Sorry for the late update; school got in my way. Again, thank you for reading and reviewing!

" " means spoken in Japanese '' means thinking () indicates sounds

Disclaimer: I don't any of the characters except Daisuke and Tashin.

Sano finished up his stretches and started a light jog in place. 'I wonder where Mizuki is? She wasn't in the dorm room this morning and I didn't see her at breakfast either.' Sano took a gulp of water from his water bottle. 'Maybe she left this morning to practice early...' "Sano, you're up!" his coach yelled, interrupting his thoughts. "Okay, I'm coming!" he yelled in response. "Our next competitor, #14, Izumi Sano!" 'I've practiced hard to recover my skills. Hopefully those late practices have paid off... Mizuki,I hope you're watching. You might like what you see!'

Sano started to run and jumped at a point in his mind had marked. Before he knew it, he landed on the mat, the bar above him undisturbed. He sat up and crawled off the mat. Once he was off, he looked at his score. Perfect. 'Just like I planned it. Almost didn't work though...' "Sano, you got a perfect score! Great job!" his coach yelled, comfirming what Sano already knew. "Whatever you thought about, keep thinking about it while jumping!"

'That's easy.' Sano thought to himself. 'How could I not think about Mizuki, my ongoing inspiration? If it wasn't for her, I've quit jumping altogether..."

... "Help." The word echoed in Mizuki's mind, never answered. She tried to stand on legs that wouldn't support her. She desperately needed help, Mizuki remembered that much. Nothing else came to mind except pain. Pain in her head. In her stomach. Between her legs... "YUJIRO!!" she tried to call, but her throat contracted, blocking immediate communication. She looked around, hoping Yujiro alive and well, but discovered he was gone. Panicking, she walked around, looking for any source of help. Fortunately, she found the right one...

(Phone Conversation)

Operator: 911, what's your emergency?

Mizuki: ...

Operator: Hello, are you there?

Mizuki: (quietly)...Help me...

Operator: Okay okay. Do you know where you are?

Mizuki: ...No...

Operator: Can you tell me what happened to you? (sound of a body hitting concrete)?!! Hello? HELLO?!?!

...

Sano hunched over a lot more tired than he should've been. He'd been running around all day, asking if Mizuki Ashiya had appeared in any of today's events. Each response was a definite no. He even asked the judges if she had taken a number today. They said that she had been replaced by Nakatsu due to absense. Sano now knew that something was wrong. He started to run to where Nakatsu was, when he overheard a curious conversation. Two guys chatting away. Normally, Sano would've ignored them, but he heard their subject matter.

"Hey, you hear about that Ashiya kid?" the brown haired one inquired with a stupid grin. The black headed one answered while trying to keep his bearing. "Yes Tashin...I have." Both lost their composure and started laughing obnoxiously. "Damn, Daisuki, we took care of "him" REAL good, didn't we?" "Oh, yeah!" Sano couldn't take anymore. He calmly walked up to the two questionable boys. He said, "Hey guys, how are you doing?" "What's it to you?" they answered rudely, in unison. Sano, suddenly explosive, grabbed them both and lifted them clear off the ground.

The intense stare that Sano gave Daisuki and Tashin would've had chills running down Hannibal Lecter's spine."Where. IS. MIZUKI. ASHIYA!?!?" Under the evil glare that Sano gave them and the frightening grip he had on them, both Daisuke and Tashin knew that they couldn't get away without a serious fight. So what do they do? Why, what any smooth, intelligent, "so-scared-I'm-about-to-piss-my-pants" criminals would do; lie their asses off. "D-Did you check around the track?" Daisuki started. Tashin spoke up." Yeah, I thought I saw her running the three hundred!" "BULLSHIT!!", Sano screamed."Two things:

1. Mizuki hasn't registered for ANY event today.

2. You screwed up by calling Mizuki a girl.

Daisuki looked at Tashin with a "now look what you've done!" stare, confirming what Sano already knew. He continued, borrowing a tactic from Umeda. "There two options for you. Either:

1. You tell where she is and I MIGHT consider not kicking both of your pathetic asses. Or:

2. I MAKE you tell me. Oooh, you don't wanna know..." Daisuki and Tashin almost fainted at the volatile wave of anger that washed over them. they continued to lie about everything they did, with the exception of Yujiro. But no matter how much he pried or threated them, neither would tell where it happened. Sano, losing all patience, dropped and decked them both. Then Sano left to find Mizuki... wherever she was.

Unfortunately, Sano didn't have much success in finding her. He was just tired. After his "interrigation" of Daisuki and Tashin, Sano was wiped. What, or particularly who, he saw next gave him a surge of strength and hope. "YUJIRO!!" he yelled. He ran to pet him, and noticed that Yurjiro's head and snout were covered in blood. Instantly, as if he read his mind, Yujiro ran (or rather limped) to the location where he last saw Mizuki, with Sano in tow. Ten minutes, 3 miles, and 5 rest stops later, Sano and Yujiro arrived just in time to see Mizuzi being wheeled into an ambulance. Sano ran up to the door. A man in scrubs blocked the door. "Sir, please I'm her boyfriend.." "Sorry, relatives only." With that, the man closes the door and the ambulance drives off, leaving Sano and Yujiro wondering what to do next.

...

Shizuki put the phone down, and started to pack his bags. He thought about the conversation he just had moments ago with his father about Mizuki refusing to come home;

Heh. I thought she'd refuse, so I booked a flight for today. Pack your things; we're leaving in 30 minutes. But, Dad.. DON'T ARGUE WITH ME. (Dial tone)

His dad had finally gotten what he wanted. Soon after the phone call, Shizuki tried to get his mom to side with him and just let the whole matter blow over but, his mom agreed with his dad completely. After a heated arugment that lasted throughout all of the check points at the airport, the Ashiya family were seated on the plane. The plane rolled down the runway. 'Japan, here we come' Shizuki thought with a bitter sigh. For some reason, Shizuki began to feel nauseous. But it wasn't from the take off.

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