Chapter 4
Set-up
It was five in the afternoon when the sky began to darken.
Everyone, save for the varsity members, was expected to be out of school grounds by now, considering that one without a coat would not want to linger outside with the heavily felt autumn chill; not to mention that the finals was just around the corner.
Sitting right under the sakura tree in the middle of Seigaku grounds was Ryuuzaki Sakuno, who was neither a varsity member nor one with a coat. It may be a wonder why the auburn-head paid no heed to the lateness of the hour or the frosty breeze, counting her sickly state and her overprotective grandmother. However, there was no room for other thoughts as a certain statement persistently plagued her mind.
'You're dying.'
Ryoma's gaze was firm when those words came out of his mouth that she was left utterly dumbfounded for the next moments. She would have voiced anything in response to that puzzling declaration – well, it sounded like a declaration to her – but all thanks to her sore throat, she merely gaped at the boy until he muttered something about tennis practice and then walked out.
The initial shock hadn't worn off actually, and the added confusion muddled her usual train of thought.
What did Ryoma-kun mean by that?
"Sorry I'm late, Ryuuzaki-san."
Sakuno's head snapped up. She was relieved to see that the person she had been waiting for all this time had finally arrived. Quickly, she grabbed the notepad she carried along with her and began scribbling on it.
When Fuji directed a questioning gaze towards her, I ate too much ice cream. Fuji nodded his head in understanding, And I was just too early, Fuji-senpai! :) she assured with a smile.
The Seigaku senior returned the smile despite his realization – they actually agreed to meet at four o'clock. He was an hour late. "I'm sorry for making you wait. Sensei will have my head if she finds out you have colds because of me…"
Sakuno turned beet red when Fuji began removing his jersey and apparently had intentions of lending it to her. I'm not cold, don't worry! And besides, I'll be going home with obaa-chan soon, so wearing it won't be necessary…
"I'd rather not die," Fuji smiled and placed his jersey on top of Sakuno's shoulders anyway.
Do you have the notes with you, senpai? Sakuno asked after a momentary silence.
Fuji nodded and handed her a big filler notebook, "Already studying for the finals, huh?"
Sakuno blushed but nodded nevertheless. I find English especially hard. I'm sure your notes will help a lot, thank you very much.
"The topic on idioms isn't that difficult. You just have to remember that things don't exactly mean what they seem to mean. These expressions can be associated to metaphors actually," he supplied helpfully, and then stopped when he noticed Sakuno was suddenly looking at him as if he sprouted another head. "…Ryuuzaki-san?"
Sakuno was busy scribbling on her notepad the next minute.
What does it mean when a person says: You're dying??? Is it an idiom?
Fuji noted in amusement that the 'You're dying' on the paper was heavily emphasized with an underline.
"That statement can mean many things. Death doesn't only signify death of the body, but can refer to death of the mind, heart, or soul. Perhaps, it would signify suffering of some sort… maybe a longing? Like, you're dying to be with a certain someone," he stopped short when his present company was slowly starting to resemble a tomato. "Ryuuzaki-san?"
'You're dying' can mean like that?
"Well, it would depend on the situation. Did something happen? Why do you suddenly want to know, Ryuuzaki-san?" he asked gently, his smile prompting Sakuno to explain.
If it was possible, Sakuno turned an even darker shade of red.
Her reluctance greatly spurred his interest. After a long silence of the girl's obvious dilemma, "I might be able to help you with it," he smiled handsomely.
The ace had been laid out on the card table.
Sakuno gave in.
After reading Sakuno's explanation on her notepad, Fuji couldn't help but chuckle at the revelation. "Echizen said that?"
She nodded, clearly embarrassed.
"It's possible that he finally knows you like him, Ryuuzaki-san," Fuji opened his eyes and grinned teasingly. "Now the question is: Are you dying to be with him?"
Sakuno felt like she died right there and then in embarrassment.
"Don't you think ochibi's acting weird today, Oishi?" Kikumaru voiced out all of a sudden.
"He must have something on his mind, Eiji. But I'm sure it's nothing to worry about," Oishi replied reassuringly while neatly folding his jersey and placing it inside his bag.
"I wonder what Echizen's thinking about though," Kawamura piped in.
Momoshiro grinned, a mischievous glint in his eye. "Heh. I bet it has something to do with his girlfriend!"
Kikumaru stood up at the claim. "Ochibi has a girlfriend!?"
The door in the locker rooms suddenly flung open.
"You're too loud, Kikumaru-senpai," Echizen said, a deathly glare on his currently trying-to-hide senpai. "Tsk, such gossip-mongrels," he dared say under his breath.
Unfortunately, his upperclassmen heard it, "Did you say something, Echizen!?" And enraged rants were heard in the locker rooms right after. It didn't take long for the regulars to calm down and begin heading out.
"Inui-senpai."
The data man stopped before he could exit the door and looked over his shoulder. "Oh, Echizen." The boy looked determined for some reason. "Do you need something?"
"Do you know about the Spinocerebellar Degeneration Disease?"
Inui's eyebrows rose, surprised, "What's with the sudden question?"
"Do you know about it or not?" Ryoma snapped.
Brat. Inui sighed. Zipping his bag open, he brought out a wrinkled, black notebook and flipped through the pages, "I may have something… What exactly do you want to know?" he eyed his younger teammate looking contemplative. I wonder…
"How quick does the disease spread before the person truly becomes immobile?"
Inui adjusted his glasses and scanned his notes. "It would depend on the person." When Ryoma merely bore a hole on his face with his penetrating gaze, he said, "I'm sorry, but I don't really have anything further on that disease other than its definition. You would have to approach a professional for specifics like that." He flipped his notebook close and placed it back in his bag.
When he received no response, he raised his head only to find Ryoma already walking outside, ready to go home.
"That was weird."
Inui looked up and found Fuji smiling at Ryoma's direction.
"Fuji. When did you get here?"
Fuji turned to Inui, still smiling. "I just came in from the back door actually."
"Ah."
"Hey, Inui," Fuji's smile turned into a full-blown grin at his next words, "I bet you're wondering why Echizen asked that question."
Inui's eyeglasses glinted. "I'm guessing you'd want something in return if you tell me?"
Fuji chuckled, "What made you think that? I merely want to state what I think. Don't you worry about Echizen?"
Inui felt a sense of foreboding at what his teammate just said. He knew he'd be dragged along to whatever Fuji was planning anyway, so why struggle? Besides, this called for more data, so it was a plus for him.
Inui smiled, "Let's hear it."
Things proved to be fairly interesting the next day.
"Mou… why do we always have to be dismissed five minutes late during History class," Tomoka complained as she pushed Sakuno's wheelchair inside the cafeteria. Loud chatter was instantly heard upon entrance. "Okay. History is officially my most hated subject!"
Sakuno looked over her shoulder and softly smiled at her currently distressed friend. I'm sorry, Tomo-chan. If it weren't for me, we wouldn't have been delayed for lunch.
Tomoka was quick to assure, "Nonsense! We can always eat outside! I was planning to have a mini-picnic anyway, so complaining about the filled cafeteria was pointless actually!" She grinned brightly and immediately turned towards the doors when she saw someone waving from across the cafeteria.
"Hey! Osakada! Ryuuzaki! Over here!" Kachiro cried.
I think we should stay.
Sakuno knew Tomoka planned to eat cafeteria food that day, so her friend wasn't able to prepare anything for lunch. The auburn-head would have offered her prepared bento, but she knew Tomoka would downright refuse and would go on and on about Sakuno's health and eating habits.
After seeing Sakuno's sweet smile and hearing her grumbling stomach, Tomoka conceded and pushed Sakuno's wheelchair towards the freshmen trio's table where they were going to spend the rest of their lunch.
"Ne, ne. Aren't you excited for our field trip next week?" Tomoka gushed in the middle of eating her curry. "I wonder where we will be going though. Mr. Tamamura hadn't relayed the details yet—"
"I happen to know where we are going."
Tomoka snapped her head towards Horio, whose head was currently as inflated as a hot air balloon, "What? No way!"
"With my superior hearing skills, I've overheard the teachers talking about it," Horio interjected, a smug look on his face.
Tomoka rolled her eyes, "You mean you eavesdropped on them."
"Heh. I'm sure you're just jealous that I knew before you guys did. I can be at par with Inui-senpai now, don't you think?"
Everyone merely sweatdropped.
Horio cleared his throat, "Anyway, since it's our first year in High School, the first field trip is always special. We're going to do some hiking and bungee jumping in Osaka," Horio stopped when he realized he lost his audience. "Guys?"
"Will you be allowed to go, Ryuuzaki?" Kachiro asked expectantly, his full attention on the all the while silent girl in their table.
"It'll be difficult for you to join in the activities with your handicap," Katsuo stated.
"But you will be out of your wheelchair by then, right?" Tomoka looked hopeful.
Sakuno grew still at the sudden attention, but she eventually responded with a small nod and a smile.
"Hey, Echizen!" Horio cried out of the blue.
Sakuno's smile turned upside down.
From across the room, she saw Ryoma approaching their table. Her present company seemed to look forward having the rest of their lunch with the tennis prince, but Sakuno was opposed to this idea. Not when he recently declared that she was dying, which in her Fuji-senpai's interpretation, meant that he finally knew she liked him. She had not informed Tomoka of this development, for she was fully aware that her best friend would only encourage her to face him head on. However, she was more inclined to take flight in this situation, considering the number of times she humiliated herself in front of him.
He finally knew.
Tomo-chan, let's buy some chocolate from the vending machine.
Tomoka's eyes widened at her friend's sudden request, "Eh? Okay, I'll come with you. Wait, hold on," After collecting her tray, she bid their goodbye to the freshmen trio. As they approached the cafeteria doors, they happened to pass by Sakuno's most dreaded person.
"See ya, Ryoma-sama!" Tomoka greeted amiably.
"Hn," was Ryoma's response as Tomoka pushed Sakuno's wheelchair past him. He let his gaze linger on the girl on the wheelchair for a few moments. He noticed the blatant way she ignored him – her eyes had been fixed on her hands throughout the transit.
She finally realized that he knew.
…and she chose to run.
His clutch on the lunch tray was firmer on his way back as Ryoma realized there's only one reason why she would act that way.
She has it. She's dying.
"Bunny and Parrot are fast approaching, now headed towards the tennis courts. Be on your posts!"
Sakuno sat idly under the sakura tree, her currently favourite spot in the campus, while nibbling on her recently purchased chocolate bar. Tomoka had excused herself to go to the bathroom, but before doing so, strongly emphasized that Sakuno should not move an inch from where she was. She was absolutely fine with that arrangement since she planned to take the time to wallow in thoughts about a certain tennis prince as she indulged herself in chocolate.
"Don't you feel cold, Ryuuzaki-san?"
Sakuno stopped from taking another bite and was surprised to see Fuji standing right in front of her.
"You look like you enjoy the cold, but I don't think that's really good for your condition," he opened his eyes and smiled.
All Sakuno could do was blink, still rather surprised at his unexpected appearance.
His grin grew wider when he noticed what she was holding, "Chocolate? Don't you think that would only worsen your sore throat?"
Sakuno blushed and quickly began scribbling on her notepad.
I was craving for it. One won't hurt, right? *u*
Fuji chuckled, "It seems you won't be able to talk for a while now. Well, that's fine. You look more adorable when you scribble on your notepad like that." He laughed when Sakuno turned a deeper shade of red. "By the way, how's your ankle?"
It's getting better. I'll be able to walk again in a few days.
Fuji's smile softened, "I see."
Silence.
"How about try walking, Ryuuzaki-san?"
Sakuno's eyes widened. Eh?
Fuji extended his arm and waited.
After several moments, Sakuno carefully stood up from her wheelchair. When she appeared rather hesitant in taking the first step, Fuji took the initiative to grab her hand and guide her. At this, Sakuno turned fifty shades of red.
It didn't take long for the two to walk – well, in Sakuno's case limp – to the other side of the area.
"Now you try walking alone," Fuji said, removing his hold from the girl.
Sakuno would have voiced her protest, but seeing her forgotten notepad on the wheelchair and Fuji's expectant smile, she took a deep breath and made an attempt to go back.
"Good job, Ryuuzaki-san," Fuji commented when the girl returned to her wheelchair.
Sakuno blushed. I limped my way back, senpai. I had to struggle keeping my balance. I would have fallen flat on my face if you didn't catch me. T_T
Fuji chuckled, "You're getting there. You just have to practice more, and you'll find your ankle healed in no time."
I'll try my best to get better so that I won't bother people to catch me anymore. I really am clumsy. Sorry for the trouble, senpai. T_T
Fuji reached out to pat Sakuno's head, much to the younger girl's surprise, "Just do your best, ne? You'll be surprised to see so many people willing to catch you when you fall."
Tomoka was on her way back to Sakuno when she met Momoshiro by the tennis courts.
"Yo, Osakada!" Momoshiro cried, running towards her.
"Momochan-senpai!" She waved.
"How's Ryuuzaki?" He asked as soon as he stopped in front of her.
The girl was taken aback at her senpai's sudden interest, but she answered nonetheless, "She's fine," Tomoka smiled. After all, there was nothing wrong with Sakuno having concerned senpai-tachi, right?
"That's good to hear! But I heard she's planning to join the Sports Olympiad. It's too bad she won't be able to join this year," Momoshiro said regretfully.
Tomoka shook her head, "She'll already be out of her wheelchair by then, senpai. The doctor said her ankle will heal in a five days," she smiled.
"Five days, huh," Momoshiro repeated, contemplation crossing his face for a moment before he returned to his cheerful state again, "Well, send my regards to her!" he said while slowly starting to walk away. "Oh, and try making her walk from time to time! It would quicken her recovery!"
"Okay! See ya!" Tomoka exclaimed as she thought at the back of her head that seeing Momoshiro was plain random.
Doesn't he usually spend his entire lunch eating?
"Osakada said she'll be out of her wheelchair in five days."
"Hmm… Five days is enough time."
"But how about her sore throat? She'll be able to speak soon, won't she?"
"Don't worry, Eiji. She seems to have the habit of consuming sweets everyday."
"But will ochibi take our bait? Does he really believe something as awful as that?"
"Hehehe. You'll see."
"Nyaaa ~ ! Fuji! Don't chuckle like that! You're creeping me out!"
"Hush, Kikumaru. For the meantime, everyone should prepare. There is a hundred percent chance he'll respond to it. Let's just hope everything goes according to plan."
"Yosh!"
"Mmph! Mmph! Mmph! Mmph! Mmph! Mmph!" Sensei won't be pleased with what you guys are doing!
"We can't release you yet, Oishi! You'll foil what we're planning!!"
All passers-by immediately took flight when they passed by the supposedly deserted shed.
It appeared that things would take an interesting turn soon.
Tennis practice ended early that afternoon.
As he placed his towel on top of his head, he couldn't help but get lost in thought.
He noticed she looked more exhausted than usual. Was the disease taking its toll? It won't be long before she would be asked to stay in the hospital. And how long would it take before everything becomes too late? Months? Weeks? Days?
And to add to his present worries, Karupin had been missing the entire week.
"Hahaha! That was a good one, Eiji-senpai!" Momoshiro barked in laughter.
"Is there ever a time when you'll just shut up?" Kaidoh murmured.
"What did you say, mamushi!?"
Ryoma slung his towel over his shoulder and replaced his cap on his head.
And why was it that everyone seemed so clueless?
"Yo, Osakada!"
He stilled.
Osakada = Ryuuzaki.
He looked up, only to find Tomoka approaching some of their senpai-tachi, alone.
"I came to return the English notes Sakuno-chan borrowed from you, Fuji-senpai!"
Ryoma's eyes narrowed. Ryuuzaki borrowed Fuji-senpai's notes?
"Where is Ryuuzaki-chan?" Kikumaru piped in.
Ryoma stood up and was headed to the locker rooms. Yeah, where is she.
"Oh! She's doing her cleaning duty. No matter how many times I insist to let someone else do it for her, she'd refuse and say she doesn't want to be useless."
Ryoma can't help but smirk at that.
"I'm guessing she's practicing walking right now?" Momoshiro asked, grinning.
Ryoma's smile disappeared in a flash. Huh?
"Oh yeah! There won't be a problem just as long as she remains in the classroom," Tomoka chirped happily. "She's alone right now actually, and currently, she's doing a good job walking without support, so there won't be much of a problem."
Ryoma did a double take and was currently frozen on spot. She left her alone to walk?!
"That's good to hear. Seems like Ryuuzaki would be better in no time," Fuji smiled. "Don't you think so, Echizen?" he turned to the boy, who was still as stone not so far away from them.
"Stupid," he spat in everyone's general direction and began heading out of the tennis courts.
"Ryoma-sama?!"
The present regulars, save for Tomoka whose mouth was gaping open, struggled to stifle their laughs.
Fuji's smile was from ear to ear when he saw Echizen take the route towards the year one building. "Don't worry, Osakada-san. Echizen's just off to get some Ponta."
"Twenty-six... Twenty-seven… Twenty-eight."
Sakuno stopped when she reached the other side of the room.
Fifteen minutes had passed since Tomoka left her to deliver Fuji's notes. After proving she was capable of standing and walking (limping) on her own, Tomoka approved of her attempts and even permitted her to practice in the classroom as she headed to the tennis courts.
But as Sakuno stood by the open classroom door, she had the perfect view of the floor's staircase. She couldn't help but imagine herself finally walk down the stairs.
Tomo-chan will kill me for even daring to think of trying that now.
With a resigned sigh, she returned to the blackboard... when she caught sight of something odd by the window.
While trying her best not to fall on her butt, she quickly approached the window, slid it open, and grabbed the wiggling fur ball randomly perched outside.
It was a raccoon.
As soon as Karupin landed on the stranger's arms, he recognized a familiar scent nearby. Impulsively, he jumped off and followed the trail.
Hey, where are you going!
Sakuno began running (limping!) after her newly found pet, disregarding the fact that she wasn't allowed to leave the classroom and that she was still the clumsiest living being on the Earth. Meaning, some kind of disaster was bound to happen. And so, without a care of the world, she rushed right after the tiny animal currently making its way down the hall. As best as she could, she forced herself to move (limp!) towards the cat, knowing that the school did not permit animals inside. God knows what would happen if her History teacher lays his eyes on the poor raccoon. It was only when the fur ball leaped around a corner when Sakuno halted... and found herself on the very edge of the staircase...
falling down...
down...
down...
'Was she getting better?' was Ryoma's initial thought on the matter.
He was shocked to see her leaning by the window, looking radiant and carefree as if she didn't have an incurable disease. One look at her was enough to dumbfound him, but another look at what she had in her arms added to his extreme shock. He was about to step inside the classroom to grab Karupin away AND barrage her with questions, but he thought against it and decided to head back to the courts instead to assess some things. Ryoma decided to deal with Karupin after everyone else left... he didn't want any faculty member lecturing him about bringing a cat in school...
Back to his questions.
One. Was Ryuuzaki getting better?
Two. How come no one else seemed to know or care about her fatal condition?
Three. Why did he care anyway?!
And just when took the flight of stairs, he heard the soft pads of 'running'.
He looked over his shoulder, only to see Karupin in mid-air.
What the hell!
The cat eventually landed square on his face.
And it was at that exact moment when he heard a loud thud beside him.
Immediately removing Karupin off of his face, he paled at the sight of Sakuno wriggling at the foot of the stairs.
Ryoma gulped. Shit.
A/N: Dun dun dun! Would Ryoma be held accountable to what happened? How would Sakuno react? And was this all part of the regulars' plan? Wait for the next chapter to find out! (:)) Review!
P.S.: I'm sorry if I wasn't able to send review replies for the previous chapter! Hopefully, I will be able to this time around. Thanks to everyone who read and reviewed! I wouldn't have been able to update if it weren't for you guys! *winks*