The Ultimate Stride | Prince of Stride Fanfiction |

39 | Nerves

    | {Third P.O.V.} |

Nervous.

Kyouko didn't think she would experience such a troublesome emotion that morning, but that thought was completely thrown aside the moment she set foot in the park where her team would be racing for the End of Summer semi-final match.

They were at Happy Land, a place where a mass abundance of joy was supposed to accumulate the second you walked through the entrance and to the first ride that caught your fancy.

That's how it was supposed to be. Kyouko, on the other hand, felt quite the contrary.

She felt it everywhere. From the tips of her toes to the very end of her french braid, there was nothing but twitchy, spastic, unrelenting nerves.

And they weren't friendly, either. They were downright mean.

'I feel like I'm gonna puke,' the girl droned in her head as she followed behind her teammates.

Despite the early hours of the morning, she looked absolutely spent. Her complexion was abnormally pale, and her eyes were dull and quivery.

The big race day was still in it's beginning stages, and she already needed a fat hug.

There was too much going on in her head for her to focus on simple things. Being in a place packed full of people wasn't helping that dilemma whatsoever.

Heath noticed this rather quickly as she lagged further and further behind him and the others.

He turned to address her. "What're you doing back here, Kyouko? This crowd is far too big for you to be aimlessly wandering about. Walk in front of us, okay?"

With a settle nod, she picked up the pace and stalked to the front of the posse Heath was leading to the registration booth. They had only just arrived, and they still needed to check in with the officials.

Riku noticed Kyouko's glum expression. "Are you okay, Kyouko? You look kinda..."

"Dead," Takeru finished for him, and Nana punched him in the arm.

"That was rude," she snapped, and he shrugged.

"I was only being honest. She looks like she's about to succumb to her own grave."

"You don't have to tell me that. Trust me, I already know what I look like. The broken mirror in my bathroom is a good piece of evidence," she joked faintly, and Kuga leaned over to inspect her features, eyes low with focus.

"You look burdened... are you nervous, perhaps?" He hit the nail right on the head. She gave another weak nod.

"So nervous that I feel like my stomach is about to cave in on itself."

Hozumi placed his hand on her shoulder. "Really? You've never been this nervous before a race, and you're not even racing today. Are you worried about how we'll run?"

That wasn't it.

Kyouko knew that Hônan would do fine. She'd declared it in her head a thousand times the night before. They were going to win, no question. The things troubling her had nothing to do with that.