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.:I WILL GO TO YOU LIKE THE FIRST SNOW:.
Chapter 3: Six Feet Under The Moon And Sun
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xxx
Sanada Sayuri woke up at 5 in the morning.
Don't ask her why, it was literally engraved within her bones, etched into her routine. 5am also happened to be the time when Sanada Genichiro finishes his Zazen (seated zen meditation) and wakes her up back at home. Still, the minute the clock struck 5am, she instantly sat up from bed in an eerie, robotic manner.
Sanada Sayuri shuffled out from her bed, folding her blankets and made her bed. She lifted the fallen blanket from the ground – which was no doubt kicked down by Hanabi, tucked the snoring Hanabi who was sprawled all over the bed.
How she even manage to sleep with her head nearly dangling off the bed, Sayuri had no idea. They have been friends since – oh no, she lost count on how long they have been friends for, but Hanabi's absurd sleeping position never ceased to amaze her.
She stepped into the washroom. A pale girl with lips too pale, skin too white, hair too straight, body too skinny, hair colour too common in the mirror stared back at her.
She thought of Yuina, whose pale skin seemed to highlight the striking, gorgeous hue of blue hair, whose skin seemed to accentuate her mesmerizing blue eyes. She then stared back at the mirror, hand tracing her features.
She thought of her brother, all Greek god and chiselled features, all rough edges and prominent brown eyes, all sharp jawline and high nose bridge. He was nothing like her: he was smart, he was strong, he was gorgeous, and he was breath taking.
What was she?
Her hands moved back to the mirror, Am I really a Sanada?
xxx
Oshitari Yuushi thought that girls, by majority liked to appear at least presentable at all times, particularly when facing their love interest or just guys in general. The Seirin girls, au contraire, just proved him wrong.
Perhaps it was the 3 years in Hyotei – one of the most extravagant, wealthy and luxurious school in Japan that had crafted such thoughts. He remembered that Las Vegas field trip, where all the Hyotei girls were dressed beautifully – decked in fashionable outfits just merely for breakfast at 7 in the morning.
He wasn't surprised when he saw a few of the regulars already gathered at the cafeteria early in the morning. The long dining table were surrounded by all the early risers (Yukimura, Yanagi, Sanada, Nanami, Miyuki, Tsubaki and so forth).
He smiled politely addressing the customary morning greetings as he settled for one of the seats. Beside him was Tsubaki elegantly sipping her Earl Grey Tea from a bone china cup looking much like a poised English socialite. With the dignified and exalted atmosphere the regulars naturally excreted, he couldn't help but feel as though if the dining table was lifted on dais with peonies and red roses surrounding them.
Afterwards, the dining table was joined by the freshly showered Sayuri and Aoi, the pair had just completed their personal morning training routine. The aroma of strawberries and tangerines was literally intoxicating as Aoi begrudgingly settled for the seat across of him, vis-à-vis Oshitari.
"Timing?" Nanami questioned, casually dumping what seemed to be at least 6 packets of Splenda into her milk infused black coffee. Huh, Oshitari noted, he didn't take Uemura Nanami as a milk-sugar-coffee person.
"12:51" Aoi replied, her cheeks still tinted tomato red from her morning workout routine, she was the kind of person who turned rosy easily, "With weights." Nanami nodded in approval.
This time Sayuri turned towards Oshitari with a mirthful grin, "Watch this."
The minute the clock struck 7am, Nyudo Mifune swanked into the dormitory, shaking his beer gourd. A collective of loud gasps, yelling and even what-sounded-like-someone-falling-off-the-bed-in-shock noises followed.
… Was that the sound of trumpet he was hearing?
"Now now" Sayuri laughed, amusement danced within her eyes, making them appear like a rich, blazing shade of gold, "This is useful for heavy sleepers" and as if on cue a wild peach-haired girl with disastrous bed hair still decked in Rilakkuma pyjamas stomped – yes she legitimately stomped in, "Like our dearest hard hitter, Hanabi."
The rest of the guys streamed in, filling the cafeteria seats. "Followed by our cantankerous riser, fellow ice princess Kaori" the small girl trudged in with glacial sharp eyes, her chilling aura nearly freezing others within her premise to their demise.
"And our typical happy-go-lucky blond accompanied by Miss.i-can-even-sleep-through-earthquakes." On that note, the half-asleep girl dragged herself to the long dining table and without a single word or exchange of looks, the rest of the girls promptly arranged 4 chairs together. Oshitari cocked a quizzing eyebrow, but his unspoken question was soon answered as the celeste blue-haired girl sprawled over the 4 chairs, utilizing them as a makeshift bed.
Fuji then without a word, moved over, sliding next to the seat beside her, propping her head up, to use his lap as a substitute pillow. "She can't really sleep well without a pillow" Sayuri interpreted, as if it explained everything.
Despite their messy bed hair the two girls still managed to look stunning. Yuina was cladded in baby blue silk nightgown dress that touched her patella, while Ayase was clothed in black lace nightgown that flowed down to her knees as well. In spite of the length, it still didn't hinder the small line of blood that flowed down from Momoshiro's nose, which was quickly wiped away by Fuji's petrifying smile.
Oshitari stared blankly at the scene unfolding ahead of him. The breakfasts were both scheduled at 7am, but the difference between the Hyotei girls and them was drastic.
Hanabi was stabbing her food wildly with her eyes still closed, effectively catapulting her food, sending it flying everywhere – which Nanami blocks expertly with a spare plate in such a way that that clearly demonstrated that she had done this before.
Ayase fell back asleep, hands still gripping the fork – which had food on it, mind you. Kaori whose icy glare stormed like a blizzard when Momoshiro accidentally poured just a teaspoon of juice on her plate. Yuina whose mouth seemed to know when to magically open whenever the motherly Miyuki fed her food.
He couldn't help but peered at the freshman, Aoi, for a second - who likewise, had an expression of bafflement, amusement and what on earth is even happening all mixed up together.
My sentiments exactly, he thought dryly.
xxx
"Nyaaa… where are we again?" Kikumaru asked, his eyes darted around nervously.
"Ah, we're in… some sort of forest… or so they say so" Oishi, his double partner replied kindly. To his defence, the beer belly coach didn't offer much substantial information. "It is for some sort of tennis training apparently"
"I hope you guys are awake by now" came Ryuzaki Sumire's authoritative voice, breaking up the mild chatter that was ongoing, as she hollered through the loud speaker, "Otherwise" she paused with a seemingly dubious smirk on her face as she gestured to the mountain behind her, "I'm not sure if you will be able to survive this."
"You will proceed in groups of 7" The scruffy-looking guy with huge beer belly, Seirin's coach continued. "Each of you will have a balloon tied to you, if the balloon is popped by one of this kids" An eagle lands on his arm "then you're out."
The regulars gawked. There are eagles in this forest…?
"Also, in a team if one of you brats fails, everyone fails, got it? Now go and grab one of those rackets of there and run as if your lives depend on it. And the ones who are eliminated..." all of them blanched, feeling a very strong sense of déjà vu, "Have this waiting for them" Inui pulls out a huge dispenser of Inui Juice.
They groaned.
"I do suggest you drink up now, or… you might not have the chance to do so later."
"We shall then commence our Training from Hell as Mr. Sakaki would like to refer to it as" earning a slight flinch from the addressed person.
"And, – may the odds be ever in your favour."
xx
Fall for someone with an of mystery and wildness in their bones, but with kindest eyes and a thousand beautiful stories woven into their soul
xx
It wasn't even half way up the climb before more than half of the regulars were already clutching onto their knees and panting for breath. "Mada mada… dane" gasped Echizen, turning back to face his teammates. He although, was also nowhere better.
"What 'mada mada dane'?!" hollered Momoshiro as he raised his shirt to wipe off his sweat. If he had done this back at Seigaku, he was sure he would have been silenced by the deafening screams of their fan girls. "You're nowhere better! Just look at your state."
"Che" Echizen tutted, lifting his cap by a few centimetres. "In any case I'm surprised they can actually keep up." Even without Echizen mentioning anyone, Momoshiro could already tell who he was referring to. "Yeah, seems like we really underestimated them" he agreed, genuinely surprised.
Since they had 34 people in total, they were split into random groups:
Group 1: Echizen, Momoshiro, Yukimura, Tsubaki, Miyuki, Jackal, Yagyuu, Kirihara
Group 2: Tezuka, Fuji, Atobe, Ayase, Yuina, Kikumaru, Oishi, Mukahi
Group 3: Ootori, Niou, Aoi, Hanabi, Kawamura, Oshitari, Kaori, Kaidoh, Kabaji
Group 4: Marui, Akutagawa (luckily Marui was in the same group or they might just have been the first to be eliminated), Sanada, Shishido, Yanagi, Inui, Nanami, Sayuri, Hiyoshi
The mentioned girls were currently clutching their knees too, they were however – looking much better than the boys did, as though if this wasn't the first time they were faced with such wild and bizarre adversity.
Upon noticing Echizen's heated gaze on a certain brunette, an amused smirk broke across Momoshiro's face. He quickly brought his junior into a head lock and ruffled his hair knocking his fila cap off. "Oh, Echizen! Still sulking, aren't you? C'mon on! We gotta admit she's as strong as Tezuka-buchou" he whistled cheekily.
"Like I said before, I'm not sulking, Momo-senpai!" Echizen retorted this time, struggling out of Momoshiro's grasp.
Hoshino Miyuki, however, was still oblivious as ever. Upon noticing the stare she got from Echizen Ryoma, she just simply grinned and waved to the boy – a grin that even idiots knew was genuine.
Momoshiro, on the other hand, couldn't help but clutched his stomach as he tried to contain his emerging laughter. "Stop laughing" Ryoma rolled his eyes, "It's not even funny."
"It clear is" Momoshiro argued, "considering that she doesn't even think of you as her rival". Echizen frowned slightly, but before he could retaliate the high-pitched eagle squawk sent all of them sprinting immediately.
Echizen paused halfway up the slope and Tsubaki nearly crashed into him – save for the ever-gentleman Yagyuu pulling her aside just in time. "Thank you, Yagyuu-san" Tsubaki bowed politely.
Echizen frowned, his fila cap was missing. He was about to make a U-turn for his cap when he felt the familiar cap back on his head again. Echizen looked up and sure enough there was the annoying brunette that kept occupying his head space, "Let's go!" She called, dragging him by the hand. Her legs were a lot longer and they quickly caught up to the rest.
"Thanks" Echizen muttered disgruntledly, soft enough to remain inaudible to the others, but loud enough only for her to hear. She laughed then smile, her smile as radiant as the sunlight, as warm as the sun, "Welcome."
xxx
She was everything, he thought she wouldn't be
But she was everything, he hoped she would be
xxx
"I- I'm dying" Aoi wailed. She literally couldn't feel her legs anymore.
Hanabi ceased to a stop, glancing back at her junior. It was perfectly logical and reasonable to feel so, for Hanabi and co have been suffering the old fart's – as Hanabi and Sayuri liked to call him – unconventional but strangely effective training methods for 3 years now but Aoi was still a freshman.
Oh god, should I carry her or not. Hanabi mussed her hair in agitation, not caring that she just sent her originally messy ponytail into an even deeper clutter of mess. But before anyone could even say anything, Kabaji Munehiro took that job up, lifting the young girl up easily and continued running leaving the others gaping in awe at him.
xxx
"Marui-kun! Do you remember me? I'm Akutagawa Jirou! Remember we met at Newcomer's Tournament, remember remember remember? You gave me that wrist band-"
"You ripped it off me!"
"Marui-kun, Marui-kun! I even went to that cake shop you recommended me-"
"You keep pestering me for it! Wait, hey -! Don't stop running""
"Marui-kun, Marui-kun-"
"J-Just don't stop running, you hear me?!"
"Yes, Marui-kun!"
xxx
"The probability of Hiyoshi Wakashi tripping over a fallen chestnut is-"
"71.91%"
"No. It's 81.93%"
A pause.
Then: "Pray tell, Uemura-san"
"You only took retina function, human reaction time, human anatomy, foot-eye coordination, lag time, anatomy structure right?" she questioned, followed by a: "What about chestnut harvest time?"
"Ah" Yanagi and Inui drawled in unison, nodding in acknowledgement.
…
Hiyoshi was at a loss on how he should feel about this.
Shishido let out a load groan from the front lines.
"The probability of Shishido Ryou-" Inui started, his glasses doing that usual evil beam.
"Turning around and saying 'if you have time to say all these, how about you run faster instead, Gekidaza daze' is-" Yangi continued and Shishido did so.
"91.83%" this time both Nanami and Inui's glasses performed the eerie-evil-beam in unison.
Sprinting beside them, Yanagi briefly wonder if he should consider getting a pair of spectacles as well.
And Sanada oh Sanada, being the ever stoic man just sighed. One Yanagi was enough, now he had 3 Yanagi(s).
xxx
Kabaji Munehiro tripped over a small log, falling flat on the ground, while the fiery-red haired girl managed to leap out at the last minute effectively avoiding a hard ground slam. Kawamura, upon witnessing this scene dashed forward at the drop of a hat to help him, "Kabaji-kun!" He shouted.
The soaring eagles dived down, about to pop their balloons when 'PAK!' 'PAK!' noises were heard. An expression of surprised filtered across Hanabi's face as she zoomed pass to help Kabaji up.
"Holy shit! Aoi you managed to hit 3 fallen chestnuts in such a short amount of time?"
Aoi blushed slightly, "Hanabi-senpai you managed to hit 3 fallen chestnuts previously too."
At the sight of the two girls – who were so much tinier than the huge Kabaji - helping up the 190cm Kabaji Munehiro, Kawamura couldn't help but let out a warm, gentle smile. So the coach is trying to get them to work on their teamwork as well, huh…
xxx
"Hoi hoi, Yui-chan why don't you try running in zig-zag patterns or horizontal movement? And Gaku-chan!" Kikumaru beamed, calling up to the acrobatic player that was swinging from tree branch to tree branch like a mini Tarzan, "Why don't you evade them with a low moon salute?"
"STOP CALLING ME GAKU-CHAN!" Mukahi squalled, "And, huh what the hell is a low moon salute?"
Yuina kept quiet. She wasn't really keen about admitting her poor footwork and weak horizontal movements.
"Well" Ayase joined in with a laugh from the front lines, "Unless you guys want to have a taste of Inui Juice-" before she could even finish the sentence Mukahi was already literally mastering his low moon salutes and Yuina running in zig-zag patterns like a pro. Ayase laughed loudly.
"Saa… Eiji" Fuji encouraged in his usual dulcet, silvery voice of his, "Why don't you join Mukahi as well? I'm sure it would improve your acrobatic skills."
"Oh! I wanna join too!" Fuji blinked upon hearing that, then: "Oh? Ayase-san, you're an acrobatic player as well?"
Ayase giggled, "Sorta? Not really? But I'm gonna try -!" And before they even knew it, there were already 3 mini Tarzans leaping from trees to trees.
xxx
"Looks like we somehow managed to lose them" Momoshiro commented, clenching onto his leg "Damn it, my legs are all jelly. I can't believe he'd cover our balloons with a scent to attract the eagles. What are the coaches even thinking?"
"Nyudo-sensei might be a little eccentric and crazy" Miyuki added, "He's more than a little crazy" Kirihara complained with a scoff, green eyes rolled upwards. "But he's not doing all these for fun" Miyuki continued.
Yukimura nodded gently, "Look, Akaya" he gestured towards a really steep slope.
"Ara? Did we really run up such a steep slope?" "I didn't even notice how rocky it was!"
xxx
The sportsman hunt ended at around 10 in the morning and thankfully all groups managed to survive. Now they were all off to practice at the makeshift tennis court with uneven and irregular ground.
"Look at this Gaku-chan!" Kikumaru cartwheeled, did a forward walkover then hit a backhand.
"Ha-! That's so lame, Kikumaru, look at mine" Mukahi screeched pulling off a Salto and handspring before returning back the shot.
"Hoi Hoi! Watch this nya~" Kikumaru beamed literally cloning himself as another 3 Kikumaru appeared behind him.
"… I must be seeing things" Aoi rubbed her eyes and tried again. There was still 3 Kikumaru(s).
… What on earth.
PLOCK! Momoshiro slams the tennis ball down, it bounced off, briefly missing Kaidoh's face by a few centimetres. Kaidoh's pointy, sharp eyes narrowed dangerously, he took a fistful of Momoshiro's shirt.
"What the hell are you doing, you baka peach!" And with that they started their typical fight again until they felt strangely weird because a certain egg-headed senior didn't come to stop them. In fact, nobody came to stop them.
The rivals glanced towards the tennis court beside them - where Shishido and Hanabi were already involved in a very heated glaring contest. Fortunately before they could make a lunge at each other, Oishi and Ootori were already dragging Shishido away. And it took both Sayuri and Yuina combined to drag the peach-haired girl away.
"Uh…" Muddled Momoshiro uttered and Fuji chuckled, "Missing your limelight already?" Momoshiro and Kaidoh were left speechless again.
xxx
"… Nya~ what on earth is this?"
From the past few hours, Kikumaru Eiji have learnt several new facts. Firstly, don't ever question Nyudo Mifune's unconventional, strange training methods because so far they have proven themselves effective. (The sportsman hunt helped Yui improve her footwork, Eiji's stamina, Hanabi's poor balance, Ayase's agility, Shishido's ability to predict movements, Mukahi's low moon salute et cetera.)
Secondly, the girls all have really bad nicknames for the coach – safe for Tsubaki, Miyuki, Nanami and Aoi. Thirdly, like he said the coach had really weird ideas so… he should have expected this.
"Exactly as you see" Kaori deadpanned, "We're hanging from trees."
"B-But why?" Eiji countered.
"God knows" Yuina rolled her eyes, swiftly swinging faintly from side to side to avoid the numerous tennis balls. How she managed to still look graceful and elegant doing that, Eiji had no idea. "Only the old geezer would know."
They all had elastic bands around their waist to prevent their shirts from hiking up.
"Spinny!" Sayuri spun around, returning Kirihara's shot with a fast topspin only to slam right into Hanabi's face. Sayuri gaped and grinned at her best friend sheepishly – the latter grimaced.
Hanabi twisted her body to receive another ball shot that flew from another direction earning an annoyed "Hey, that was supposed to be my ball" from Echizen. She sent a very strong, heavy shot to Shishido.
"Oh, you're on Grumpzilla" Shishido growled, firing back.
Another very fast volley between them ensued and everyone around them groaned.
xxx
"You bunch of failures! Faster grab your tennis cover and hit the balls that your loser friend will be floating down the stream back"
Stream, Fuji thought, isn't the correct word to describe this. It was a massive waterfall pounding down the rocks, looking like a pool of blue satin threaded with silver. The plummeting funnel of water cascading down at high speed.
"Oooooh, streams!" Marui sang merrily, "That means… water… wet… transparent shirt and girls!"
"Oi, fatty, your nose is bleeding" Niou snickered before a tennis ball that seemed to fly from Yukimura's direction knocked him out. Niou whistled and Jackal sighed, shaking his head in exasperation.
"So… Basically we're supposed to leave the tennis racquet cover on and hit the balls back to the basket right?" Kirihara confirmed and Yanagi nodded.
"Feasibly" Nanami said, "Our coach's churlish, censorious, callous, strident temperament may come off as aberration, abstruse, inscrutable - and flummox or stupefy others - or tend to seem fallacious. Ergo, I would like to elucidate and delineate that this may be a pragmatic approach to proliferate, burgeon our anterior deltoid, pectorals, serratus anterior, glutes and et cetera. Albeit some of you being acumen, cerebral, scrupulous beings would be able to fathom. I hope you guys will condone with an open mind."
…
There was an awkward silence and everyone just stared.
"W-Was that another language?" Aoi squeaked.
"No that was Japanese all right" Kaori deadpanned.
Yanagi nodded, "The quadriceps, hamstrings, calves as well as-" And the 3 anomalous data musketeers went on discussing something about human anatomy and physiology literally befuddling everyone that was within hearing range.
"I blanked out like, literally after the word callous or something" Kirihara blanched, he swaggered next to his silver-blue haired senpai. "Niou-senpai, wanna pair up with-"
"Nah" his senpai strutted away before his dear kouhai could even finish his sentence, leaving him gaping.
The training started.
"Hanabi! We're supposed to hit into the basket, not slam the ball directly into our partner's face!"
Another pair, "Echizen don't force yourself! The current's too strong for you, let's just switch places!" The tennis cover shots out from the tennis racquet ramming right onto Momoshiro's face, leaving the senior flabbergasted and of course annoyed.
Another pair, "Hiyoshi! Stop mumbling Gekokujo! There's nothing to Gekokujo here you dumbass"
Another pair, "Jirou-senpai please don't fall asleep here or else – J-J-Jirou-senpai!" Ootori instantly runs to catch the narcoleptic player.
Another pair, "Akaya! You ought to do better than that! Tarundoru!"
… It was just his luck to be stuck with the demon general, Sanada Genichiro.
Another pair, "Ore-sama no bigi ni yoi na."
"… Can you just roll the ball down the stream normally and stop saying that like every 15 minutes"
xxx
Having a coach that specialised in unconventional training methods meant:
"Tennis biathlon? How the hell do we even do a tennis biathlon?"
Nanami started, "Biathlon, a winter sport, a combination of cross-country skiing and rifle shooting."
"It is a race whereby the contestant with the shortest total time wins" Inui continued.
"Determined by the competition, missed shots leads to added time or distance to the contestant's total running distance or time." Yanagi ended.
…
"Are they ever going to stop doing that" Momoshiro groaned. Fuji chuckled, "Not any time soon, I suppose."
xxx
Having a coach that specialised in unconventional training methods also meant:
"Yoga asanas?"
"How is that gonna help us in tennis" Kirihara grumbled, Nanami shifted her glasses up, "It enhances-" Kirihara instantly lifts his hands up to stop her.
"Andy Murray practices hot yoga" Yanagi commented off-handily, he knew this was bound to get Kirihara.
A pause, then: "We don't even have the, you know, the thing they lie on."
"You mean yoga mats, Kirihara? I'm afraid that has been taken care of" Inui mused and sure enough Nanami and the girls started distributing yoga mats.
"… Where the hell did that even come from?"
"First up, for warming up and stretching. We will be starting with a few rounds of cat and cow movement. First crouch on all fours. Start on your hands and knees. While inhaling, lift your chest and tailbone towards the sky, and while exhaling, arch your back, press through the shoulder blades and drop your head-"
"Damn" Niou breathed and catcalled, "That's kinky" eyeing on a certain blue-haired girl before he proceeds to dodge a flying yoga mat that appeared to come from Fuji's direction.
"Secondly, we have the Gomukhasana also known as the Cow Face Pose-"
"Aha! I know this one, we just have to make cow faces right!"
"You idiot seaweed head, and how on earth are you going to make a cow face?"
"… He has a point there, Akaya"
"- We are going to grab the top of our racquet"
"We are going to use our tennis racket in yoga?! Damn, that's cool-"
"Tarundoru! Keep quiet, Akaya!"
Yukimura chuckled.
"Next up, we have the Parivrtta Trikonasana also known as the revolved triangle-"
This pose required the regulars to touch the ground with one of their left hand. The girls all (except for Kaori and Nanami) pulled it off quite easily while the guys were a huge, loud mess.
"J-Just a bit more" cried Momoshiro until Kikumaru whisked forward with a very mischievous grin, pulling Momoshiro's hand all the way downwards, "E-Eiji senpai!" He wailed.
xxx
Having a coach that specialised in unconventional training methods also meant:
"…You're kidding me right?"
"Ice baths?!"
"Scoot over you wimps, let the great Kirihara Akaya do the trick."
"Yeah, scram you softies" Mukahi snickered.
The both of them (and the ones that were willing to try out the ice bath) sank into the ice bath. Not even a minute later, "GYAA! It's so COLD! Save me fukubuchou!" "Yuuuushi!"
xxx
After a long gruesome, tiring, soul-draining and spine-chilling (pardon the pun) day, they were finally calling it a day. The regulars were now just chilling around waiting for their bus at a very lavish, glitzy 5 star hotel after a scrumptious dinner – this was of course thanks to the generous Atobe.
"I can't even feel my legs anymore. Jackal give me a massage" Marui moaned, all slumped up in one of the maroon couches. Jackal shot him an exasperated look, "I heard that there's a massage parlour near the Seirin's gym" he offered.
"You can't feel your legs. I can't feel my legs, my arms, my hands, heck my whole body!" Momoshiro countered, all floppy legs and arms.
"Damn… I'm exhausted" Kirihara added, lying face flat on the black coach beside them, earning a stern "Akaya! Don't lie on your stomach right after your meal!" from Sanada.
The bus honk alerted them of its arrival and all the regulars literally dragged themselves onto the bus. The bus finally halted to a stop.
"Wait…"
"…Where are we? Aren't we going back to our camp tents?" As the regulars were slotted for a 2-day training in the forest, they had camp tents set up at the forest.
"Ohohohohoho" Ryuzaki Sumire chuckled evilly, flashing a torchlight under her chin. Some of the regulars screamed and Aoi nearly jumped. The forest was eerily dark by now save for the streaming moonlight that were mostly blocked by the tall trees.
"R-Ryuzaki-sensei!" Kikumaru yelled, trying to calm his poor, frightened heart down. Although he supposed that this was still better than witnessing Ryuzaki in her night gown that one night.
"We're going to have our Kimodameshi aka Test of Courage here! Aren't you guys excited?! Your coaches have been planning this for some time now and the crew we hired are really looking forward to" she let out a cough "scare you guys out of your wits."
Mukahi groaned, eyes rolling heavenward, "But I just want to rest."
"Oh, sure you will get to rest" Ryuzaki continued gleefully with a mirthful laughter, "After the Kimodameshi that's it. You guys can just walk back, it's not even far from here!"
Shishido too gave an eye roll "Gekidasa daze."
Ryuzaki laughed, "Don't worry, it will be fun" then with a loud bellow: "Aoi! Stop cowering over there."
"Hmmm, true" Ayase agreed with a giggle, "We are teenagers after all, we have to live a little!"
"Besides, you have girls accompanying you guys today!" Ryuzaki chuckled amusedly.
Several heads shot up at the notion of that and some of them glanced at the bunch of attractive girls. The girls, though, paid no heed.
Sayuri was busy snoring away, dripping some drool on Sanada Genichiro who had to piggyback her down the bus. Miyuki looked thrilled.
Kaori bore a striking resemblance to an ice cold statue. Yuina looked like she just wanted to lie on the ground right now and sleep. Nanami was doing that sinister-glasses-glimmering again. Tsubaki looked calm and refined as always. Aoi looked like she want to bolt and run far far away right now. Ayase looked excited. And Hanabi was… well shooting death glares at Shishido again.
Ryuzaki-sensei then continued to brief, going through some safety rules and et cetera. "The pairings will be decided by drawing lots, and since we have 34 people.
"You guys shall proceed in pairs"
xxx
…
…
…
…
"Ahn~ Sanada you need to lighten up a little or else your stone, stern face is probably going to scare all the actors away"
…"Atobe Keigo!" He roared, "You insufferable brat-"
xxx
"HA! This is nothing, bring it on-" a faint whirl of white flashes across the corner of his eye. He knew that he probably shouldn't be curious, really, hasn't he seen enough horror movies to know where this will lead to?
Yet, very rigidly and very very slowly did he turn his head – a very good model of curiosity kills the cat indeed - to face a Sadako, the antagonist of The Ring.
His face literally paled several shades when he saw: white long dress, black, straight long hair and floating. Wait… floating?!
And at that exact moment, his fellow silver-blue haired partner leaned forward blowing a soft 'poof' in his ear and that was all it took for Mukahi Gakuto to run away screaming at the top of his lung "GYAAAAAAA!"
xxx
"Yui" Fuji smiled.
"Yeah, Syuusuke?" Yuina too, allowing a brilliant smile. The actor all dolled up like Regan MacNeil in front of them stiffened, unconsciously moving back half a feet, why is it that the actor felt that their smiles was even more terrifying.
"Maa… This is the part where you're supposed to yell or at least look scared or something" Fuji's customary smile flipped upside down, twice as concerned and thrice as amused, "Or else their pride is going to suffer."
Yuina just shrugged, stretching out her arms to let out a big yawn.
xxx
"Wow Yagyuu" Marui whistled, "As expected of the gentleman! You didn't even flinch when we saw the Candyman just now" he applauded then stopped when he realise Yagyuu hasn't moved an inch from his previous position.
"Yagyuu?" Marui probed.
Poke Poke.
Poke Poke.
"Oh" Marui drawled, now understanding the situation, "As expected as the gentleman, you even faint standing!"
xxx
…
…
…
…
This was another silent pair. "Yukimura-san, aren't you… uhm… scared?" chimed Tsubaki, fidgeting her clothes nervously "I'm quite certain I thought I saw a Toshio Saeki peering down from the trees just now…"
A polite smile flash across Yukimura's face, "No. Since they're not real."
Ah right, they were not just a silent pair, they were a silent and awkward pair.
Yukimura contemplated for a moment on whether he should tell her that the Toshio Saeki, the character from The Grudge was, as a matter of fact, still staring down at them from the tree branch. Really, the crew they hired were amazingly talented in portraying the horror character – en outre their exceptional makeup skills.
Yukimura, however, didn't have much time to process his thoughts because the next minute the tiny Toshio was already leaping down the trees. Instinctively, Yukimura grabbed Tsubaki by her hand while they made a dash for it, startling the latter.
Tsubaki could already hear the loud thumping of her heart, even though she knew. She Knew that Yukimura was a gentleman, knew that Yukimura was a kind soul and that he was just helping her out of goodwill and there was nothing more to it, but she still couldn't stop the familiar fluttering of butterflies in her stomach.
The faint moonlight and darkness alike bent and danced around them, surrounding them in a hazy metallic silver shimmer. She could hear the soft fluttering of his jersey still hung on his shoulder, she could smell the boyish, vague aroma of forest and flowers. Like sugar, spice and everything nice.
Really, she shouldn't have the mood to feel like this, not when the loud screeches of Hanabi and Momoshiro still continuously echoed throughout the forest and a Toshio Saeki still possibly chasing after them. In spite of that, this situation felt so surreal, so phantasmagorical, and so… beautiful.
With just the moonlight lighting up their pathway and her hands within his.
xxx
"Mada mada dane" was all Echizen said to the tiny actor dressed as Chucky. Previously, the actor had been very confident and assured that his current get up will definitely be able to frighten the wits out of others then he met this cocky, arrogant little 151cm tall boy.
They even had the background music and atmosphere all set up. What could have gone wrong? Oh – there was another girl approaching! This time he would definitely get his job done well. He spun around, displaying one of his most maniac smile swinging his fake knife that was stained by fake blood around.
However, the brunette just blinked.
Blinked once. Blinked twice. Then, "Wow! Amazing! Look at those stitches! How did you even do that?" the excited Miyuki leaned forward in attempt to touch it, "Hey Ryoma, do you wanna touch it too?"
Echizen looked torn between wanting to ask her why she was addressing him by his given name and thinking that she was a strange girl. Apparently he settled for the latter because he just tugged his white fila cap down a little and muttered a soft "strange girl."
xxx
Aoi fidgeted.
Why was she stuck with him again? She was starting to think if her dear senpais rigged the lots or something. Note that it was totally plausible for Nanami or Yuina to do that.
The words 'I've figured you out' kept replaying within her mind. She ran her fingers through her naturally frizzy hair in frustration till her fingers met with an obstinate knot. She groaned, her pair of hands reaching out to try to unknot the tangle. And at the same time, failing to notice one of the crew decked in Pinhead outfit approaching them.
Without thinking, Oshitari Yuushi pulled the red-haired girl towards him, shielding her eyes from the gruesome horror character. Blue-violet eyes meets with wide, shocked magenta eyes and the Pinhead snickered choosing to leave the 'lovebirds' alone.
xxx
If there was a most vocal, loudest screams pairing award it would definitely be – hands down – for Momoshiro and Sayuri.
"KYAAA! G-GO AWAY! N-NO STOP MOVING"
"GAHHHHHHH! IT'S GHOSTFACE"
"KYAA! WHAT THE HELL- GET OFF ME, no don't touch me HYAA!"
"T-THAT THING JUST MOVED"
"I SWEAR TO GOD I SAW SOMETHING MOVE"
"WHO THE HELL PUT THIS CREEPY-ASS MUSIC BOX HERE"
"KYAAAA-!"
"UWAHHHH!"
Hanabi might have the loudest voice, loudest scream, but put this two together – and you can literally hear their screams resonating throughout the entire forest.
xxx
"Omfg!" Hanabi screamed, profanities shooting out of her mouth like a bullet train and Ootori was mildly impressed at how many profanities she knew – Japanese, English, Chinese and even dialect?!
"C-Calm down, Kurisu-san" Ootori cooed, patting her by the shoulders, "That was just a-"
"H-Holy is that Kuchisake-onna?!" She shrieked again and Ootori had to cover his ears because he just knew that he would definitely go deaf if there isn't even - any form of protection.
xxx
Shishido just knew that he would be fine, since he personally found his partner even more terrifying than any horror characters out there.
Cues the entrance of Carrie with blood dripping literally all over the place. Wow, the blood looked really real.
"Saitou Ichika. Gender: Female, Age: 22, Height: 163cm, Weight: 58kg, Birthday: 26 March, Horoscope: Aries, Eyesight: 1.5 (unaided)(both eyes), Blood Type: B, Graduated from: Fuji Kindergarten, Hyotei Junior High School, Hyotei High School, Doshisha University, Family consists of: Father, Mother, Grandfather, Uncle, Aunty, two older brother and one younger sister. Happens to idolize Miyazaki Yuina and was elated to help out with the event, also kisses the photo of Atobe Keigo at least twice a day, a hidden closet fan of boy love, secretly a fervent fan of the Tezuka and Atobe pairing. Measurements: 35-27-35, Dress size: 6US, Bra size: -"
At this the Carrie instantly fled away.
… Yup, Shishido confirmed, this girl was definitely scarier than any supernatural characters.
The journey was going really well so far until they heard deafening screams – like really deafening.
"Ah" Nanami spoke, her monotonous voice sounded even creepier to Shishido than the other horror characters out there. "The possibility of Hanabi appearing right now is 88.19%-" and sure enough there was a peach-haired girl speeding across the forest like Sonic the Hedgehog. Running after her was his favourite kouhai.
And if you put Shishido and Hanabi together, it never ends up well.
"That's, a fake hand, a prop. Can't you see that it's connected?" Shishido rolled his eyes.
"W-Wha-! Then why did you scream too?!"
"Psh, since when did I scream"
"Oh please I heard that small yelp, pussy"
"What did you say, you wuss?"
Hanabi being so preoccupied by their little fight failed to really notice her surroundings and for the next few minutes Hanabi's deafening screams did not echoed throughout the forest. Ootori, on the other hand, looked torn between whether to be relieved that his ears were safe for the time being or whether he should be more worried about the two of them fighting for what seemed to be the umpteen time.
xxx
Sanada Genichiro felt strangely fortunate that he had picked Atobe Keigo as his partner. He didn't really want – nor did he know how to comfort scared girls or crying girls. Neither did he want to hear Momoshiro's scream that were reverberating within the forest. The two of them proceeded in peace and silence till he felt something.
His head shot towards the right side and sure enough there was a frightened raven haired girl clinging onto his sturdy arms. "Sayuri?" His stern gaze softened at the sight of his sister sniffling.
Images of her as a young toddler with red ribbons in her hair smiling radiantly at him flashed across his mind. He remembered the days when she would follow him like a little chick following the mother hen.
Not that he wanted to be a mother hen.
He remembered she used to look so adorable, lovable and endearing when she was young. With red ribbons weaved within her straight, sleek black hair, frilly skirts and pink hair clips.
She looked like a Miko, like a priestess, like a small princess.
They always had a good relationship. He was that protective ("overprotective" as Niou claimed), defensive older brother that always sent those bullies flying, always the one who held her hand during festivals, always the one who caught her goldfishes during the festival, always the one who would go an extra mile just to make her smile, always the one who would flattened those who dare tease and mock at her and - always the one who was there for her.
And they would always have a good relationship… - if it wasn't for that.
"I'm sorry" Sayuri apologised in an unusual, monotonous, apathetic voice, having recovered from her rather traumatic experience. "I'm going back to find Momoshiro" and then she was gone leaving Sanada just staring at her retreating figure.
xxx
Tezuka thought that having Kirihara for the Kimodameshi would be a relatively safe choice. He thought that his devil mode (Devil Akaya) would send the ghosts running. So he certainly didn't expect it to be like this…
"Eeeek!"
"EEeepp!"
Tezuka pinched the bridge of his nose with a sigh.
xxx
"Who said I was scared?!"
"I… I just went to look for the tennis courts!"
…
"… I didn't say anything" Ayase remarked, half amused half worried, "By the way, we will be hitting the sheets right after this. Nice try though" she giggled good-naturedly.
Kaidoh froze. He then attempt a fake cough to cover up his embarrassment, until, he heard a loud twig snap from the back. "Oi" he scowled with clenched brows, then it struck on him. Ayase was walking in front of him.
His blood ran cold. With rigidity and mechanical movements that could rival a robot, he angled his head slightly backwards only to meet the chilling sight of the exorcist's main star doing the blood-curdling spider walk.
Kaidoh's mind barely even registered the ear-splitting scream he just let out before he was already sprinting down the forest path. "H-Hey, Kaidoh?" Ayase yelled, clearly shocked at her partner's sudden action, "Wait up!" She scrambled after him.
Not far from them was the Kirihara-Tezuka pair. "Woah" Kirihara breathed out, "Fortunately, we saw this cliff." They were about to proceed on when the tumultuous shouting caught their attention. "What on-" Kirihara's word fell short when he spot a wild Kaidoh whizzing across the forest path like he was The Flash (followed by another helpless blond).
With the moonlight spilling and illuminating Kaidoh's already menacing features and his face contorted to a hair-rising, frightening expression from terror, it sent Kirihara stumbling backwards slightly, knocking into Tezuka.
And if that wasn't enough, the exorcist horror star chose to reappear from the dark, this time it was enough to send Kirihara ramming right into Tezuka, pushing him off the cliff.
Before Tezuka even had the chance to register anything, a long pair of hands shot out grabbing him just in the nick of time. "Thank god!" the blond breathed out a huge sigh of relief, whirling her head back, "Guys! Help-" but her words faltered when there was no one at sight anymore.
Holy shit. Ayase froze. Her mind bolting around at terminal velocity right now. Where did the guys go, were they really that scared that they ran away so quickly?
It was safe to hit the water at this height right? The cliff wasn't that tall right? More importantly… her hand was already sweating from nervousness and she wasn't sure how long she could hold onto this 179cm, 58kg heavy man any longer. Oh my god, she groaned, why didn't she hit the gym with Hanabi more regularly.
So as to speak, it was as if fate was toying with her, for there was crack that resonated before both of them were sent descending into the depths of darkness.
xxx
The camera shuttered.
Cluck.
Cluck.
Blinding light.
The cameras shuttered again.
"Miss Alyssa Heartfilia, what are your thoughts on winning the World Ballet Art Competition Grand Prix?"
The blonde girl beamed, "Well, I wasn't really expecting to…"
"Miss Heartfilia, how do you-"
"Miss Heartfilia, do you-"
"Are you going to follow your mother, Miss Ashley Heartfilia's footsteps-"
All the questions slowly became like noises all entwined and jumbled up together until she heard- "Why do you dance?"
Alyssa giggled, her luminous cerulean eyes spoke of fondness and joy. "Isn't that obvious enough? I dance because it makes me feel alive, because it makes me happy."
xxx
Ayase roused from the stinging pain she felt at the back of her head. She sat up, coughing out the remaining water. Oh right, she moaned. They fell down from the cliff, landing into the waterfall. The wild and strong currents of the waterfall must have carried them all the way here.
Hold on a second… they… Oh right Tezuka!
In a heartbeat, she shot up moving towards the unconscious Tezuka that was lying beside her. "Tezuka! Tezuka! Tezuka!" She yelled shaking the unconscious man.
A-B-C. She could hear her father's unwavering, serene voice floating within her mind. Airway, Breathing, Circulation.
She steadied herself, before performing Cardiopulmonary resuscitation, her trembling warm lips against his cold ones. Fortunately, it seemed to do the trick as Tezuka woke up erupting into fits of coughs, allowing the remaining water to flow out.
Ayase heaved out a loud sigh of relief before another pang of pain struck her again. Long fingers drifted to the back of her head. Oh great, it was blood. She must have hit her head on one of the middle-sized, sharp boulders.
With that line of thought, she reached out to Tezuka checking for any possible wounds. Sure enough, there was a large cut on his ankle. Without thinking, she tore the ends of her shirt using it as a makeshift bandage. At his pale, ashen face with half-lidded eyelids she leaned forward to check his temperature. Oh no, he was freezing.
The current water was a silent silvery-blue stream cascading over the rocky outcrops. A silver of moonlight shone on the open area, spilling across the moon-bleached stones, illuminating the path, flowing over the tender leaves of the trees. Even the water tinkled in a laughing, gentle sort of way – the kind of way kids might think that this is the place where pixies like to live in.
It would have been a very beguiling scene – even romantic – if it had not been for the fact that Tezuka was all drowsy, half conscious and her precious iPhone was clearly dead. Hell, there was even some green mass forming on her phone camera.
Tons of questions pummelled Ayase all together at once. Where on earth were they? How are they going to get back up? How were they going back? What time was it? What is she supposed to do now?
The questions continued swirling in her mind till the most important one surface, "Was Tezuka going to be alright?"
Rain started to pour, snapping Ayase out of her short reverie. Upon observing that Tezuka was still very groggy and woozy, she lifted him up, slinging his arms around her neck as she roamed around to find a makeshift shelter. She managed to find a small cave to take shelter. Then, she dug a small pit using tinder, small twigs and larger branches to start a mini fire.
Meanwhile, Tezuka was still drifting between the blurred lines of unconscious and conscious. He could vaguely hear the soft rambling of Ayase but his whole body felt like lead and ice all frozen and entangled within each other. His consciousness floating back and forth.
"Am I supposed to remove his damp clothes or not… AHHHH! B-But it's so… indecent for a girl to remove a guy's clothes" he could hear the underlying frustration within her voice and the clattering noises made by the pebbles as she walked around in circles "… Oh god why didn't I listen to daddy's wildness safety precautions more attentively back then."
The sounds of the rattling noise intensified, an indication that she was approaching, before he felt drops of water trickling down on him. Subsequently, a soft fabric enveloped him.
… Did she just gave him her jersey?
She halted with an anxious frown. "Wait he's not going to get the… what's-that-called-again…? Oh right hypothermia!"
Tezuka's mind nearly reeled when he felt unsteady fingers reaching out to unbutton his soaked clothes but it was even worse when he felt a soft body wrapping around him, her soft strands of blonde hair tickling him. She smells like mild perfume, fabric softeners, lotus, warmth and spring. She smells like spring.
"To hell with the whole damsel in distress typical love scenario" vaguely he could hear a girlish giggle wafting through the air, "Man, I'm the hero here."
With her body wrapped around his, he could feel her …well... curves very well. If he had been sober and fully conscious he was sure he would have been fighting the blushing urge. His mind was still churning though. It was highly inappropriate; his morals, his ethics, his principles were screaming at him but her embrace felt like daylight, felt like sunshine, felt like warmth.
Perhaps it was the drowsiness, perhaps it was the cold rain that made him instinctively seek for a heat source, perhaps it was the steady sunshine-warmth she radiated, but he found himself, drifting off to sleep unknowingly. And all he could hear, ba dum, ba dum, ba dum was the soft pounding of her heart.
xxx
The constant motion, smell of spring, soft muttering stirred him from his sleep. Russet brown eyes peered beneath half-lidded eyelids, it was probably still predawn, small hours, and the sky was a pale blue with hues of yellow-orange emerging at the ends, sunrise was nearing.
Then, Tezuka realized.
… She was carrying him?!
He was a 5 feet 10 and a half inches, 127 pounds guy. Even if the tall blond was standing at 5 feet 6 weighing around 110 pounds, it would still be very taxing her.
His lips parted, only to pause when it dawned on him that he didn't know her last name – well, more like she didn't mention her last name.
Speaking of the devil. The blond whirled back abruptly to face him, her golden blonde hair swishing in the morning breeze, subsequently brushing her lips against his soft ones and poker faced Tezuka's eyes widened farther than probably what they ever had in his life – in the light of him being so impassive usually.
"Oh my god" she said in English, ducking her head to avert Tezuka's frozen rigid look but the sudden carnation pink that dyed her cheeks gave her away. It took a few seconds for him to recover as he cleared his throat embarrassedly.
She looked back again, now careful not to accidentally graze against his lips again. Russet brown orbs locked gaze with cerulean blue ones.
Those eyes were so blue, blue like the clear spring sky, blue like the Maldives Indian Ocean – clear like glass but also so luminous and bright they were like sparks of happiness. To say that her eyes were blue was like saying that the sun was yellow. Adequate but unable to comprehend the warmth like sunbeam, the glow like stars.
"Uhm" she started, still a tad bit bashful from the previous incident, "Morning", she greeted in English again her accent evident, and then she realized and corrected herself, speaking back in Japanese again. It was a habit of hers, to speak in her native tongue when she was nervous, anxious, excited and et cetera.
Awkward silence.
"Tezuka?" She questioned with that accent of hers making his surname sound like Tezooka instead.
"Oh right" she continued on breezily, ignoring his blank expression, "I recall Yui telling me that you're a man of few words. Though her exact words were more like 'figuratively he has a grandfather personality of an archaic hermit and a stoic, expressionless face resembling the mo'ai from Easter Island."
… He was at a loss on what to feel. He was so momentarily distracted until he realised the blond waddling.
Golden strands of hair stuck like second skin over her scarlet cheeks, salty droplet rolling down her jawline disappearing into her still damp clothes. The girl, was visibly having difficulty supporting him but still made light jokes and small talk to conceal her growing exhaustion.
Tezuka frowned slightly, "Ayase-san-"
He didn't get very far as the blond cut him off. "Don't worry" she assured with a wink, which wasn't very convincing due to her worn out look "we Seirin girls aren't exactly very…" she coughed slightly, "Normal y'know, we have a mma practitioner who lifts on a regular basis, a nationally ranked 2-dan kendoka, an aberrant data tennis specialist with an IQ of 145, a girl with steady ass hands that can probably wield scalpels as easily as she wields her tennis racquet and yadda yadda yadda"
He gave that stony expression again, his textbooks certainly… didn't teach him how to reply to such… comments, so all he said was "Aa."
Then: "Please put me down" he spoke in that typical monotonous tone of his.
"No" she argued, frowning slightly, then she smiled – it should have been in a commercial, "You're sick and injured."
He sighed, "I'm fine" was all he said. How could he make a girl carry him?! He could already picture what his grandfather would say, You have the nerve, the audacity to let a girl carry you? Presumptuous! Impertinence! Showing weakness? Preposterous!
Ah, this was man pride at work alright.
"I insist" he proclaimed, "Ayase-san" noticeably uncomfortable at addressing the mentioned girl by her given name.
The blond studied him for a moment, her brilliant blue eyes boring holes into him (in the fashion you would when deciphering puzzles) and Tezuka could only stare blankly at her inquisitive stare, her face a few centimetres apart from his. Then a dazzling smile broke across her face, like sunshine illuminating the dark skies after a heavy downpour. It would have done wonders for most of the male species out there.
But Tezuka was, well, not really like the ordinary male species.
Gently, she let him down, though she still linked his arms around her neck – supporting him as they continued walking. And it was as if she read her mind, "You can call me Tennouji if you want, that's … my father's family name, although I still prefer Ayase."
He tried to stabilise himself notwithstanding the strong drowsy feeling that was still lingering. "Aa" he paused, then, "Do you know the way back?"
Pink like spring roses kissed her cheeks as she blushed again, embarrassed, "Well… technically all I've been doing is climb up."
"I know the way. I will lead" and she nodded.
They continued the rest of the journey in awkward silence with only Tezuka giving monosyllabic directions.
It felt weird, really. Tezuka had never been in a girl's company for so long, excluding the company of Seigaku's female captain who happened to be his seatmate and that they had to spend most of the school hours with one another. Moreover, the both of them enjoyed the comfortable silence they had and never spoke to each other more than necessary for the 2 years they have been seat mates for.
Something about her told him that she was a fireworks and sunshine kind of girl, which was also why he so puzzled that she was being so quiet. Not that he disliked the silence though.
On the other hand, Ayase was confused. She wasn't exactly sure why she was being so silent. She was also muddled at why she blushed at that brushing of lips. Lo and behold, Tennouji Ayase, the stereotypical It Girl, the female heart throb. She had a fair share of beau, suitors and even stalkers. She wasn't ashamed of that though, she believed that a little exploration was required to find her Mr. Right.
And, it wasn't like if she was a heartbreaker (- she never intentionally led guys on) or anything. As a matter of fact, that was more of femme fatale Yuina's forte.
Right at this moment, the bright sunlight illuminated the sky washing away the dark shades of the previous twilight sky. Pure scattered light shone- it's scintillating yellow-orange-white hues mixed in an electrifying manner setting each crevice of the land ablaze. The golden warm rays softly caressed the land, instigating birds into a chorus of melodies. They let the warm amber-golden ombre glow of the sunrise hit their face.
Tezuka looked at her briefly, - the girl who soaked in sunshine and returned smiles like dawn and warmth. "Holy" she breathed out in awe, the tides of her blue eyes twinkling animatedly, looking like an exuberant young child. "This is so swell, I've never seen sunrise before. Cause y'know I'm a late riser, lazy bum and all" she giggled.
It was weird really, they barely knew each other before this and here they were sharing this mesmerizing, breath-taking moment together. Sure, he felt like he had seen her around the tournament grounds before, and knew she was a friend of Yuina's but they have never made a conversation before.
Just a few days ago they were strangers yet now they were here sharing a moment that strangely felt like it was only exclusive to the two of them.
xxx
The regulars woke up from the usual routine – much to their dismay. It was even easier to wake them up as all the tents were crowded near to each other. The regulars were gathered for breakfast, Ryuzaki did a head count, then she did a double take. Quickly, she went on to interrogate Kaidoh and Kirihara, both of their answers being they got separated with their partner and thought that Tezuka returned with Ayase.
"Oh no" Ryuzaki paled very visibly and quickly informed the other coaches. The captains and vice-captains who also noticed the disciplined Tezuka's absence, approached the coaches. And sure enough, in a few minutes, there was already helicopters, private police force, buffed bodyguards searching the entire forest – owing to, of course the aristocrat Atobe Keigo.
Fortunately, it only took 10 minutes for the rescue team to find the exhausted pair as they were already approaching the camp site.
It would have originally been a very entertaining scene – for Tezuka and Ayase seemed very intimate - with Ayase staggering to supporting Tezuka – but Fuji didn't really have the mood for that right now as he rushed forward in concern. Tezuka was about to detach himself from the blond when the others sped forward till he noticed the blond teetering, her lips pale and face looking as though if it was drained of blood.
Then with one miniscule step forward she crumpled like a bisque porcelain doll, appearing like she would have shattered had it not been for Tezuka catching her at the eleventh hour. They sank down to the ground together, his heart feeling equally heavy. He shook her carefully, - then he felt his hands being stained by something slippery, he was pretty sure it wasn't water. He took a look.
It was red. It was blood.
xxx
The glint within Fuji's eyes was alarming. It was the kind of look that normally promised hell and the kind of mirthful look that ensued another upcoming sadistic plot of his. Momoshiro shuddered, from his experience, he knew that he better stay at least 20 feet away from his senpai when he was emitting that kind of aura. "He's definitely plotting something"
"Wow, Momo-senpai" straight-faced Echizen deadpanned, "You're actually being smart for once. It's going to be a blue moon tonight" he smirked leaving his senior gawking at the blank space that was occupied by Echizen a millisecond ago. "Why you, Echizen! Get back here you brat!"
Back at the dormitory where Tezuka and Ayase rested (They have been sent back to the dormitory after his airway rewarming and Ayase's treatment.) Tezuka laid in the bed beside Ayase, who was all hooked up by IV drip, receiving oxygen therapy from the oxygen concentrators and her head wrapped with thick layers of bandages.
He wasn't supposed to enter this floor – it was specifically only for the girls, but they made an exception for them this time. Aside from that he wasn't exactly going to leave his saviour all alone.
He remembered what the doctor said. Thankfully, this lady over here brought you back in time and warmed you with her body heat, or there are chances that your mild hypothermia might have developed into something more severe.
Slowly, he removed all the heated blankets and warm compress. He walked over to her bed side with heavy steps. He was feeling so much better now, the grogginess and drowsiness were both gone just lingering fatigue. He stared at her wan face, pallid complexion, brows drawn to her hairline, it appeared like if she was suffering from a nightmare.
He paused. What was he supposed to do during such situations…? Why didn't textbooks teach what to do for such scenarios?
Then he recalled the cliché chick flicks that his mother always forced him to watch with her. He hesitated for at least 5 minutes, standing there like a solid block of ice cube.
Images of her performing CPR on him, her panicking over him like their resident mother hen Oishi, her carrying and supporting him all the way despite her fatigue and exhaustion, her not giving up on him – supporting him throughout the whole journey unveiled within his mind like snippets of movie scenes.
(He looked at her. The girl who put his safety before hers-)
The girl who he barely even knew, barely even held a decent conversation with. Naturally, he was touched – as touched as Tezuka Kunimitsu could ever be, which revolves around him being internally moved but still maintaining that characteristic poker face.
He sat down on one of the chairs, carefully wrapped in blankets, then did he reach out for her hands intertwining his fingers within his. He drew close to her.
When night fell, all the concerned regulars swarmed into the room only to witness the heart-warming sight of the asleep Tezuka who had a serene expression, fingers still interlocked with the blond.
At that, a huge ruckus was instantaneously created. The statue Tezuka interlaced fingers with a girl?! Momoshiro and Eiji goggled – eyes bulging out of their sockets, Oishi stared wide-eyed, Fuji's eyes gave that glint again, Inui noted down data at record speed, Echizen's eyes widened a fraction, Kaidoh 'fshuu' got cut off half way from shock, Kawamura looked taken aback.
The other guys whistled, some catcalled and majority just gawked. On the contrary, the girls were a lot less nosy, most of them just seemed relatively surprised. Afraid that the pandemonium would awaken the pair, the girls – mainly Yuina, Hanabi and Sayuri- chased all of them out.
Yuina, her hands still on the door knob absorbed in the scene again. Tezuka looking surprisingly tranquil and idyllic with Ayase now mirroring his serene expression.
She smiled and closed the door.
Author's Note: DO LEAVE A REVIEWWWW PRETTY PLEASE :(. On that note, my school is reopening soon sighpie, bye bye holidays. I will still try to update though but more reviews = faster updating speed!
DISCLAIMER: Do i even have to do this... I do not own PoT just my OC(s).