other's mouth. She began to lay back, Shizuma slipping down with her, his lips trying to escape her's only to come back for more. How either of them could just lay there for eternity, this was moment neither of them would want to forget, a memory that would even follow to their next lives. Finally, after struggling with their hearts so long, they both pulled back, a trail of the ambrosia still linking their mouths.
"Ryoko...," he said her name as his gaze returned to her lavender eyes.
"Shizuma," she found her arms behind her neck.
"Ryoko, I don't know where my keys are, have you seen them?" Madoka suddenly burst into the room.
"Uh oh...," was Shizuma's first reaction.
Steam was practically blowing from Madoka's head as her face began to scrunch and her fist strangling what she imagined to be Shizuma's neck. Seeing a guy on top of your niece was definitely not something that would bring out the best in someone, in fact, it would do just the opposite.
"Um... maybe I should get going now...," Shizuma said as he slowly began to make his way out of the room.
"THAT'S IT!!!!" Madoka screamed.
"Shit!" Shizuma quickly found himself darting out of the house with Madoka hot on his trail.
"Come back here you hormone-driven son of a bitch!" Madoka screamed as she chased the street fighter out of her house.
"See ya tomorrow!" Shizuma called back to Ryoko as he dashed down the street.
"Tomorrow," Ryoko smiled as her fingers traced her lips.
Finally, she had gotten a taste of his lips. It would be something she could savor for the rest of eternity. She closed her eyes again and she could remember the feel of his mouth, the moistness of his tongue, she wanted more, she was sure he did too.
"Not yet," she told herself, "these things take time..."
She turned back to her TV and returned to the remote. She began to play her K-Fight retirement once more, only sigh at the first sight of herself. Without wasting another second, Ryoko pushed the power button on the remote. She didn't need a reminder of the peak of her K-Fight career, she just lived through what could've been the peak of her entire life.
Author's Note: Well, how was it? I dunno, this chapter felt kind rushed, but whatever. Anyway, leave me a review, and no flames as usual. Oh, and expect a bit of action in the next chapter when we look into one of Shizuma's fights at Ikeburo.