141Chapter 2
M.U.: Misunderstanding
"Sakuno-chan!" Tomoka cried upon seeing her friend by the doorway. "What happened?!"
Like wildfire, a blush instantly crept on Sakuno's face when all eyes were fixed on her. Her classmates' expressions were a mixture of surprise and worry, and even if she already expected everyone's reaction, she still can't help but feel uncomfortable at the attention she was getting. It took her quite a while to find her voice and respond to everyone's questioning gaze.
"I-I fell yesterday."
That one sentence sparked an influx of questions right after. At the next moment, Sakuno was surrounded.
"You fell again?!"
"Was your fall that bad, Ryuuzaki?"
"How long will you have to be in a wheelchair?"
That's right. Ryuuzaki Sakuno had to enter Seigaku in a wheelchair that morning. After that day's preordained fall, she was told that she had sprained her ankle. She was actually asked to use crutches until her injury had fully healed, but Sumire had requested that she use a wheelchair instead. According to her grandmother, considering her God-given clumsiness, crutches, which required some coordination, would only make things worse. And that explained why she had the entire enchilada for a sprained ankle. If only her foot hadn't been caught in the protruding water pipe when she was escaping from the school nurse, she wouldn't have to endure going around school in a wheelchair.
Well, there was something worse than that.
Her classmates were still looking at her, expectant of her reply. She turned a darker shade of red.
The attention she was receiving would without a doubt bother her to no end.
"So how exactly did you fall, Sakuno?" Tomoka asked concernedly.
But before she could begin answering her classmates' questions, the subject teacher appeared at the other classroom door. The entire class, including Sakuno, dispersed from the second doorway and headed towards their respective seats. When the History teacher entered the classroom, he quickly spotted a certain auburn-head struggling to cross the room in her wheelchair.
"Ryuuzaki," the teacher called out as soon as his student was settled in her seat.
Sakuno immediately stiffened when all eyes were on her again. "Y-Yes?"
"I heard about your accident yesterday," the history teacher started, his face serious. "The entire faculty had been informed about your tendency to attract disaster like a magnet, so I would suggest that you always have someone to accompany you wherever you go. I wouldn't want to risk your condition, or anyone else's for the matter, and make things worse. Understood?"
And here comes the worst part.
Sakuno had no other choice but to comply. "Understood," she responded softly.
She would be a burden to everybody for the rest of the week.
With her abnormally long, twin braids, it wasn't difficult to recognize Ryuuzaki Sakuno. After all, she was the only one who wore her hair like that. But counting the state she was in right now, it was even easier to spot her in the crowd.
"What happened to Ryuuzaki?" Horio asked as the said girl and her cheerleader friend entered the cafeteria. "I bet she tripped again. But this time, she might have fallen down the stairs or something," he declared, apparently pleased with himself for coming up with such conclusion. However, his eyebrows furrowed when he realized his company wasn't paying attention to him and seemed to be focusing on something else. "Hey, Echizen, were you listening to me?"
"Not at all," Was the tennis prince's nonchalant reply.
Ignoring Horio's resulting whine, Ryoma continued to watch Sakuno from a distance. The sight of the girl troubled him, for the suspicion he held onto regarding the girl's series of unfortunate events was finally confirmed. There could only be one reason why the girl lacked poise and eventually had to end up in a wheelchair.
The Spinocerebellar Degeneration Disease, he thought, averting his gaze away from Sakuno.
"Don't mind the stares, Sakuno-chan."
Sakuno had her gaze on her entwined hands on her lap the moment they entered the cafeteria. As Tomoka pushed her inside, whispers erupted. The entire time, Sakuno had kept her head down; but as the murmurs diminished, she looked up and immediately saw Ryoma in a table with the freshmen trio. Horio, Katsuo, and Kachiro were shamelessly looking at her, confusion evident in their faces. But Ryoma had his eyes set on the table, his mind seemingly elsewhere.
Sakuno didn't know whether she should be glad or disappointed that the boy was not looking her way. From what happened yesterday, Sakuno felt that Ryoma actually cared. He carried her to the infirmary, hadn't he? Even if the boy seemed to not give a damn about her at the moment, Sakuno thought that Ryoma still deserved a thank you for what he did yesterday. When the boy brought her to the school nurse, it surprised Sakuno that the great Echizen Ryoma, who could defeat opponents in a snap of the finger, had a gentle touch.
The boy touched her as if she was the most fragile thing in the world.
With that, Sakuno can't help but fall deeper.
"May I go to the restroom, sensei?"
Her P.E. teacher turned to her, "The game is still on-going. Do you think you'll be able to hold it until the end of the game?"
Sakuno blushed, and shyly shook her head. "I-I really need to go."
They had gym class that afternoon. Unfortunately, for Sakuno, she had to miss the simultaneous practical exams all thanks to her handicap. Since she was not permitted to wander around school alone, her subject teacher asked her to stay put as everyone underwent the test. Being the obedient student she was, Sakuno stayed in a corner and watched everyone play for two hours. Everything was fine until her bladder had to enter the picture.
"Will you be able to manage on your own?" her teacher asked.
"Yes," she assured and was eventually given permission right after.
Sakuno was taken aback when she saw the enormous crowd outside the gymnasium. She concluded that there was an accident of some sorts, but as soon as she heard the cheers and applause, she remembered that it was the seniors' Annual Sports Olympiad that day. Sure enough, the swimming pool, the soccer field, and the track and field were all occupied by seniors as each class competed with each other. The freshmen would have their Olympiad two weeks from now, and by then Sakuno hoped her ankle was already healed. She wanted to represent their batch in the Inter-level tournaments, which was why she had worked so hard to get into the girl's tennis club in the first place.
Thinking of the best route to the nearest restrooms, Sakuno decided to pass by the tennis courts. Just as she turned around the corner, she was greeted by the sight of senior boys running towards her direction.
"Run!" one of the boys cried.
Sakuno didn't think twice in moving away from the stampede. She quickly manoeuvred her wheelchair through nooks and turns, fearing for her life. The funny thing was the senior boys looked as if they were actually chasing her because wherever she went, they would still always be several meters behind.
It took fifteen minutes of avoiding the thousands of pounds right after her when Sakuno finally accepted that the boys were running after her. Regardless of the reason, all the girl knew was that her body was at its limit. Not to mention her bladder!
Desperate, Sakuno headed back towards the tennis courts. There, she left her wheelchair by the surprisingly empty tennis courts, hoping that it would cause a diversion of some sort. And then she attempted to walk towards the bathrooms were she intended to hide. But due to her lack of energy, she was only successful in reaching the vending machines, which was still half way from her destination.
She gave up and plopped herself on the ground as she tried catching her breath.
Let the senior boys crush her for all she cared. She was pooped!
And just as she thought that all the burly boys would pop out in the corner, it was a small, lean boy who appeared instead.
Sakuno wished the earth would swallow her up that moment.
"R-Ryoma-kun," she whispered, horrified.
"Ryuuzaki," the boy stopped in his tracks as he took in the sight of Sakuno looking helpless on the ground. "What are you doing?"
Sakuno turned an incredibly deep shade of red as she thought of a way to explain her situation. Frantically wracking her brain for the perfect words to say, Sakuno paled when she realized there was no way she could explain her situation without looking stupid.
"I… I was enjoying the view," she reasoned out pathetically.
Ryoma gave her an incredulous stare, "Hn."
Sakuno shifted uncomfortably on the ground. For one, Ryoma's gaze agitated her, and second, she really, really needed to pee.
"Where's your wheelchair?"
Sakuno's head snapped up at the question, only to be met by Ryoma's golden orbs. "H-How did you know?"
Ryoma crossed his arms and leaned by the vending machine, "Everyone's been talking about it."
"Oh."
There was an awkward silence as Ryoma turned towards the vending machine and bought his favourite flavoured drink. On the other hand, Sakuno continued to move in place as she tried her best not to glance at the vending machine and think about anything liquid.
I need to pee! "Uhm… R-Ryoma-kun."
Ryoma turned to the girl as he drank his Ponta.
Sakuno looked away from the boy, but took this as permission to proceed. "Can you help me get up?" she whispered.
"Done enjoying the view?" was all she heard from Ryoma before she was suddenly lifted from the ground, strong arms wound around her shoulders as the boy supported her in standing up. Her heart beat rapidly at the close proximity of their bodies, and as much as Sakuno wanted to spare Ryoma from having her as a burden, her knees buckled and she landed on the concrete again.
If she stood up now, she wouldn't be able to hold it any longer. She'd die of humiliation if she peed right in front of Ryoma. She wanted to cry at her predicament.
This is so embarrassing! Sakuno stifled the sobs that were threatening to spill out of her mouth.
"Ryuuzaki."
Sakuno couldn't look up.
"Hey, Ryuuzaki."
Sakuno inhaled and exhaled slowly while trying her very best to hold her bladder.
"Ryuuzaki, what's wrong with you?"
"…Ineedtogotothebathroom," she mumbled just as the first few tears dropped on her cheeks.
"Huh?"
Sakuno bit the inside of her cheeks to keep from bawling out. "I need to go to the bathroom," she whispered once again.
Ryoma leaned towards the girl, his eyes boring on her lowered head, "Hn… I don't understand what you're saying."
Suddenly, Sakuno looked up.
Ryoma's eyes widened when he saw the tears streaming down her face. His words were caught in his throat as all he could do was stare at Sakuno's face. A big knot slowly began to form in his stomach. Is she hurting?
"Ryuuzaki—"
"I need to pee, Ryoma-kun!" Sakuno screamed, her cheeks flushed and her breathing ragged.
Ryoma was still for several moments before Sakuno's words sunk in. But even before he could lift her up from the ground for the second time, Sakuno's bladder finally gave in. It horrified Ryoma to witness the same thing he had seen on TV. He blinked several times, merely staring at the scene that unfolded before his very eyes.
At that moment, Sakuno looked exactly like that girl on TV.
"G-Go away!"
Ryoma was broken from his shock, immediately turning to the girl and trying to get a hold of her.
But Sakuno pushed him away, "L-Leave me alone!"
Ryoma tried again.
Sakuno did the same thing.
This went on for several minutes before Ryoma was the first to snap. Despite the girl's relentless protests, Ryoma scooped her from the ground, disregarding everything that just happened. He adjusted his hold on the girl, placing his hand on her back, and the other under her knees. The girl's legs were wet, but he didn't mind.
This only upset Sakuno even more, "P-Put me down, Ryoma-kun!" she cried, clearly embarrassed.
"No way," Ryoma replied stubbornly, walking even faster. "I'm bringing you to the infirmary."
Sakuno was at a loss when she saw something flash in Ryoma's eyes. Generally, the boy's actions befuddled her. But it also caused her heart to beat even faster. She knew she was falling… hard.
"I know."
Sakuno thought she would faint. She looked at Ryoma and realized he was staring at her openly. Deciding that the best course of action was to act dumb, she replied. "W-What are you talking about, Ryoma-kun?"
Ryoma looked away and muttered, "I know."
A/N: I know I said this was going to be a two-shot, but I figured things would be so fast-paced if there were only two chapters. I apologize for the extremely late update, and admittedly, I can't guarantee a quick posting of chapter three. But I'll try my best. Anyway, how was the chapter? I know there are some things that may appear a little confusing at the moment (like for instance, the running senior boys), but things will be revealed as the story progresses. (;)) So wait for the next update! Oh, and please review!