Shu and I had decided to go out at a small cafe. Not too big, not too small. Okay, I sound like Goldilocks now.
However, Shu said that he had to concentrate on the District tournament semi-finals match, so we planned to hang out the day after.
Kairi and I watched the semi-finals matches. I smiled as I saw Valt win a point against Wakiya. But what I didn't know was that a TV show can't be expected to show you everything.
Without warning, Wakiya slowly took off his coat. 'What is he doing?' asked Kairi.
Nika covered her eyes, but it turned out that Wakiya wasn't stripping himself. Because underneath his coat were a ton of weights.
I almost burst out, 'Wait! This wasn't in the show!' But luckily I caught myself in time.
Then I remembered that there was an original Japanese version of the show. I had only watched the English version. Maybe some things were changed or censored.
It's a common thing to censor what seemed inappropriate. The animators wouldn't have wanted children to follow Wakiya's example and wear weights.
Speaking of which, Wakiya removed the weights before putting his coat back on. The rest of the match was the same as I had seen on TV, ending in Valt's victory.
I grew nervous when it was Shu's turn to go up against Orochi Ginba. Shu's injury was going to get worse. But I couldn't do anything to prevent it.
I studied Shu carefully. I noticed him wince a little at one point. Luckily he was too focused on the match and Valt to see me staring at him.
When Shu won the match, many people cheered. But I was too busy being concerned about Shu to be happy. I watched as Orochi shook Shu's hand. Sure enough, Shu quickly pulled his hand away.
I knew it. Shu was in pain. I had to confront him about it. Of course, I couldn't do so when he's talking to Valt or Ken. So I had to go to the one other place I knew Shu would be going.
~🌹~🌹~🌹~🌹~🌹~🌹~🌹~🌹~🌹~🌹~
I felt ridiculous just sitting in the hospital waiting room. I wasn't waiting for a doctor's appointment. I was waiting for Shu to enter the hospital.
The last time we met here, I was too sick to think properly. But now I was prepared.
Okay, maybe it looked like I was stalking him. But I was just concerned. It wasn't as if I kept a schedule of his everyday life for three years.
But maybe it was a little too much. Because the moment Shu stepped into the waiting room and saw me, he looked like he was going to faint. If he wasn't so pale, I would have seen his face lose colour.
'Rose, what are you doing here?' asked Shu, totally losing his calm demeanor.
'Shu, I'm worried about you,' I told him.
'Worried? Why would you be worried? I'm fine, honest.'
I couldn't stand it anymore. 'I know that you injured your shoulder!' I yelled.
I knew that I have definitely crossed the line. Because Shu actually fainted for real.
Uh oh. This wasn't good. People were panicking. They all thought that Shu was sick.
I splashed water from a water bottle on Shu's face, knowing that it was the quickest way of rousing an unconscious person. Shu opened his eyes.
Shu sat up and looked at me. 'How did you know?' he asked.
How would I explain it? 'I... I just knew. Besides, you seemed to be in pain during your match.'
Shu went quiet. I knew that he was a little upset.
'Well, I guess that there's no point hiding it any longer.'
I helped Shu up. 'Why are you so reckless? You could have gotten seriously hurt! Do you know that your health always comes first?'
'You sound like Valt,' said Shu.
I blinked a little. 'Really? I thought that you were going to say that I sound like your Mom.'
'My Mom is never around,' said Shu. 'To be honest, I'm not convinced that either of my parents love me.'
The last statement broke my heart. Was this why Shu always seemed so closed off?
'I'm so sorry. I didn't know...'
'It's okay. There was no way you would know about that.'
'Just why? Why is it so important to you that you go on in the tournament?'
'I made a promise to Valt.'
Oh yeah, the see you in the finals promise.
'You see, I have known Valt since I was in kindergarten. He brought joy into my life when I had none. Whenever I was feeling sad, Valt would do anything to make me feel better. I don't want to let him down.'
'But you're hurting yourself.'
'I don't care,' said Shu. 'It can't possibly be worse than the pain I experience when my parents say mean things to me.'
'Your parents say mean things to you?'
Shu tried to brush it off. 'It's nothing.'
I felt really bad for Shu at the moment. He had parents who didn't care about him. 'Is there anything I can do to make you feel better?' I asked.
Shu forced a smile. 'No, it's fine.'
But it wasn't fine. Shu was clearly upset, but he was swallowing his feelings. That wasn't a healthy coping mechanism.
I don't know why I did what I did next. It seemed that I was just overcome by feelings.
What did I do? Well, I kissed Shu. Right on the lips.
After a moment, Shu pushed me away. 'Rose, what are you doing?'
I was stunned. I hadn't meant to do it. I had lost control of myself. 'I... I...'
Everyone was staring at us like we were a soap opera. Parents were covering their kids' eyes.
Just then, I heard a voice call, 'I don't believe it!'
I turned around and gasped. Valt was standing at the entrance, his eyes wide and his mouth open. Had he witnessed the kiss?
'It's not what it looks like,' I said.
I had totally forgotten that Valt was going to the hospital to see if Shu was still injured. But thanks to me, Shu wasn't in the doctor's room that Valt was supposed to find him in.
Without another word, I ran out of the hospital. What had I done?