A month had passed now and it was the first show for Giselle the ballet. Ryoko was excited to see it and her face lit up more then it had since the accident. The curtains drew and the dancers swept on, and finally the main ballerina. Ryoko squeezed your hand and looked over to show you a smile. The ballet must have been really good, because Ryoko had a smile on her face the entire time, she gasped when the scene was surprising and winced when the scene became too gruesome, you had never seen her so happy then if she was on stage herself. At the end of the ballet, you escorted her home, the both of you not exchanging any words but holding hands tightly. She walked close to you because it was a chilly night and you wrapped her scarf around her to keep her warm. When she got to the hospital, her smile drooped, but she struggled to keep up appearances for you. "That was very fun, we have to see the next show together okay?" you nodded "Just say when." "Thank you again for going with me, good night." She smiled and walked away alone, you knew she would have to cry tonight. You ran after her and missed her just as she got in the elevator but you couldn't wait for the next one, you raced her and went up the stairs, five flights, and made it just in time to catch her elevator. The doors opened and a crying Ryoko was standing there, looking at you through teary eyes. "Syusuke what are you doing here?" you pulled her out of the elevator and into your arms "You've been crying long enough, don't you think, behind my back, you cry everytime I leave, you cry alone when I can't see you. Don't do that anymore, I want to see when you cry, you look super cute I think." You ruffled her hair a bit "Besides, what else can a useless boyfriend like me do?" she quickly wiped away her tears and pulled up the corners of her mouth "See, I'm smiling because of Syusuke." you pinched her cheeks "Not smiling big enough." And then the smile became real and her voice became real, she laughed and wrapped her arms around you, and you wished she held on forever.
Ryoko got discharged from the hospital at the end of the month and it had been six weeks since she had stopped dancing. She was eager to get back to the stage but the production of Giselle wasn't over yet and there were no roles for her to have, for it was a one lead actress kind of play, so she would wait for another month until the auditions for the next production came out. But in the meantime she would practice and her manager made her do many things to get back to the spotlight. In that time, you had Nationals to train for as well and Tezuka and coach Ryuzaki wouldn't allow you to see her so often. But you always texted her whenever you could.
Fujiapples: sorry I couldn't reply right away, dinner with the family.
SuperStarShiraishi: No problem, what was for dinner?
Fujiapples: mom made my favorite curry!
SuperStarShiraishi: sounds yummy!
Fujiapples: what did you eat tonight? you better not tell me it was just your vitamin and mineral supplements again
She didn't reply for a long time and you knew she hadn't been eating again, you called her and her voice came soft and tired "You didn't eat tonight again?" "Don't be so angry, thats why I didn't tell you over our chat." she said. "Of course I'm angry, you have to eat to get better, don't you want to dance again?" "I want nothing more then to dance, I have been reckless with my body and now I have to get back in shape, you can't stop me Syusuke, so don't try." you knew how stubborn she was and didn't try to change her mind "Then you're going to bed soon right?" She sounded like she was about to say something, but then there was a sound of a loud door slam "Ryoko! Who do you think you're talking to! Give me that phone! Whoever you are, Ryoko is not talking right now, she is going to sleep! And don't call again, we are very busy over here!" And with a rude click, the phone hung up. You sighed and threw your phone on the bed. You didn't dread the fact that you were yelled at, but the fact that Ryoko would now get in trouble. After the incident, you couldn't contact her for days and you definitely didn't see her, except in the newspapers when Ryoko appeared to be practicing. The headlines always read that she was recovering and doing well and that she would return to ballet in no time. But you always noticed that her face was getting thinner and she got paler and paler, her smile was strained.
After a week of no contact at all with Ryoko, you received a sudden text message "Whatever you do, don't read the newspapers, meet me at the corner at Seigaku after dark, I have something to tell you."
You began to get worried that something was wrong, but also you were excited and anticipated seeing her again. All throughout tennis practice you were agitated and it was hard to concentrate, for some reason everyone was giving you weird looks, sympathy looks, something you found strange. You approached Ryoma, he was usually very blunt about these kinds of things "I feel like I've been walking around all day with the words 'stupid' on my forehead. Tell me, do I?" "Fuji senpai, you might as well have. I am usually not the one to say this, but I feel sorry for you today." You were surprised at this "Why are you saying this to me?" "Have you not read the newspaper?" He went through his bag and dug one up "The team agreed we wouldn't show this to you, but I think senpai deserves to know."
You regretted reading the newspaper and you regretted meeting Ryoko tonight, because in your mind, things were spinning around and your feelings felt jumbled and in a mess. She arrived after you and almost sprinted to your side, then she saw the newspaper you held in your hand and she stopped. "I told you not to read it, I was going to explain the whole thing to you." "Is this true?" "Let me explain!" She grabbed your hands but you took them away from her, you knew your voice would crack if you tried to talk now, but you did anyways "So it is true! How could you do this to me? How could you go out with Atobe Keigo?" She took the newspaper out of your hands and threw it behind her "Its not like I have a choice anymore okay? I'm out of shape and I can't dance, I need all the help I can get and Atobe has connections that I need." "Really? Is that what your manager told you? If she told you to not drink or sleep and practice all day till you couldn't stand anymore you would probably do that too right? Anything to be a ballet star." by now you knew you were yelling and whatever you said now was going to hurt her deeply, but you couldn't keep your heart from saying these things. "Isn't the ballet star Ryoko the person you fell in love with? If I wasn't Coppelia that night would you have been a fan of a nobody? So whats wrong with being a ballet star?" "You know, you're just like your character Coppelia, you're just like a doll. You do whatever other people tell you to do, you practice when you're suppose to, you eat whatever your manager tells you to eat, and you sleep whenever they turn the lights off, and you also date whoever they tell you to. I wonder, if you even have a real heart." "You're right, I am just a doll that does whatever other people tell me to, I'm sorry I'm like that." Her hands passed over her eyes for a few flicker of seconds to wipe her tears "But I want to tell you what I came here to tell you anyways. And I wanted to tell you that I like you, more then you know. And if you will accept me, I want you to continue to be with me even through this tough time I'm having. Will you do that for me?" You took a couple steps back "I can't believe you could ask this of me after you've already agreed to go out with that man. How selfish can you be! What I want is for you to forget this thing we have because we don't have it anymore, you broke it. I hope sincerely that you and that arrogant man are happy together, you deserve each other." You walked away, but all the while you wanted her to come after you. "Syusuke!" you stopped, but kept your eyes forward, afraid if you looked at her crying face you would run to her "You're breaking up with me? We're through now?" you took a deep breath and let the tears overtake your vision "I'm breaking up with you, next time we see each other, lets just be strangers." You ran away after that, leaving Ryoko behind, only taking your grief and heartbreak with you. When you got home, Yumiko-nee was surprised to see you crying, but right away she saw your heartbreak. She opened her arms to you and you cried the most you ever cried that night.