A few days passed since the ice skating incident. I watched some of the matches in the second round of the National Tournament. The last match was Zac against Gabe Brunai. Of course, Zac won, just like in the show.
Rehearsals for the Enchanted musical continued. We were all told to watch the movie to understand it better. Well, I had now watched the movie so many times that I knew it as well as I knew the Harry Potter books.
In this universe, the movie was ten years old. In my real life, it was fifteen. Can you imagine a movie being that old? The actress for little Morgan would be an adult in my real life.
I was looking forward to the quarter finals of the National Tournament. Even though I already knew who was going to win each match, I was looking forward to see the matches play out.
Shu and I were interacting less often, but I wasn't that bothered. He was probably busy training for his match against Wakiya. Besides, I had my studies and play rehearsals to worry about.
However, I noticed that something seemed off about Shu. He seemed really distracted all day and hardly seemed to pay attention in class, which is odd as he was a really hardworking person.
As I paid closer attention to Shu, I noticed other details. He seemed tired, as if he didn't get enough sleep. He also looked rather unwell at times.
Even Valt noticed something, and asked Shu about it.
'Shu, are you okay?' he asked. 'You don't look so good.'
'I'm fine,' said Shu.
'It's just that you seem so tired,' said Valt. 'I just don't want you to fall sick.'
I considered talking to Shu about it, but I wasn't sure how to go about it. This wasn't like talking to Shu about his shoulder injury. That was something I already knew about. How would Shu react if I talked to him about not getting enough sleep?
However, I had no idea how serious the situation was at the time.
That night, my new parents took me out for dinner at an Italian restaurant. The food was delicious, but I felt like we were wasting our money since I already knew a chef that can make spaghetti carbonara for free.
It was really late when we left the restaurant. It was Friday, so I had no school tomorrow. I could hear my new parents talking, but I was so tired that I fell asleep in the car.
Later, I woke up to find that the car had stopped. At first, I thought that we were already home. But then I noticed that we were still in town.
'What's going on?' I asked.
My new Dad groaned. 'The car broke down,' he said. 'We'll have to get a mechanic to fix the car.'
'We're not too far from home,' said my new Mom. 'Could Rose and I walk the rest of the way? If we wait for the mechanic, we won't reach home until after midnight.'
'Very well,' said my new Dad. 'Just be careful okay? Too much physical exertion is bad for the baby.'
My new Mom promised that we would be careful, so we got out of the car and started walking.
It was a quiet and peaceful night. I was more used to the dark now, so I was certain that I won't almost get hit by a car again. Besides, my new Mom was here with me.
Later, we walked past the Beypark. All was quiet except for the occasional car on the road.
Just then, I thought that I heard a sound. I was surprised. It was almost eleven at night. Who would be in the Beypark so late? Suddenly, an idea came into my head.
'Mom, you go ahead without me. I'll catch up later.'
My new Mom looked surprised. 'Are you sure? I don't want you getting kidnapped or anything.'
'I'll be fine,' I said. 'I won't be long. There's something I want to check first.'
My new Mom eventually agreed to go on without me. This was good, as what I wanted to check was something I didn't want her to know about.
Sure enough, I found Shu training at a beydish. He seemed exhausted, but still kept launching.
Finally, I said, 'You're going to wear yourself out if you keep on doing this.'
Shu looked shocked to see me. 'Rose? What are you doing here so late?'
'Funny you should say that. I was going to ask you the same thing.'
'I was training,' said Shu.
'Don't be ridiculous. It's super late. You should be at home.'
'I will go home later,' said Shu. He tried to launch again, but he dropped his launcher.
'Whoa, are you okay?' I asked.
Shu didn't answer, and ended up collapsing. I quickly caught him before he hit the ground. Thankfully he wasn't unconscious.
'My head- why is everything spinning?' he asked. I touched his forehead.
'Shu, you have a slight fever,' I told him. 'Be honest. How many hours do you sleep at night?'
Shu went quiet. I suddenly realized what that meant.
'Shu, how long has it been since you last slept?' I asked.
'Three days,' muttered Shu.
'Three days?' I asked. 'Okay, you're going home right now, and you are going to sleep! Do you understand?'
'What are you, my Mom?' asked Shu.
'Seriously, I'm surprised you're still functioning. How have you not started sleeping in class yet?'
'I may have been drinking coffee,' said Shu sheepishly.
'Shu Kurenai! You're only eleven!'
'Okay, sorry, I won't do it again.'
'And stop acting like I'm your Mom.'
'Well, you are kind of acting like my Aunt Hinata.'
'You know, I don't trust you to go home and sleep on your own. I'm taking you to my house, where I can keep an eye on you.'
'What?' asked Shu. 'But I thought that you didn't want your parents to find out about us dating.'
'It doesn't matter. I'll just say that we're having a sleepover or something. Now come on.'
I helped Shu stand up. He was very shaky, so I picked up Spryzen and his launcher for him. Then I gently guided him back to my house.
My new Mom was surprised to see Shu, but thankfully asked no questions. I brought Shu into the guest room and gave Shu my old hoodie and shorts.
'Go and get changed,' I told him. I went to another room to change into my Ariel nightdress.
I must admit, Shu looked really adorable in my old clothes. He seemed a little embarrassed by them though.
'Shu, why did you sacrifice your health?' I asked. 'I knew that you were a workaholic, but this all-nighter thing seems rather sudden.'
'Nightmares,' said Shu.
'Nightmares?' I asked.
'I had nightmares about losing to Lui,' said Shu. 'I... I don't want to repeat that experience.'
'But you're up against Wakiya,' I said.
'I know,' said Shu. 'But he has gotten stronger lately, and I want to win.'
'I know you do,' I said. 'But if you continued like this, you could have made yourself really sick. How can you beat Wakiya or Lui if you were sick?'
Shu opened his mouth to say something, but suddenly put a hand to his forehead.
'Shu, are you okay?' I asked.
'I'm... Fine,' said Shu. 'I just need to...' he started to stumble, so I quickly laid him down in bed.
'Here, you should sleep,' I told him. 'You will feel better when you wake up.'
I gently stroked his hair for a while, then Shu slowly fell asleep.
I smiled a little. I gave Shu a kiss on his forehead before going to my room to sleep.