𝐌𝐈𝐃𝐍𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐓 𝐑𝐔𝐄𝐒 - 𝐒. 𝐊𝐈𝐓𝐀

𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐑𝐓𝐄𝐄𝐍

THIRTEEN
_____

It was too good to be true.

       Maybe Sayo was able to see the little happiness for a little while, and it lasted for a whole week but after that, as she sat alone in their classroom and was left to do the cleaning again, it had stopped.

   Abruptly – and too abruptly.

   Maybe it was the world muttering to her that the blissful feeling of sudden happiness was only limited, and that she could only take however amount that she could only get – and unfortunately, it was not a lot. Or maybe it was her own body that automatically contorts itself back to its state that it had always been, because of the fear that came along while feeling happy.

   Maybe she was afraid that right after all of the smiles that she could present genuinely, the world would give her another obstacle or issue that would wake her up from the forged reality that she was trying too hard to create. So instead of waiting for the world to give it to her, she allowed herself to pathetically embrace the feeling of her previous dejections.

    It was pathetic, but it was strangely a coping mechanism – but it was a toxic one. A toxic one that she couldn't get rid of.

    As Shinsuke stood inside of the volleyball gym, about to announce something to his fellow teammates, he felt his heart suddenly drop to the back of his ribcage painfully. He released a series of strained coughs before placing his hand over his chest to try soothing it out. His brows furrowed while his teammates watched him with slight worry.

    "Kita-san, are you alright?" Ginjima asks as he held the net in his hands while the others nodded along in agreement at his question.

      Shinsuke was not one to lie so he decided to admit breathily with a frown forming on his lips, "I'm suddenly not feeling too well."

He looks up and sees his team give him looks of sympathy and concern, though they were not sure of what to do about the current situation. Shinsuke waved his hand dismissively then said, "I will leave you here for a few minutes, because I will be attending to something."

    His face turns serious, causing his team to freeze before saying, "Make sure to start doing the sets of exercises. Don't slack off. Aran, watch them for me while I'm gone for a while." He looks at the dark-skinned boy who nodded at his words.

    With that, he turns around and jogged out of the gym, leaving the others to stand there whilst staring at their captain in confusion. Aran clapped his hands and called for everyone's attention as they started performing the exercises, with Suna occasionally giving out an exhausted sigh.

    "Okay, let's start!"

    Shinsuke jogged upwards through the flight of stairs that led to the third floor of where the third-years stayed, hoping that the person he was looking for was still there or at least feeling a little better than a few minutes ago. He slowly approaches Class One with worry seeping into each layer of the heart that sat in between his chest, then gave out a sigh.

    And almost then while he stood between the frame of the door, he sees the frown and the hard look in Sayo's eyes while she stared frustratedly at the chalkboard.

Perhaps it was the way her hair fell against the side of her face, and she did not make a move to at least push it away. Or perhaps it was how it appeared as if she has been staring into one space, that he guessed for quite a long time for it to be deemed as quite odd if other people saw.