Escape [Sasuke Uchiha]

Chapter 33: Especially You

Third Person's P.O.V

"The winner of this match is Ayuda Makino."

The crowd of astonished audiences wore radiant smiles on their lips as they gave the current winner a round of applause. Ayuda was completely astounded when the ebullient claps began to resonate throughout the stadium. She was genuinely gratified to hear the applause that was meant for her.

Prior to her match, she was actually terrified when she envisaged a horde of unsatisfied spectators who did not clap for her if she won. She was also scared of receiving boos from the onlookers. But now...

She was so proud of herself that a barely suppressed smile took over her face.

However, the joyous feeling did not last long. The content smile on her face dropped in a flash when she felt a surge of pain on her waist. She crouched down on the ground right away with an unmissable pained look gracing her features. Her hand flew to her waist and when her palm pressed softly against that spot, another wave of pain rushed throughout her body, causing her to cry out in pain.

'This is bad...' she thought as hoarse pants escaped her lips; her purple orbs glared down on the ground beneath her, 'I've used most of my chakra on my match with Taiga. At this rate, I won't be able to compete with the next opponent. But... but...'

She turned her head at a slow pace and brought her gaze to her parents. Her mother was still clapping her hands with a faint smile carved on her lips while her father had his arms crossed over his chest, his mouth lifted up into a proud smirk and his eyes were directed at somewhere else.

Ayuda followed his gaze and she soon found herself staring at a couple around her parents' ages. The husband looked like a spitting image of Taiga but with wrinkles and a disappointed scowl plastered on his face. Ayuda's eyebrows rose in revelation. That couple must be Taiga's parents!

The dark-haired girl took a look at her defeated opponent. Taiga was dusting himself off with his face veiled by his bright orange hair. A dark shadow spread across his face, making himself look like a gloomy little boy. No one was able to see his expression. Nevertheless, nearly everyone could tell that he was shamefaced for losing. And this had aroused a pang of guilt in Ayuda's heart.

Taiga picked up his two swords and walked off, still with his head down. Ayuda quickly rose to her feet. She wanted to run up to him and apologized for the attacks she made on him during the match. She wanted to make him feel better. She wanted him to know that he was not alone.

He and Ayuda shared the same fate – they had to follow their parents' high expectations to maintain and improve their already-as-high-as-cloud reputations.

However, a strong wave of pain forced her back to her knee. She squeezed her eyes shut in an effort to endure such pain. The pain occurred because of the hard blow Taiga delivered on her waist during their fight. She received cuts and bruises too but they were not that terrible to call a medical ninja to heal her. It took ten seconds for the twinge to subside. She unsealed her eyes open and quickly realized that the proctor, Genma Shiranui, now stood beside her.

With his hands inserted into the pockets, he calmly spoke to her, "Hey, kid. I know that you are too worn out and you don't have enough chakra to proceed to the next round. With that poor condition, do you still want to continue? Because you have a chance to drop out right now."

Ayuda was a little shocked to hear him, 'Drop out...?'

She thought it was a good idea. Her match with Taiga had definitely tuckered her out and worst of all, she ran out of chakra. And if she dropped out right then and there, she didn't have to worry about her next match. She didn't have to fight anymore. She could rest and watched the rest of the matches along with the spectators.