Disclaimer: If I owned PoT, Fuji would be mine. And Tezuka. And Yukimura. And Sengoku. And Marui. And Atobe. But he's not.

A/N: I updated fast because of the amount of reviews I received in such a short time. Thanks to all my reviewers! I intend to ride out this writing wave for as long as possible before I go to college. Expect another chapter or maybe two before summer ends.

Reina's past is revealed a bit, as well as Suzume's relationship with Chiharu.

This chapter is dedicated to all the new readers that decided to review the last one. I admire your courage for starting a 140,000+ word count fanfiction.

That doesn't mean I don't appreciate the constant reviewers. Some of you guys have stuck with me for over two years. Thank you so much.

To Catch A Falling Star—Chapter Nineteen: Frostbitten Terror

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Skiing?"

That was the reaction that Suzume got after pitching the idea to them the next morning at breakfast.

"Or snowboarding. Whichever." She shrugged. "Appropriate, isn't it, considering that we pretty much own the mountains over there?" She gestured towards the mountains behind her, which were adorned with ski slopes and ski lifts. The weather was clear and the sun was high. It was a perfect day for sports.

Fuji chuckled. "Sounds interesting."

"Skiing, skiing!" Kikumaru said excitedly, his mouth half full with bread. "I want to go!"

"Skiing, skiing!" Kimiko said in the exact same way as Kikumaru did. The two exchanged a grin, teeth glinting in the sunlight.

And so it was decided. There was just the slight task of waking up the Momoshiro twins and Echizen, who all seemed determined to sleep till noon. If fact, Momoshiro had been snoring so loudly that he served as a wakeup call for half of the others.

"Izumi-senpai isn't here either…" Kimiko noted, frowning. "Is she still sleeping?"

Kaidoh let out a scornful laugh. "Morioka-senpai was up at 6:00 am sharp."

"Yeah… about that…" Akane said with a disapproving shake of her head. "One of these days I'm going to slip her a sleeping pill. She needs more rest. After all, she's going to stress herself out the minute we go back to school."

"Yeah, that's because Tezuka…" Kikumaru grumbled. "…won't let go of the #1 seat in academics."

Tezuka lifted his eyes briefly when his name was mentioned. Seeing that it wasn't anything important, he went back to his place in the book and continued reading. He'd been up for a while, having finished breakfast hours before the rest of them.

Reina was finishing up a sketch of Ryoma and writing more notes in the margin.

"This is wrong." Inui said, pointing to one of her notes.

"Eh?"

"Echizen lowering his racket here isn't a habit; he has to do it because there's a lot of pressure on the racket at this point. Furthermore…" He frowned at something else. "His back-stepping isn't a fake habit. He does it unconsciously. That's an actual habit."

Reina began crossing out things. "But it's so obvious…"

"It's obvious to you because you notice things normal people don't. But people aren't all that complicated," Inui said. "Your 'artist's eye' is a double edged sword. Don't overanalyze."

She sighed and closed her book. She would come back to it later.

"You guys should put on some more clothes. It gets pretty chilly up here with the winds." Suzume said as she pulled a black sweater over her head. It was ripped at random intervals in the cloth, showing the electric blue shirt she had underneath. She also had black and yellow striped legwarmers and denim leggings. If the outfit was on someone else, it might've looked like they'd stepped right out of the circus, but instead Suzume looked like she stepped off the cover of some magazine.

"Sakuno-chan, could you go wake up Sayaka-chan?" Chiharu asked kindly. Sakuno rose to leave.

"You may awaken the remaining two concomitantly, if pertinent." Reina told her.

"Get the other two while you're at it," Akane translated before Sakuno asked. She turned to the black haired girl. "It's too early for vocab, Reina."

"It is never too proleptical for lexica," she replied defiantly.

Half of them groaned.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Ryoma-kun, Momo-senpai, please wake up!" Sakuno rapped her knuckles on the door. There was no response. She pushed the door open a tiny crack, peeking inside cautiously in case one of them was in an indecent state. She blushed at the thought.

However, both of them were sound asleep under the covers, breathing loudly. She knocked louder on the door. "Please wake up!"

Momoshiro murmured something and stirred, but seemed to fall back into slumber.

She banged her fist on the door. Still no reaction.

Sakuno, despite being one of the most patient people on the planet, had a limit. Finally she flung open the door and walked in. "RYOMA-KUN! MOMO-SENPAI!"

Even Sayaka got up when she used that voice. But Momoshiro let out a groan and ducked further under the covers. She decided to concentrate on the freshman, who at least left his ears open to harassment. Sakuno opened her mouth to yell, but paused when she caught sight of his face. His mouth was slightly open, a strand of hair flying upwards with every breath. Long lashes framed his closed eyes. The rise and fall of the covers indicated his easy breathing. He must be having a good dream, she thought. The image of sleeping Ryoma was heartwarming. Sakuno smiled and was once again reminded of how cute he was. Wait, she didn't have time for this. She took in a giant breath.

"RYOMA-KUN!"

He mumbled something that sounded vaguely like "Karupin?"

She giggled a little. "WAKE UP, PLEASE!"

"Hmm?" He seemed to have regained some sort of consciousness. "Five more minutes…"

"NO, everyone's waiting!"

"Five more minutes…" He waved his arm around as if swatting a pestering fly whose life's purpose appeared to be buzzing next to his ear.

"NO, you're getting up NOW." She felt like a mother. Or a wife. (Blush)

His hand came in contact with her face on one particularly vigorous wave. "Eek!"

Ryoma opened his eyes a little. "Haaa?" With slit-shaped eyes he barely managed to make out the shape of a person… with auburn hair… Suddenly he bolted up. "Ryuzaki?"

"R-ryoma-kun…" Somehow it'd been a lot easier to yell at a half awake Ryoma. "Ano… everyone's waiting… So please hurry!" She bowed and left quickly.

Ryuzaki was here while he was sleeping? Ryoma felt extremely self-conscious. He didn't even know what he looked like when he was a sleep. He prayed he didn't look like the idiot that was sleeping on the other bed. There was a long trail of drool coming from his senpai's mouth and he was still snoring loudly. What if he, Ryoma, had a horrible sleeping image? What did she think of him if th—.

He caught himself mid-thought. Why did he care? "Che."

He tossed his pillow at Momoshiro and proceeded to get dressed.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Eat faster, you idiot!" Sayaka was yelling at her brother, who had moved on to his third serving. "You're making all of us wait!" She ignored the fact that Ryoma was also in the midst of shoveling his Japanese style breakfast into his mouth.

"I'm trying, alright? And Mamushi, can you keep your kitten away from the table?" Miko had hopped onto the table, stolen one of Momoshiro's meatballs, and was batting it back and forth between her little paws.

"Ora…" Kaidoh made a clicking noise with his tongue. Miko glanced at him, then back at the meatball. Finally, with an air of reluctance, she leapt into his lap.

Oishi smiled. "You two have bonded awfully quickly, huh…"

"Ah…" Kaidoh decided not to mention that he stayed up half the night playing with her. Cats were nocturnal animals. Who said vipers couldn't be?

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Here we are…" Suzume said in a bored tone, although her eyes were bright. It was clear that she was quite excited. They were standing in a giant ski equipment room that looked like it could hold 1000 people, no problem. However it was quite empty right now, due to the fact that the resort had not officially opened yet. Rows of colorful skis were hanging from the walls. "Snowboarders, over here, skiers over there."

Only Ryoma and Sayaka followed her. "Whoa…" Sayaka said with a slight frown. "We're the unpopular group, aren't we? What's wrong with snowboarding?"

"Skiing is easier, I think!" Kikumaru said, grinning.

"Hmm… so that's it…" Sayaka said with a smirk. "Is snowboarding too hardcore for you, bro?"

He bristled. "Hey! I just want to ski for once!"

"Really?" she continued to provoke him. "Are you scared?"

"Who're you calling scared?" Momoshiro said angrily. "Screw it, I'm snowboarding!"

Kaidoh made a scornful noise. "Pitiful…"

Staff at the counters handed out skis according to relative sizes. The crowd began strapping on their shoes and clipping equipment to their feet one by one.

"I'm sorry…" One of the workers was bowing to Kimiko, who looked irritated. "Please wait a moment. We'll need to fetch your skis especially from the storage room."

"What's wrong, Marui?" Kaidoh asked.

"They said that they didn't bring the children's skis out yet, so they don't have my size…" she told him huffily.

He couldn't help but laugh.

The snow crunched beneath their boots as they brought the skis out to the open slope. Chiharu tripped over her own skis at one point but Kawamura and Fuji both lent her a hand. "Thanks…" she murmured gratefully. And then her eyes met Tezuka's.

She looked away.

Kikumaru was still struggling with his own skis. "I hate putting these on! It's so hard!" Inui bent down and adjusted one of his boot straps, allowing his foot to slide in easily. "Whoa! That feels much better!"

Suzume passed out walkie-talkies. "The patrol groups aren't on duty yet because the resort hasn't officially opened. We'll need these to communicate, just in case. Do NOT play with them." Here she sent a glare in Momoshiro's direction. He shivered.

"Mountain weather is unpredictable, so if there's a storm coming it's usually a 40 minute warning. That's why you guys need to keep your lines open." Suzume looked around. "I think that's all for the pep talk… anything I miss?"

"Wait." Oishi said, and everybody turned towards him. "All of us know how to ski, right?"

There was a general murmur of "yeah…"

"Ano…" Sakuno said timidly.

Everyone looked at her in surprise.

"Ryuzaki… you can't ski?" Momoshiro asked. His grin widened when she shook her head dumbly. "That's perfect! Well then, Echizen, you'll have to keep her company!" He shoved the younger boy over to her side.

Ryoma shot him an annoyed look. "Why does it have to be me?"

Momoshiro exchanged a grin with several others.

"Just BECAUSE." they said in unison.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Most of them jetted off the ski slope immediately. Since there were no difficulty differences between the paths, they were pretty much on the same mountain slope. It was soon made apparent who the better skiers of the group were.

Meanwhile, two people were still left at the top of the mountain.

"R-ryoma-kun!" Sakuno squeaked, traveling at about two centimeters per second. "How do I brake?"

He sighed. "Point your toes inwards. Make V with your skis." He could already hear laughter coming from below them, further down the mountain.

She slid to a stop, wobbling a little.

"Let's just go, Ryuzaki. It'll be fine." Although he appeared indifferent, he was quite eager to join the rest of them. He strapped on his snowboard and started down the ski course.

Sakuno gained a little momentum, but she braked nearly every five seconds, leaving a path of uneven snow behind her. Ryoma waited until she'd passed him and then zig-zagged behind her. "You can speed up by making your skis parallel!" he called out.

"Eh?" She did what he asked, her skis becoming two parallel lines. Suddenly she shot forward like a bullet. "Whaaaa!"

"Brake, Ryuzaki!" Ryoma called, sighing inwardly. "Slow down!" However they went on for a while and she still didn't slow down. Ryoma sped up at little in order to catch up. For kicks, he reached one of the jumps and sped off into the air, doing a 360 before landing perfectly next to her.

"Ryo-ryoma-kun is amazing…" was all she said. Her tone was sad. "I'm keeping Ryoma-kun from having fun…"

"Betsuni…" he replied. "Bend your knees more. You'll have more control…" He wasn't even looking at her.

Suddenly she felt like he was coaching her in tennis. Like that time he was coaching her and Tomo-chan. She really didn't like his coaching then. It made her feel guilty and… inferior. Like she wasn't good enough for him to devote proper attention. Maybe that was true, but she really didn't want to be with someone that made her feel that way right now. She had a lot on her mind. "Ryoma-kun, just go ahead!"

"It doesn't matter…" he replied. He was ahead of her now. "Hold your poles closer to your body…"

"Ryoma-kun! You obviously don't want to help and I think I can handle it! Just go on!"

He glanced behind in surprise at the anger in her voice. "Ryuzaki…"

She looked like she was going to whack him with her poles if he didn't leave her alone. One more glance behind his shoulder, and he sped up to join the others, rounding the next corner.

"Mou… I got mad on my own again…" Sakuno said to herself. She made a mental note to apologize later. Still, what Tezuka had said to her this morning had a lasting effect on her. He, in perfect Tezuka fashion, reminded her that prefectural tournaments would be beginning soon.

And in perfect Tezuka fashion, reminded her that she still wasn't good enough.

Tezuka fashion = "You're still not good enough."

Direct and blunt. She felt herself tear up a little at those harsh words. Yet she knew they were true, which is why today she was extra clumsy. She was wearing the wrist weights and ankle weights under all her gear.

Right now, couldn't handle Ryoma to remind in her perfect Ryoma fashion, how she still was "mada mada dane."

Her skis hit a bump and she screamed slightly in fear, but they regained their course easily, cutting through the snow like hot knives. Her heart was still thumping against her chest, and she tried to calm herself. She wondered how far ahead the others were. As the thought crossed her mind, the image of her running after the regulars also appeared before her eyes. Always lagging behind, always falling back… always watching their figures get smaller and smaller in the distance.

Sakuno suddenly felt very, very alone.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Hey, Take-nii!" Sayaka hollered to her brother. "Can you do this?" She sped onto a ramp, then did a corkscrew twirl while holding on to one end of her snowboard.

"As expected of Sayaka-chan!" Kikumaru exclaimed. "Acrobatics!" He himself went onto a ski ramp and somersaulted with his skis up in the air.

"Eiji-senpai is better!" Sayaka said.

"Of course I am!" he said, laughing. He poked her with one of his poles.

"Hey!" Realizing that she didn't have anything to poke him with, she zig-zagged around him and jumped him, reaching for his hair. He laughed, ducking away. Suddenly, her snowboard got caught under his skis. Kikumaru stumbled and lost his balance, knocking her down like two dominoes. Instead of a pair of people gliding down the mountain smoothly, a tangled mass of arms and legs began rolling down the hill, bouncing at the occasional bump.

"Che…" Suzume herself leaped onto a ramp and performed a complicated series of twists and turns.

"Whoa…" Momoshiro said as he watched her, transfixed. He faced forward just in time to avoid a tree. "How'd you get so good at snowboarding?"

"Came every year. Practiced."

"So that's how it's done…" Fuji murmured as he went past on skis. From the ease at which he glided to and fro on the skis, it was obvious that Fuji was quite adept at skiing. "But I thought the resort was new?"

"We went to the mountains every year, I meant." Suzume clarified.

A figure in mid-jump suddenly blocked out the sun from behind them. All of them looked up. Ryoma twisted his body into almost the exact same series of turns that Suzume did, landing with only a tiny falter. The regulars just stared, awestruck. He smirked. "It was unexpectedly simple."

Suzume gave a skeptical snort, but she was smiling. "Echizen, is there anything you can't do?"

"Where's Ryuzaki?" Momoshiro suddenly asked. His eyes widened. "You didn't leave her behind, did you?"

Ryoma hesitated. "I think… she's mad at me."

"EHH?" Momoshiro exclaimed. "Why?"

"How am I supposed to know?"

Momoshiro thought back. "Did you… say anything? Anything like, "You're talking so much today."?" He pointed accusing fingers at Ryoma with his eyes.

"No!" He'd learned his lesson to never mention Ryuzaki's talking habits. But this was different. He'd honestly done nothing wrong, right? Ryoma rubbed his forehead. "Girls are weird…"

They were distracted by a cry of "BURNING!" Instead of a pole, Kawamura had a racket in his hand and was brandishing it wildly. Ryoma half expected to see a path of melted snow behind him. They swerved out of his way just in time, the conversation momentarily forgotten.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Kikumaru finally managed to shove a pole into the ground, slowing the giant snowball that he and Sayaka had become. The pole left a long, jagged mark in the snow as they gradually tumbled to a stop.

"Ow… I think I'm bruised all over from that…" Sayaka was saying as she tried to push herself up.

Kikumaru froze.

Sayaka cringed, opening her eyes. "Eh? Eiji-senpai?" She had landed on top of him and was probably crushing his lungs. Was that why he looked so flushed right now? She pushed herself off of him. "Well… I don't want to do that again…"

"Er… we…we're way behind now!" he said hastily, getting up and brushing himself off. "Let's catch up!" Although his tone was back to normal, try as he might, Kikumaru couldn't shake off the weird feeling he'd just felt.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Izumi-chan, are you all right?"

Izumi looked up at Chiharu. "Eh. Ah… I'm fine."

"You've looked a little down ever since yesterday…" Chiharu pointed out gently. "Are you sure you're okay?"

Was she sure she was okay? No, she wasn't. But what was she supposed to say? 'Chiharu-san is so sensitive…' Chiharu could probably just guess exactly what was wrong if she said two words.

"Did something happen between you and Fuji-san?"

Scratch that. She could guess without words too.

Izumi gave her an alarmed glance. "Why—why would you say that?"

"Just a feeling…" Chiharu said. "Fuji-san doesn't look like his usual self today either…"

"Really?" She looked around for him, but he had already gone ahead with Tezuka and Suzume and some of the more advanced skiers. She tried to recall what he'd looked like a breakfast. He'd pretty much looked the same, smiling face and all. She wasn't too sure. She hadn't really looked at him.

She'd been avoiding his gaze.

"How… can you tell?"

"Just a feeling…" she repeated. "Do you want to talk about it…"

"…not really."'

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

They had been casual skiing for around two hours now. Most of the people were stretched out, in pairs or on their own. The less advanced people got caught on bumps and uneven terrain and (in Momoshiro's case) tree branches. Most of the better skiers were at the front of the slope, although some decided to work on stunts and jumps on the ramps. Tezuka and some others had already taken the cable car halfway back up the slope so they could ski down once more.

The crisp winter air blowing at their cheeks, the wind through their hair as they glided smoothly gave them a sense of freedom. Some of them raced, some of them tried to outdo each other on ramps, and all of them had fun. It felt like they had all the time in the world to play.

That time was cut short.

The walkie-talkies pinned onto their waists suddenly crackled to life. "Guys, head back to the mansion immediately! I repeat, head back immediately! There's a storm coming! We have about 40 minutes!"

If one was viewing the scene from above, they would see a bunch of black dots suddenly heading towards a thin line, like ants moving towards a line of honey. That line was a rope tow. Everyone grabbed on and cursed the tow for not moving faster.

Suzume reached the top before anyone else. Although she'd been closer to the bottom than any of them, she'd inched along the rope tow like a monkey climbing a rope, skipping past most of them. She knew that the rope tow took approximately 10 minutes to get from bottom to top, and then the chair lift that followed took another 10 minutes. She clenched her walkie-talkie. There wasn't that much time.

As she got to the top, she began noting the people that gradually appeared above the snowy horizon. Chiharu… Akane… Kaidoh… Kimiko—who was sporting a swollen cheek, probably due to a fall—… It wasn't fast enough. The winds were already speeding up, tearing through her jacket. She could feel the storm coming. It was practically on their heels already.

Chiharu sensed her impatience and picked up her own walkie talkie. "We only have a few more minutes. Please respond and report your position!"

"Hoi! About 2 minutes from the top with Sayaka-chan!"

"BURNING!" I can see the mansion, GREAT!"

"There is 99% chance that I will arrive in the next thirty seconds."

More and more people joined them at the top of the mountain outside the resort. Finally, Momoshiro and Ryoma brought up the rear, panting heavily. Suzume began counting heads. "Fifteen, sixteen, seventeen…" She stopped, her heart suddenly beating erratically. "That's not right."

There was a short pause.

"Where's… Ryuzaki?"

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Chiharu grabbed her walkie-talkie. "Sakuno-chan! Respond and report your position please!"

It was met with silence.

"Sakuno-chan!"

Suzume unhooked another electronic device from her belt. "I can track her walkie-talkie's position with this. They all have tracers in them…" She looked at the device. "What?" There were several red dots appearing across the screen, but they were all clustered around her. She counted the red dots. Seventeen. "Oh no… She's not showing up…"

"What does that mean?" Momoshiro asked.

"She turned off her walkie-talkie… or that it's broken…" Suzume paled. "She's somewhere on the mountain."

"Echizen!" Tezuka barked abruptly. "Where are you going?"

Ryoma stopped in his tracks. He had been walking back out towards the mountain slope, almost making it to the edge. "Ryuzaki… Ryuzaki is still out there…"

"It's too dangerous." Tezuka said, raising his voice above the wind. "It's better for us to wait here and hope she'll find her way ba—"

"You don't know Ryuzaki!" Ryoma shouted. "She gets lost in her own house! There's no way she can find her way on her own!"

There was a long silence.

"Please." Ryoma said.

Ryoma hardly said 'please'.

Tezuka stayed firm. "I cannot allow you to—"

Chiharu stood up, her eyes flashing. "Let's divide into groups and search for her," She didn't even wait for confirmation. "Akane, escort the freshmen and 2nd years back to the hotel." This was met with a few indignant cries, but she continued. "Fuji, Reina, Tezuka—you three take the bottom of the slope work your way up. Inui, Izumi and I will start from the top. Kawamura and Aiko, find snowmobiles and hotel staff that can operate them."

All of them stayed silent as she continued.

"Standby with those. Oishi, go back with Akane and see if you can contact a rescue team from the town and an ambulance." She shifted her ski goggles over her eyes. "Let's do this."

"Why can't I go?" Suzume interrupted.

Chiharu looked at her, her expression softening. "Suzume-chan—"

"I know you picked the most skilled skiers in the group, and honestly, I can out-ski most of you guys!" she said. "I want to help!"

"It's not that, Suzume-chan," Chiharu replied. "You're not of age. You can't take responsibility for yourself yet."

Suzume locked her jaw angrily and stepped back.

"We don't have much time." Chiharu said, turning to the rest of them. Her goggles flashed. "Let's go."

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Sakuno distinctly remembered falling.

Her skis hit a bump… and then she was going fast—too fast. She tried to jab her poles into the ground, but they stuck too well and were ripped from her hands. Her ski suit hissed against the icy runway as she tried sitting on her bottom to slow herself down. She only seemed to accelerate. One of her skis hit a rock at the side of the slope, sending her flying into the air and tumbling to the side. Her skis snapped off her feet. She grasped desperately for the rock.

And then she fell.

There was that dreadful weightless sensation in her stomach for as she plummeted down the edge. Her right leg crumbled beneath her, searing pain in her boot, before the world went dark.

'No!' She forced herself awake, unsure of how much time had passed. Sakuno had watched enough television to know that people who slept in winter storms almost never woke up again.

'Storms…'

Suzume had mentioned something about mountain storms.

Was she in a storm right now? The wind was whipping across her face, blowing dead leaves and ice into her eyes. She rubbed them with her swollen fingers, frozen red. Her body was numb, the air around her so cold that it felt like fire.

'I have to find shelter!'

Her limbs felt like granite. Each joint was screaming and aching as she tried to crawl to a safer place. She had fallen off the main slope into some sort of undergrowth pass. She looked up and saw the main ski trail on an elevated pass about five meters above her. Putting her hands on a small crack in the rock, she tried to shove herself back onto the main slope. Her leg dragged behind her as she stumbled. A scream tore out from her dry throat: "Please… please help me!"

But it was lost in the wind.

'The walkie-talkie!' she realized with sudden hope. She could call for help! She reached for her belt to find… nothing.

It had dropped somewhere.

Sakuno used her last remaining strength to move herself behind a rock. Nobody would be looking for her, she thought in despair. Not in this weather. Even if they were, it'd be unlikely she'd ever be found. Tears pricked her eyes that began to freeze once they reached her cheeks. There were so many people she never got to say goodbye to.

"Ryoma-kun…"

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The howl of the wind outside and the crackling fire was all they heard. None of them spoke.

Oishi passed out mugs of hot chocolate to the rest of them. "St-stop worrying…" he tried to break the silence. It was almost ironic that he should be the one uttering these words. "It'll be fine. I called the town rescue team and they'll send one over as soon as possible."

They sat around the giant oak table silently. Suzume stared at her reflection in the mug. "I should be out there. I should be with them."

"Suzume…" Akane said.

She set her mug down with force. "It's not fair… I know you, Oishi-senpai, Kawamura-senpai and Aiko-senpai got sent back because you aren't good enough. But I'm different. I can ski better than most of the ones already out there!"

"Hush…" Akane said, almost gently. "They'll find Sakuno."

Suzume let out a skeptical breath.

Meanwhile, the walkie-talkie that Ryoma had set on the table was still speaking.

"First 100 meters clear! No sign! Reina, what about you?"

"Nothing from my end either!"

The freshman's fingers tightened on the mug. Momoshiro noticed this. "Oi, worrying won't help. By the way…" He turned to Akane. "Since when was Oshiro-senpai so tough? She's like a different person." He thought back on the way she ordered them around at the slope.

Akane smiled a secret smile. "Of course she's tough. Chiharu's dad works for the military."

"Ah… that explains a lot…" Kimiko said, looking a bit relieved. Chiharu did look militant back there. "She scared me when she suddenly took control of everything."

"And why is Watanabe-senpai so perfect?" Momoshiro added. "She draws, she sings, she beats everyone in chess, and she can ski too?"

"Not to mention tennis…" Suzume muttered under her breath. She was still bitter about losing to Reina a few months ago.

"She's just so talented. Is she a tensai too?" Momoshiro asked. If you thought about it, Fuji played the flute, is skilled at billiards, skiing and tennis as well. Stupid tensais, he thought to himself. People should only be allowed to be good at a few things.

Akane's expression suddenly darkened. "Reina is far from perfect."

All of them looked up, surprised at her sudden change of tone. "Wh-what do you mean?" Oishi asked.

"You think that's talent?" Akane said bitterly. "It's not talent at all. It's insecurity. Reina is one of the most insecure people I know."

"Akane-buchou, what are you talking about?" Suzume said. "How is it not talent?"

Akane stared at her reflection in the cup. "Suzume, you wouldn't remember Miyuki-senpai, would you?"

Suzume shook her head. "Not at all…"

"Kimiko, you know."

Kimiko smiled. "Yeah, Miyuki-senpai! She was always in the computer room when I went to work on stuff! I remember! She was in choir too and she used to have a bunch of water colors displayed in the…" Her eyes widened in realization. "Oh… god…"

"Reina… is like a lost child," Akane explained tentatively, as if trying to find the right words. "She's always followed after sister. So much that she practically became her sister's doppelganger. She's not actually talented."

"What?"

She let out a breath. "She practiced. She practiced daily and nightly her singing and drawing skills. They took lessons from the same teachers and everything," she told them heavily. "Miyuki-senpai was a real genius."

"Eh? Like Fuji-senpai?" Momoshiro asked.

"No." Akane said. "An actual genius. Her IQ is 196. She was a walking encyclopedia."

"So is that why Reina talks with big words?" Momoshiro asked eagerly. " 'Cause her sister used to?"

"Miyuki-senpai knew what all those words meant, but she would only use one of them occasionally. I think it was a desperate attempt to surpass her sister that Reina learned all of those words." Akane concluded. She ran a hand through her ginger hair.

All of them stared into their cups and wondered. Some of them sipped at their drinks just so they could avoid answering or have something to do with their hands.

"I think…" Akane continued, hesitating. "I think that when Miyuki-senpai disappeared, it was the ultimate betrayal for Reina. To lose someone that you've looked up to… that you've followed for so many years… it hurt her so much."

' "Mama, when is onee-chan coming home?"

"Reina, your sister left for boarding school this morning. Didn't you know?"

"Oh… okay. When is she coming back?"

"I don't know."

"Onee-chan wouldn't leave me, right? She'll be back…"

Suzume couldn't help but think about Sakiko and how she felt betrayed as well. She knew exactly how Reina felt.

"Oishi-kun, do you remember how Reina was like when her sister was still around?"

"Ah…-ah…" he replied. "She was so bubbly and open… Exactly like her sister, right?"

"Exactly."

"Then…" Ryoma finally spoke after staying silent for so long. "Maybe her sister left in order to let her become her own person."

Akane's gaze hardened. "Well, that didn't work."

"Wh-what do you mean?"

"Reina only found someone else to follow."

Momoshiro stared, confused. "Who?"

Akane fixed her eyes onto his, cerulean blue. "Who do you think?"

There was a short pause.

"Not… Inui-senpai?"

"Bingo."

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

All of them were digesting this piece of information when suddenly a cry on the walkie-talkie was heard.

"I've found her!"

Nearly all of them leaped up from their seats, their hearts pumping with renewed vigor. Oishi reached for the walkie-talkie, but Akane stopped him. "We shouldn't get in the way of their communication."

"Where? Positions?"

"300 meters out from the start of the slope, about 100 meters to the east of the main trail! She needs medical attention! Komboi, Kawamura, do you copy?"

"Roger." Two voices were said in unison.

"Dispatch snowmobiles immediately! Reina, what is the position of your group?"

"A little over a mile from the top of the slope!"

Oishi fell back into an armchair. "Thank god, thank god…"

"They've found her!" Momoshiro grabbed Ryoma. "They've found her, Echizen!"

"I heard…" But anyone could see that he was extremely relieved.

Suzume threw a look towards the windows. The sky was darkening, but there was still some light visible. "The storm hasn't hit us completely yet! They'll make it back!" Hope was soaring within her.

Little did she know that that her hope would be shattered in a few minutes.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Hang in there, Sakuno-chan…" Chiharu murmured. Her words were smothered by the wind tearing through the trees. She hoisted the smaller girl up and began carrying her out.

"Se-senpai…" Sakuno felt tears of relief and happiness leaking through her eyes. Her body was still limp and unresponsive, but she was being saved. Snow clung to her eyelashes, or perhaps they were frozen tears.

Chiharu struggled a bit with her weight. Sakuno winced. Chiharu immediately set her down in concern. "Are you hurt?"

"My… my ankle…"

When Chiharu touched her ankle, she let out a shriek of pain.

"It's probably twisted." Inui said. "Once we get you back to the mansion, you'll be okay…" He lifted her up in his strong arms. "C'mon, let's get going." They walked back towards the main trail. The vroom vroom sound of an engine cut through the winter air, alerting them of the arrival of help. Two snowmobiles, operated by hotel staff, were waiting.

Inui hoisted the injured girl onto the back of a snowmobile. "Oshiro-san?" He motioned for her to get on the other snowmobile. There was only room for two people to go back at one time.

Chiharu wasn't looking at him. She was staring at something else. "Go back first. It's only about a 5 minute ride on snowmobile, and we can't all fit. Come and pick us up after you've been dropped off."

Inui nodded, knowing there was no time to lose, and hopped on to the snowmobile. They disappeared into the darkness.

"Izumi-chan, are those her skis?" Chiharu said, pointing to a dark rectangular shape in the middle of the snow.

"I think so…" She squinted at it. It was hard to see in the flurry of snow that was coming down upon them.

Chiharu detached her own and went to retrieve Sakuno's skis. The skis had landed in a strange place, she noted. All around there were no footprints or bumps in the snow, except the ones she made. The ground was surprisingly smooth. Her fingers stretched out to take them.

She never reached them.

The ground dropped away beneath her with a sickening crack.

She didn't even have time to scream as she fell into the pond. The liquid closed in on her from all sides, so cold it felt like burning acid on her skin. It brought an instantaneous wave of panic. The impact pulled her under. Water seeped in her goggles and boots, blinding her and pulling her further down. She kicked upwards desperately, breaking the surface of water, coughing and sputtering.

"Chiharu-san!" Izumi cried, reaching for her. She managed to slip her arms under Chiharu and wrenched upwards, but she was too heavy. Her body weight ended up dragging Izumi's upper arms into the water as well.

Chiharu's fingers squabbled on the edge of the ice, finding nothing to grab. Her ski coat managed to keep the cold out for a second or two, before the water penetrated through her clothes, trapping her in a lung-crushing fist of cold.

"Kick!" Izumi grabbed onto her jacket, almost ripping it in her frantic attempt to get Chiharu back onto shore.

Chiharu tried. Her muscles were already becoming like lead, unresponsive and heavy. Her lungs seemed to refuse to draw breath. Her soaked coat became heavier by the second, and her water-filled boots were like twin anchors.

Suddenly she went under. She fought her lung's desire for oxygen. Screams echoed inside her mind. Her numb fingers reached for the faint light above desperately. With the last of her strength, she kicked her legs hard in a final attempt to propel herself upwards.

She hit the ice above her and went limp.

Izumi felt her arms become heavier all of a sudden. She saw Chiharu's immobile figure and felt a spike of pure terror. "Chiharu-san?"

Then she saw faint streaks of red in the water. Blood.

"Chiharu-san!" Izumi prayed that she'd only been knocked unconscious and knew that if that was the case, she had to keep her head above water. She yanked Chiharu's body up hard, her head managed to break the water once more.

Her arms ached with her effort. "No!" She knew she needed to call for help and that she couldn't support Chiharu's weight on her own, but she could not take her arm away to reach for her walkie-talkie. If she did, she would surely lose her balance and both would tumble to their watery graves. 'Why aren't the snowmobiles here yet?' She tried to look up for them, only to find that she could barely see in front of her at all. When did the flurry of snow become a blizzard?

More time passed. Her attempts to get Chiharu onto surface resulted in water splashing all over her. Her suit was soaked and she was shivering. The wind blowing past her made the water burn into her skin. Her frozen muscles were being strained to their limit.

For some reason, memories from training suddenly popped into her mind. Whenever her limits were being tested, she would give up. She remembered crossing the line late when running laps and being forced to drink Inui juice. To be honest, she probably could've passed it on time if she just pushed herself a little. But she never did.

She remembered being in the dance team. After the pressure of being the lead for so many performances took its toll… she couldn't push herself. She quit.

The student council as well… she couldn't quite bring herself to withstand those huge responsibilities. She left.

But this was different. This time, there was a life on the line. For once, she realized, giving up was not an option. She wouldn't quit. She wouldn't let herself quit. She could not, she yelled at herself. 'Do you not understand?' Chiharu would die. 'You can't give up this time!' She clamped onto Chiharu's body with her upper arms and vowed to never let go. She had to save her.

To her horror, she felt them both slipping down. 'No!'

Suddenly, like a guardian angel, someone else's arm shot out next to hers with lightning speed. Their combined efforts did what one could not, and Chiharu was heaved out of the water.

Panting, Izumi looked up to their savior. "T-tezuka-san?"

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Izumi stared at him. "How…? What…?"

"I was worried."

Izumi swallowed and looked at Chiharu, lying on the ground. "She… I think she hit her head…"

Tezuka nodded briskly and picked her up easily. "There's a wooden hut at the checkpoint, about 100 meters down. Let's make for that. It'll be dangerous for us to remain in the storm." He had to shout the last few words, as the wind had picked up. The trees were bending perilously.

She followed him, her legs feeling sluggish. They were walking against the wind. The ice gnawed at their flesh as the cold wind lashed their skin. They both ducked their heads lower to shield themselves. It was now pitch black and she was sure she would lose Tezuka if she fell two steps behind. Every few seconds, her hand reached in front of her to make sure he was still there.

She didn't even see the hut until they were on its doorstep. Tezuka forced the door open and they clambered inside. He then closed the door, trapping the wind outside.

With the viciousness of the wind absent, Izumi was now aware of how cold she was. She turned on the light and looked around. Although there was a fireplace, there was neither wood nor fire. The rest of the hut was bare, with a few spare skies lying in the corner. She recognized them as Reina, Fuji and Tezuka's skies. They had stopped here before.

He put the walkie-talkie to his mouth. "This is Tezuka. We're currently trapped at the first checkpoint, about one mile away from the slope. Please send help."

Only a burst of static was heard in reply.

Best case scenario: the message had gone through. But he had to prepare for the worst.

They were on their own.

Tezuka began unzipping Chiharu's coat, which was soggy to the point that it felt almost as heavy as she was. When he got down to her sweater, so wet that it was clinging to her, Izumi said, "What are you doing?"

Not that she thought he was doing anything indecent, (since it was Tezuka), but still.

"You both could get hypothermia or pneumonia if you stay wet and cold," Tezuka said. He turned to look at her. "You should get rid of your wet clothes. You of all people cannot risk getting a fever."

Chiharu's undergarments were dry, which was a relief, since he really did not want to go further than that. He searched his mind for any other methods to prevent and treat hypothermia. Most of what he remembered required hot towels or blankets, and he had none. Chiharu's skin was cold against his. If she remained cold, the consequences could be fatal. He urged himself to remain calm, and think.

Body heat.

He ripped off his own jacket and shook the snow off so that it wouldn't melt. He used his sweater as a temporary bandage which he pressed to the wound on her head. And then he laid down next her, holding her close, before draping the jacket over the two of them. He hoped his body heat would be enough.

A few moments later he felt Izumi pressing her body against Chiharu's back, the three of them lying there together. He averted his eyes respectfully.

This was beyond embarrassment and scandal. This was a fight for survival.

"Is she…" Izumi asked, looking at the wound on her head. "…going to be okay?"

Tezuka pressed his sweater against her head a bit harder. "It's not serious. She probably passed out on impact." It would be more accurate if he said he hoped she passed out on impact, because if she lost consciousness due to something else, she was in a lot more danger.

"Then, when is she going to wake up?" Izumi asked, hopeful.

"She…" He decided to be honest. "She should've woken up by now."

"What?"

It was true. With the exposure to water and since some time has passed, if she had lost consciousness due to the impact on her skull, she should be awake by now. The impact itself shouldn't have been heavy; after all, water had its own resistance.

But she hadn't woken up. And they were both starting to fear the worst.

"Wake up, Chiharu-san…" Izumi started shaking her. Tears were forming in her eyes. "Chiharu-san…"

"Morioka…"

"Wake up!" she begged. Tears were rolling down her cheeks, unchecked. "Please wake up!" She took in wet, shaky breaths. Chiharu was such a good person. She'd always noticed when someone else felt down or sad, she'd always tried to comfort them… why was she being punished like this? Why was life so cruel?

'It should be me lying there…' Izumi thought, bitter and sad. 'It should be anyone else… anyone deserves it more than her…'

Tezuka reached out and laid a hand on her shoulder. "Morioka, calm down."

"Why won't she wake up, Tezuka-san?" she all but sobbed. "Why won't she?"

"You have to calm down. It's not your fault."

"How can you say that?" She stopped talking in order to draw in a few more breaths. "If I were only stronger… If I'd gotten her out of the water faster…"

"Don't blame yourself. It won't help her." he said sharply.

"She's done so much for me… she's always known how to make me feel better… and I can't even keep her alive…"

"Morioka!" His voice was more like a command right now, and her head shot up. "You have to calm yourself. The best thing you can do for her is to remain calm."

Who was he to talk? His own heart was beating unnaturally fast.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The situation was now worse than when Sakuno was missing.

Three people were now missing, and had been missing for quite a while. The hotel staff on the snowmobiles had been unable to find their way back to where Izumi and Chiharu had been waiting, despite being able to track their walkie-talkie locations. They were lucky enough to be able to bring Sakuno and Inui back to the hotel.

Now the walkie-talkie had lost its signal.

Sakuno had been brought up to a room and was treated. She was recovering quickly.

Most of the others were gathered around the table, but no words were spoken.

Momoshiro had just come out of the bathroom when he saw a figure moving towards the main door. He moved to intercept him/her. "Oi, Kimura. Where do you think you're going?"

Suzume undid the scarf from around her mouth. "All right, it was okay to stay when Ryuzaki was out there. But this is Chiharu-senpai that's gone missing! You have to let me go and find her."

"I'm sorry, but I can't do that," He shook his head. "I know you're good and you can navigate these mountains well, but its way too dang—"

"You don't understand!" she exploded. "This is beyond skill and danger! I can't abandon Chiharu-senpai like this! I just can't! If there's any chance to save her…" To his utter surprise, her eyes (eye) were moist. "Let me go."

He placed his hands on her shoulders. "Why is it so important that you go and rescue Oshiro-senpai? Why is it her and not Morioka-senpai or Tezuka-buchou?"

"I don't have time for this!" She tried to break past him, but he stood firm. She raised her fist and punched him. There wasn't any martial arts skill in the punch; it was pure fury and panic.

He took the punch but didn't let go. "There's a rescue team out looking for them, and they'll do better than you. Just tell me why. What is your relationship with Oshiro-senpai?" He looked at her one green eye, trying to decipher the emotions swimming inside. "You said once that she saved your life… what do you mean?"

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

He'd managed to coax her to the floor where they both sat down and she began her story.

"I was always a delinquent in school," she was saying. "I'd get into fights, skip class, everything… My mom yelled at me all the time, but my dad… he'd just accept me. Sometimes I would crawl into his arms and be his little girl again, and it was the most wonderful feeling in the world."

He listened intently.

She rested her head on her knee. "When he died in that car crash, it was like the world came crashing down around me. I just… couldn't go on. And Chiharu-senpai tried to reach out for me…"

—FLASHBACK—

"Kimura-chan?"

"I'm not going to tennis practice anymore!" Suzume yelled. "I hate tennis!" She grabbed her tennis bag and ran from the senpai with blue-gray hair and amber eyes.

Even at home her brothers would surround her, worrying, caring. "Suzume…"

"Leave me alone!" She slammed her bedroom door shut. She buried her head in the pillows and screamed. "You all don't understand me! Only he understood me… and now he's gone…"

"It just went on like that… for days… A never ending grief… And Chiharu-senpai tried…"

"Kimura-chan?"

Suzume lifted her head from her bed, only to see Chiharu. Her senpai from the tennis club, one of the two that she could never beat. Why was she here? "What."

"If you want to talk—"

"I DON'T WANT TO!" She clutched her pillow to her chest. Why was it so hard for them to see that? Did they think that a few words would be able to make her forget her father's death? "I don't want to talk to anybody! Just f*cking leave me alone!"

Her eyes appeared to be glowing gently, radiating patience and understanding. "Kimura-chan… I know what you're going through. My mother died of cancer. I—"

"You don't know what I'm going through, senpai! Cancer? You were with your mother when she was dying!" Tears spilled from her eyes. "But I… He left and… I didn't even get to tell him I loved him…" She sobbed into her pillow. "I didn't even get to tell him… that I was sorry…"

Chiharu reached out for her, but Suzume shrugged her hand away.

She heaved a breath through her sobs. "I didn't even get to say goodbye…"

"And then it just got worse. To the point where I didn't want to go on living…"

There was no one at home. Her brothers were out. She kneeled onto the ground, the barrel of the gun placed on her temple. It felt cool against her skin. "It's not that I want to join you, Dad… I just… don't want to live in a world where you aren't around…"

She knelt and cried. She cried. She cried because she actually was scared. She cried because living was so painful. She cried because the world was being so unfair for taking him so soon and because she really didn't know what to do.

"I don't know what to do… Why aren't you around to tell me? Why can't you guide me like you always did?"

The phone rang upstairs, and she ignored it, cocking the gun. 'The party is unable to take your call…'

The answering machine clicked on. "Kimura-chan…" She recognized Chiharu's voice.

"I thought about what you said… and you're right, our circumstances are different. You didn't get the chance to say goodbye. But you know… I had to watch… I had to watch my mother die."

Another sob tore through her throat.

"I… I know that it's hard, Kimura-chan. But your father loved you, and he would've wished your happiness. If you loved your father, Kimura-chan… you should try and move on." Her voice cracked in the middle of the message.

"Kimura-chan, Akane is asking when you're coming back to practice. We all miss you. Call me back, okay?"

When her brothers came home and found her, she was crying on the ground, holding the gun in her arms. The answering machine was still blinking.

—END FLASHBACK—

"She… she really did save you…" Momoshiro said.

"Yeah…" Suzume said quietly. "It was more than just ruining my suicide attempt. I found her the next morning and I just broke down in her arms… and it almost felt like I was with my father again, being the little girl in his lap… She just managed to quell my bad emotions and make them go away… and after that I just… changed. I don't know how, but… something about her... just made me feel at peace."

"She's… amazing…" Momoshiro said. "Chiharu-senpai, that is…" This explained everything. Why she let Chiharu get rid of her cigarettes but no one else. Why she only listened to Chiharu's reprimands when she was deaf to Akane's, Tezuka's and everyone else's. Why she always protected Chiharu, always defended her against everything, be it fangirls or perverts.

"I don't know how I'm ever going to repay her. I could save her a thousand times and it wouldn't be enough."

"Well…" Momoshiro let out a small grin. "You can start by not getting yourself killed out in the cold."

She laughed a little too. "Yeah… thanks for making me see that. I'm sorry for earlier," She indicated his cheek, which was beginning to swell from her punch.

He patted it. "I'm practically used to it now."

Suddenly the door opened and a gust of cold wind blew inside. They both stood and gasped as the rescue team came in, supporting three weary and dirty, but alive, people. One of them set Chiharu down, where she stood weakly, her eyes half open. "Suzume-chan…?"

Suzume dived into her arms.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"You have no idea how worried we were, Tezuka…" Oishi said.

Tezuka had a close guess. Kikumaru had almost broken his ribs when he hugged him out of relief.

"We were lucky they found us…" Tezuka confirmed. The hut was a bit far from the main slope and hard to see in the weather. However they had turned on the light inside, which shone like a beacon in the darkness.

"You should rest, Tezuka…" Oishi said. "You've been through a lot already."

"Ah." he agreed. He would just make a stop to check on Chiharu first.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Chiharu." He'd opened the door and entered, seating himself next to her bed. She'd been sharing a room with Akane (Suzume had her own room), but the latter was still downstairs.

She raised her head and looked at him with her half closed eyes, obviously fighting fatigue. "Tezuka…san?"

"How are you feeling?"

"Fine… just a bit weak…" She breathed heavily between her words, laying her head back onto the pillow. She was too tired to lift it and look at him while she spoke. "Tezuka-san… I'm sorry about yesterday… and getting angry… I didn't mean—"

"You don't have to apologize." Tezuka said.

"Izumi-san told me how you saved me…" Chiharu said. Each word took effort. Her eyes were closing. "I… I really am sorry…"

"You don't have to apologize for anything." he repeated. "I should've…" He broke off his sentence, unsure of what to say. She seemed to understand his meaning because she smiled slightly. For a while there was silence. He shifted slightly in the chair.

She mistook the shifting noise as him getting up to leave. Her hand reached for him blindly, grasping desperately. "Please… stay with me for a while…"

He paused. And then he locked his fingers within hers.

"Of course."

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

End Chapter Nineteen

A/N: That's a huge arc taken care of now.I think I'll be writing about the St. Rudolph matches as soon as possible. Get ready for some epic tennis! So in the next chapter, I'll have some RyoSaku fluff as Sakuno recovers from the icy cold escapade, and maybe a little more FujixIzumi. But then I'll probably jump straight to the matches a few months later.

As previously mentioned, I riding a writing wave at the moment and will try to ride it for as long as possible.

Review and the next chapter might come out as fast as this one.