She was always behind him, it felt.
Behind him in strength, behind him in intelligence and grades, just physically behind him as she followed.
Perhaps he'd been right in calling her "his little follower".
She'd given up being angry or depressed or frustrated or any of those things by now. Now, she just felt resigned. Resigned as she always seemed to see more of his back than his face. Resigned as she watched his motorcycle fade into the distance yet again as he ran off to Kudo yet again and left her behind yet again...
She hadn't been able to climb on behind him this time, he'd just kicked off and sped up...
Kazuha snorted and turned away from his figure in the distance, viciously kicking a rock, unmindful of the pain it caused to her sandalled feet.
Really, she was getting tired of being behind him. But what could she do? She mastered aikido, only to chicken out every other fight and still be outmatched by his strength in the others. Aikido relied more on technique and physics than outright brute strength like the other wrestling arts, such as judo. She'd chosen it in hopes she'd excel and become stronger than him, even with her lighter build. She'd failed, again. Even Ran-chan was better than her - Heiji even flinched when she looked ready to hit him or something. But then again, Ran-chan could dent steel with her fists alone.
Kazuha was capable of nothing of the sort.
She could win aikido tournaments. She could get good grades. She could doggedly follow him to the ends of the earth. But dammit, she was always behind. She wasn't needed.
As he proved by once again leaving her behind. Kazuha had half a mind to follow his example and just move on with her life, forgetting her feelings and her best friend and just try to be happier. To belong somewhere where she wasn't behind.
...But she didn't belong anywhere else but behind him.
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