All of the regulars gathered around at the lounge of the inn . Kaidoh-senpai was pacing up and down , crossing his arms . Fuji , was standing beside Tezuka and Inui , looking worried . The others were sitting down on the sofa . They stayed there and waited . Just then , the door to one of the rooms opened and Oishi walked out from it .
"Oishi-senpai ! How's Echizen ?!" Kaidoh ran over to him . Oishi stood there and shook his head .
"He's still unconscious and he has a high fever." Oishi said with a worried look on his face .
"We have to get help ! We need to get him to a hospital !"
"That's ..."
The front door swung opened and Ryuzaki-sensei struggled to get inside . Apparently , there was a huge thunder storm outside . The storm started out a while ago just as Ryuzaki-sensei went to get some help . She closed the door shut and took off her raincoat .
"Its not use . I can't get help . The storm is just too strong and I just saw the news . The road out has been blocked by a landslide . We're stuck here ." she said .
"No way .. Does that mean we can't get Echizen to a hospital ?" Fuji asked .
"I'm afraid not ."
"Damn it !" Kaidoh clenched his fist and punched it against the wall .
"Kaidoh .. Damn.." Oishi said in a low tone .
"How's he doing Oishi ? How long has he been unconscious ?" Ryuzaki-sensei asked .
"He's not doing so good .. He's been like this for the past two hours .."
"Just what happened ? His mother came and talked with him for quite sometime . But after she left , he fainted ."
The room went silent . Then , Inui spoke .
"If i'm not wrong , perhaps she told Echizen something which shocked him to the point of fainting . Everybody has a point where they can't take in too much stress and heartbreak . Maybe she told Echizen something which pushed him to the point of where he couldn't take it any longer . And thus , he fainted ." Inui pushed his specs up .
"I see .."
"I can't help but agree with Inui .." Oishi said .
"If only Chiyo were here .." Kaidoh looked down at the floor . "Oishi-senpai .. does she know ?"
"She knows . I called her just before the reception got cut off by the lightning . She was-"
BANG BANG BANG ! Just then , someone was banging loudly against the front door . Everyone turned to look at the door .
"Just who is out there in this storm ?" Oishi walked over and opened the door . Just as he opened the door , someone wearing a raincoat ran in suddenly and bumped into Oishi .
"WHOA ?!" The both of them fell . Oishi landed on his butt and the mysterious person was leaning against Oishi's chest .
"Are you okay ?" Oishi asked .
"Ouch ...I'm sorry .." The Mysterious person said .
"Its fine- wait that voice !" He went over and flipped the raincoat's hood off the person's head . "CHIYO ?!" He shouted .
"CHIYO ?!" Kaidoh-senpai shouted as well . He ran over and helped her up . Oishi stood up as well .
"How- How in the world did you get here ?! The storm out there is crazy !" Oishi shouted .
"Well I-"
Then , a huge thunder struck and the flashes of the lighting lit the room .
"KYA !" Chiyo shouted and she covered her ears . Everyone looked at her with their eyes wide open .
"Chiyo .. you're scared of thunder and lightning ?" Kaidoh asked . She nodded .
"How .. If you're that scared of thunder and lightning , how did you managed to get all the way over here in this crazy thunderstorm ?!"
"I..I just kept thinking about Ryoma .. I am scared but .. the thought of what happened to Ryoma scares me more . I wanted to see him . I want to see him . So I made my way here . But during the journey , I heard that a landslide blocked the way . So I got off the bus and walked through the forest , following the path of the road . And then I saw the sign that leads here . So I followed it and I manged to find my way here .." Chiyo said as her eyes got watery .
"That's reckless . What happened if you got hurt ? Or worse . What happened if another landslide occurs ? You might get caught up in it !" Fuji walked over to her .
"I don't know ! All I knew was that I wanted to see Ryoma ! Ryoma was the only thing that was on my mind ! I didn't thought about anything else . I was .. I was just so worried about him ..." She looked down on the floor and clenched her shorts with her fist .
"Chiyo ..."
"Oishi-senpai , Where's Ryoma ?" Chiyo ran over to Oishi and pulled his shirt .
"He's in his room . Come on , I'll bring you there . Do you guys want to see Echizen ?" Oishi turned and looked at the others . Horio and the others stood up and walked back to their rooms . Sakuno and Tomoka just ignored them . Kikumaru and Kawamura stood up and walked away . Momoshiro just sat down there and stared .
"We'll come .." Fuji said . Tezuka and inui stood behind him and nodded .
"Okay . Then lets go . Chiyo , this way ." He lead Chiyo and the others towards Ryoma's room . Kaidoh , Tezuka , Fuji , Inui and Ryuzaki-sensei followed . They headed towards Ryoma's room and once they were outside the room , Oishi opened the door . Chiyo walked in and just as she saw Ryoma , She ran to his side .
Ryoma was lying down and he was panting heavily . Sweat was forming on his forehead .
"Ryoma ! Ryoma ! Can you hear me ?" She said but there was no reply . Ryoma just laid there , panting . She placed her hands on his forehead to feel his temperature . "He's burning up !"
"Is there no way we can get him to a hospital ?" Fuji asked .
"The road's blocked . And the reception here got cut when the lightning struck . We can't get help ." Ryuzaki-sensei said .
"That just means .. we're stuck here with no help ?" Tezuka asked .
"No way . What's going to happen to Echizen ? He's not getting any better !" Oishi started to panic .
"Well standing around and worrying about it is not going to help Ryoma get any better !" Chiyo shouted . She stood up all of a sudden and ran out of the room . A few seconds later , she ran back in and dropped a bag on the floor . Then , she took out a bunch of stuff . Towels , A hot water bottle that serves as a pillow and most importantly , Medicine .
"Chiyo ? Where did you get all these stuff ?"
"My house . I just thought that maybe these could help so I just brought them over ."
"Chiyo you're ... Are you suggesting that you'll take care of Echizen ?" Kaidoh asked . Chiyo smiled and nodded .
"Yeah .. When I was sick , he stayed with me for the entire night . He never left my side . And so , I want to take care of Ryoma this time ."
"Not like that though .." Oishi pointed at Chiyo's clothing . It was covered in mud and its wet . "You need a shower first ! What's going to happen if you got sick too !?"
"But i'm- Ah choo !" Chiyo sneezed .
"There , you see . Now go on and have a hot bath ! I'll take care of Echizen for now . So don't worry . You do have some clothes right ?"
"Well yeah .."
"Great , now go and have a hot bath ."
"T-thank you Oishi-senpai ." Chiyo bowed and left the room but then , she popped her head back in . "Erm , Oishi-senpai , where's the bathroom ?"
"I'll show you the way ." Ryuzaki-sensei said as she walked out of the room . Back inside the room , Oishi , Kaidoh , Fuji , Tezuka and Inui stood around . Oishi was wiping the sweat off Ryoma's face and Kaidoh was standing beside Oishi .
"That girl , Chiyo , seems to really care about Echizen . She even went to the extend of coming down all over here when she heard that Echizen had fainted ." Fuji said .
"That's right . She's certainly amazing ." Inui nodded . "I've been wondering though , are the two of them going out with each other ?"
"Why do you care ?" Kaidoh hissed at them .
"Chiyo.." Oishi said . "She's a good girl . She's always been there for Echizen . No matter what happens , she never left him alone . The two of them share a strong bond between them ."
"It seems so ." Tezuka folded his arms .
Back at Chiyo ..
I looked down at my T-shirt and shorts . Man , its all soaked in mud and water . I've even dirtied the floor ! I need to clean it up later . I can't be irresponsible .
"You're name is Takanishi Chiyo , am I right ?" Ryuzaki-sensei called out to me . I turned to look at her .
"Yes ! I'm sorry for not introducing myself ! I'm Takanishi Chiyo ! Nice to meet you sensei !" I literally shouted as I bowed . Where are my manners ?! I didn't even greet my senpais ! All of a sudden , Ryuzaki-sensei started laughing .
"You don't have to be so worked up over something as small as this . You're an interesting girl ." She laughed . "Nice to meet you , Takanishi-san ." She held her hands out to me . I smiled at her and I took her hands .
"Yeah !" I nodded .
"Are you worried about Ryoma ?" She asked .
"Eh ? Well … yeah .."
Ryoma .. I wonder what happened . He's a strong person . He wouldn't have fainted due to an illness . Something must have happened .
"Don't worry so much alright ? He'll be fine . Ryoma's strong . I know he'll get better soon ." She smiled at me .
"Yeah .." But even though she says that , I still .. can't stop worrying . What happens if he .. I don't want to lose him . Ryoma ..
"But even so , you're amazing Takanishi-san . You even came all this way just to see Ryoma . And in this thunderstorm ! Its dangerous you know ."
"Well I-"
"I know .. you're worried about Ryoma ." She patted my head . "But you have to be careful too you know .. Don't do it again . You got it ?"
"Yes !"
"Oh we're here ." We stopped in front of a room . This must be the bathroom . "Have a hot shower alright ? If you got sick too , how are you going to take care of your Boyfriend ?"
"Eh ? Boyfriend ? Who ?"
"Eh ? Isn't Ryoma your Boyfriend ?"
"Huh ? W-what are you talking about ?"
"Didn't you say he stayed with you when you're sick ? You even came all the way here to see him . Aren't you guys going out with each other ?"
"E-eh ?! W-we-we-we're- ! R-Ryoma is...he's ..erm .. Ryo- .." I started getting all flustered and my voice started to stutter .The words just won't come out of my mouth . My face started to turn red . "I'm going to take a shower now . Thank you for showing me the way here !" I shouted and I ran inside the bathroom . I slammed the door shut and squatted down on the floor . What's this ? This weird feeling again . Why did I have that kind of reaction when she asked me that . 'Ryoma and I are not going out with each other' . I could have just told her that ! But yet , Why can't I say it ? My heart started beating fast and my face just got redder . Why am I like this ? Whenever it comes to Ryoma , I always have this weird heart beat and I can't seem to think at all .
"Ah ! What am I wasting time for ! I have to shower and get back to Ryoma's side !" I said to myself . I took a hot shower and put on a set of clothes that I had brought along with me . Right , lets get back to Ryoma's side ! I made my way back to the room . As I opened the door , everyone turned towards me .
"Chiyo you're back ." Oishi-senpai said . I walked over towards him and where Ryoma was .
"Yeah . How's Ryoma ?" I asked .
"He's ..still .."
I turned to look at Ryoma . His face is so pale ! This is not going to work ! I need to do something which will help him get better !
"Oishi-senpai ! Where's the kitchen ?" I asked .
"Eh ? Its down the hallway … to the left of the stairs ."
Without saying anything else , I ran out of the room and down the stairs towards the kitchen . Right ! Time to start 'operation Taking care of Ryoma' ! I pulled my sleeve up and started taking ice out of the refrigerator . I placed them all in a large bowl and soaked a towel in it . Next , I started to boil some water and I made some Congee . Well , even though he's unconscious now , he may wake up later . Its best to prepare early ! After the Congee was done cooking , I ran back up to Ryoma's room , carrying the bowl of ice water . Once I entered the room , I found Oishi-senpai and the others taking a nap . They must be tired . I went over and woke them up .
"Erm Oishi-senpai , Kaidoh-senpai , Fuji-senpai , Tezuka-senpai , Inui-senpai ." I called out to them one by one . They opened their eyes and looked at me .
"Ah Chiyo ?"
"Erm , You guys must be tired . Why don't you go back to you rooms and have some sleep ?"
"But , what about Echizen ?" Kaidoh-senpai asked me .
"I'll take care of him . You guys should have some sleep . I'm sure you all must be tired . And also , you guys had training today right ? I'm sure you're all exhausted . Why don't you go and have some sleep , leave Ryoma to me ." I smiled at them .
"But Chiyo , will you be alright ?"
"I'll be fine ! Now go on , I'll call you if anything goes wrong ."
At first they looked hesitant . But then , they stood up and left the room . Before they leave , they stopped at the door and looked at me .
"We're counting on you Chiyo ."
"Yeah ! Just leave It to me !"
Then , they left the room . Okay ! First I have to try to make his fever go down . I went over and sat down beside Ryoma . I took the soaked towel from the ice water and I wiped Ryoma's head and neck with it . After that , I took a cooling sheet from my bag and placed it on his forehead . Just as I did that , Ryoma groaned .
"Ryoma ?" I called his name . I was hoping , hoping for him to open his eyes . Just then his eyes opened slightly . "Ryoma !" I said . He never said anything . Instead , he just panted . I went over and took the fever medicine and I helped Ryoma up .
"Ryoma , open your mouth a little . You have to take some medicine or you'll never get better .."
He never said anything . Normally , he would call me names and tease me but , he's not . He really is sick . I fed him the fever medicine and he went back to sleep . I continued to wipe his sweat off and I changed the cooling pad . The cooling pad just gets warm too easily . Could it be that its not cold enough ? If only there were something colder . Wait . I know ! I ran back down to the kitchen and then I took ice out from the freezer .
"I'll just crush it !"
I started crushing the ice with a mixer and after the ice was crushed , I I poured them in a plastic bag . I went back to the room and replaced the cooling pad with the bag of ice .
"That should do it .."
"Hng..." Ryoma groaned . Is Ryoma getting worse ?!
"Ryoma ? Are you okay ? Are you feeling unwell ?" I asked .
"I..m.."
"Huh ?" I couldn't hear what he was saying so I l leaned in closer .
"… I'm so tired...of it … Kaa-san... I wished...w..e could go ...back to how.. it was before... I miss ..you..Kaa-san … I miss you and oyaji... I miss you all... so much ..."
Ryoma … I know the feeling of when your parents are no longer with you . I know how it feels . I know how painful it is . I always thought that Ryoma was strong and I thought that he could withstand everything . But , I guess I was wrong . He is just like me . Ryoma .. I took his hands and held it with both of my hands .
"It's okay Ryoma .. It's okay .. Pain , pain , go away … Don't be sad , Don't cry . I'll stay by your side so , It'll be alright ..Ryoma .."
I kissed his hands and held his hands tightly in mine . When I was a child , I often get nightmares and my mother used to do that to me and it always helped . I just hoped it'll help Ryoma . Soon after , he stopped moaning and he went back to sleep . I smiled and I changed the packet of ice again .
"Ryoma … Just get well soon kay ? I'll make you breakfast , lunch or dinner when you get well . So , hurry up and get well soon ..." My eyes started to get heavy and before I knew it , I fell asleep .
The next morning …
Oishi and Kaidoh were heading towards Ryoma's room .
"I wonder how Echizen's doing .." Kaidoh asked Oishi .
"We'll know soon enough .." Oishi replied .
Just as they were about to reach Ryoma's room , the bumped into Fuji in the hallway .
"Are you guys going to see Echizen ?" Fuji asked .
"Fuji .."
"Well , i'm going to see him as well ..Shall we go together ?"
"Wait a second Fuji , Oishi , Kaidoh ." Ryuzaki-sensei called out to them . The three of them turned around and saw everyone there . Tezuka , Inui , Momoshiro , Kikumaru , Kawamura , Horio and the others .
"Tezuka and I figured that we'll all go and see Ryoma . So lets go together ."
"Sensei .."
"Come on , lets go ."
They said nothing and so , all of them made their way towards Ryoma's room . Oishi opened the door and stepped inside followed by the others . They stopped at where they were and looked at the sight that was in front of them .
"Oh my ..."
"Well what do you know … They look cute together .." Fuji smiled .
Chiyo was sleeping by Ryoma's side with her hand holding on to Ryoma's hand . Oishi's sweat dropped and Kaidoh's face was flushed red .
"Maybe we should come back later ?" Oishi suggested but just then , Ryoma groaned .
"Echizen !" They shouted . Then , Ryoma opened his eyes . He looked at the ceiling and wondered what happened . Then , he felt someone at his bedside . He turned to look and to his surprise , he saw Chiyo . She was holding his hands and she was sleeping soundly . Ryoma used his other hand to feel the bag that was on his forehead . He took it off and placed it at the bed side . He sat up and looked at his senpais .
"What happened to me ?" Ryoma asked .
"You mean , you don't remember ?" Fuji asked . Ryoma shook his head .
"Echizen , you fainted ! And you were having a really bad fever last night !"
"I was ? I don't remember .. All I remembered was ..." Then , Ryoma looked down at Chiyo . He touched her faced with his fingers . "All I remembered was her calling my name .."
Just then , Chiyo groaned as Ryoma touched her face . She opened her eyes and saw Ryoma sitting up . She jumped up .
"Ryoma ?! You're awake ! Thank god ! Are you feeling okay ?! Do you feel sick ? Let's get you to a doc-"
And then , Ryoma did something which shocked everyone in the room . He pulled Chiyo towards him and hugged her close to him . He locked his arms around her and squeezed her close to his chest . Chiyo's face grew bright red and her heart started beating fast . She felt herself melting into Ryoma's arms . It felt like time had stopped for a moment and no one was moving . It was only the two of them . Ryoma closed his eyes and whispered to her ears .
" ..Chiyo .. Thank you .."
Ba-thump ! Her heart skipped a beat .Ryoma had never called her by her name before. Now , all she could think of was Ryoma . Nothing else crossed her mind . Ryoma was all she could think about . Ryoma released her and she sat there with her face flushed red from head to toe . Ryoma gave her gentle smile which made her face grow even redder .
"Wha-what was that !" She shouted in embarrassment .
"What do mean what ? I just hugged you that's all ."
"A-ah ? You must still be having a fever ! Y-you're not thinking straight at all ! Why would you hug me in the first place !" Chiyo touched his forehead . Their eyes met and Chiyo got even more flustered . "You're still having a fever ! I'm going to get you some food and medicine so just stay here alright ?!"
"Like i'm going to go anywhere ?"
"Ah ! I'll just go and-"
"Oi , weirdo . Don't get lost ."
"A-a-ahh~ Ryoma you idiot !" Chiyo shouted and she ran out of the room . Ryoma sat down there and smiled to himself .
"You're the idiot .." He said softly . Then he looked at his senpais . They were staring at him . "What ?"
Oishi and Kaidoh was just too shock to even say something . Inui dropped his pen and tezuka just stood there as usual . Momoshiro faked him a smile . Kikumaru and kawamura were deep in thought . Horio , Katsuo , Katchiro and Tomoka scoffed at him . Sakuno stood there and stared . Fuji then walked up to Ryoma and sat down beside him .
"How do you feel Ryoma ?" he asked .
"I'll feel better if you'll leave me alone ."
"So that you can be alone with Chiyo ?"
Ryoma twitched .
"So i'm right ?"
"You know what Fuji-senpai ? If I weren't in this state , I'd punch you in the stomach ."
"Okay Okay , I'm sorry . We'll leave . We have practice too . We'll come back to see you after lunch ."
"You don't have to anyways ."
"I'll come back anyways ." Fuji gave him a smile which made Ryoma flinch . Then , they left the room and Ryoma was alone again . He laid back down on his bed and closed his eyes . Not long after , the door opened and Chiyo walked in with a bowl of congee .
"Ryoma ! Here ! Eat this ! You'll feel much better once you take some food . After that , you have to take your medicine as well ."
"Thanks .." He took the bowl of Congee and took a spoonful of it . "It's good .."
"You're just hungry .."
After Ryoma had eaten the bowl of congee , he took his medicine .
"There , why don't you have some sleep ?"
"I'm not sleepy .."
"But you need some rest ..I'll go wash this okay ?"
Just then , Ryoma grabbed hold of her hands . She turned around to look at him .
"Ryoma ?" Chiyo said .
"Before you go … I have something I need to tell you .."
"Okay ..What is it ?"
"Its going to take a while so .. why don't you sit down .."
Chiyo stood there and looked at Ryoma . It seemed serious , so she sat down beside his bed and listened to him .
"You know about my parents , My ex Girlfriend and my best friend right ?"
"You mean Like how your parents are divorced and you ex cheated on you with your Best friend ?"
Ryoma nodded .
"What's wrong ?" Chiyo asked with a worried look on her face .
Ryoma took a deep breath .
"I'm going to tell you everything that happened these past few years … so listen carefully.."
Okay Guys ! SO SO SO SORRY FOR NOT UPDATING FOR ABOUT A MONTH! I was just so busy and I was on vacation ! I was also worrying about my results and so . But I passed my exams ! Yays ! Okay whatever :D This is an extremely long chapter ! Took me a whole day to write it ! So basically , Chiyo went all the way out to come and see Ryoma ! Aww ! She took care of him the whole night and not forgetting to mention , Ryoma hugged her ! In front of everyone ! . Okay … so .. Ryoma is about to tell Chiyo what really happened in the past two years . What's going to happen ? Read to find out ! Many many thanks for all the support ! I really love you guys ! I hoped you enjoyed this chapter ! Heart you guys ! 3
Disclaimer : I do not own POT :D