Mata POT Ryosaku!! Yoroshiku ne!
DISCLAIMER: I don't own no nothing, really!
Chapter 3
Sakuno watched as Ryoma exited the courts, heading towards the drinks dispenser. She was debating whether or not to follow him, even if she couldn't actually do anything, she could be there by his side. She was being held back by her shyness when Tomoka unceremoniously decided for her. Ditching her pom-poms, Tomoka grabbed Sakuno's arm and towed her in Ryoma's wake. Sakuno gasped but had no time to object. Her brown braids streamed behind her as she struggled to keep pace with her best friend.
"We must show Ryoma-sama that we are still his faithful followers!! If anyone hassles him about this match, I, the President of the Ryoma Fan Club, will personally send the infidel to the hottest depths of Hell!!," Tomoka was really getting all riled up by her imaginary opponents.
They were approaching Ryoma when they crossed paths with Horio et al. Horio was apparently crowing at the outcome of the match. Pretty soon, Tomoka was engaged in a shouting and fist-shaking match with Horio, while the others tried to separate them.
Sakuno was at a lost what to do and turned around to seek help from Ryoma, only to find him gone. She was immediately concerned and quietly left the still arguing pair to look for Ryoma.
"Yappari, this lost is affecting Ryoma-kun badly," she was worrying for her prince as she searched for him along the path, hoping to find Ryoma resting under one of the trees, sipping a Grape Ponta ™.
She soon spotted pretty much the exact scene as she imagined: Ryoma was propped up at the foot of a tree set far from the path, with a can of his favorite drink beside him.
Sakuno hurried to her prince, and when she got there, she found herself tongue-tied. She didn't know what to say to comfort him, and he wasn't saying anything either. In fact Ryoma didn't even look up when she approached. Sakuno was reluctant to leave Ryoma alone, so she simply sat down quietly beside him.
Sakuno was feeling rather confused and unsettled. She wanted to comfort Ryoma, but she didn't want to be the first to break the silence between them, nor did she want to mention the match right now since it was a sore point. She hesitantly stole a glance at Ryoma, hoping to gauge his mood. What she saw had her break into a smile.
Ryoma was asleep already, his cap pulled down low over his eyes to block out the evening sun.
Sakuno felt a heavy weight lift off her chest. Ryoma wasn't sulking after losing to Fuji-senpai. He was just resting after the long match. Sakuno settled down beside him to keep him company while he snoozed.
Leaning back against the tree in a comfortable position, Sakuno was soon nodding off as well.
She was back in the never-ending darkness, enclosed by the numbing cold. This time she could distinctly feel air moving around her, the atmosphere was charged with an energy that was new to her.
She needed to get out of here. She needed to get out of here. She needed out now
She tried but couldn't reach the wall on either side, nor could she see the direction of the exit. Scared and confused, she sank to floor and hugged her knees, curling into herself instinctively against the cold. She tried very hard to hold back her tears, yet her eyes grew moist, liquid pooled and fell against her will.
She scrubbed the back of her hands over her cheeks, making her hands wet with hot tears. Unsure of what she can do to be released from this icy darkness, she sat and wept tears of misery.
She didn't notice at first, but gradually, as her tears run out and she could pay more attention to her surroundings, she felt the warm gentle breeze run over her tear-stained face. She thought the air circulating in random directions was cold, and found it strange that there was a warm breeze that kept blowing over her wet and cold face.
"Perhaps the source was the exit," she thought to herself, grateful to have something to work with.
Crawling on all fours, she closed her eyes and moved into the breeze. Darkness stretched in all directions, and no direction at the same time. She had to make sure she continued in a straight line. Now that she was trying to detect it, she found that there was much movement in the air, and the particular breeze she was trying to follow could get lost now and then. She kept getting confused and had to make periodical stops to determine the right direction.
She inched forward in this way, and suddenly her head knocked into a surface. The wall! Elated, she reached out with her hands, finding a definite gust of warm and moist air coming through a vertical slit in the wall. Slowly feeling her way up from the floor, she managed to find the door handle without further difficulty, and soon, she was once more weightless and bathed in blinding light. And with a scream caught in her throat, she was falling …..