According to the attending doctors, Nezumi was going to be fine. Although they were very suspicious about the wound in general, plus the other bruises and cuts still healing from the previous fights she had been in. Although she lost a rather good amount of blood, the cut was clear and nothing was damaged really.

Wataru had wanted to go out and find Saburou, or the girl who had been so cowardly to hit and run. But Yuuta convinced him that he shouldn’t get into that much trouble right now, not only because Saburou was capable of doing anything unexpected, but also because the competition was getting closer and although they were now a part of this situation, they still had to focus on the other important things.

It was after school that Michiyo finally found the time to visit Nezumi. She too had to focus on the competitions that were coming up, but after hearing the news of the accident from Ryosuke she felt concerned. It could have been anyone; he could’ve surprised them with this when they were lost in the maze. Was Saburou really out to actually murder people?

She entered the room in which Nezumi was staying but as she opened the door she found the room completely empty. The bed was made neatly and the curtains were opened to let the bright light of day illuminate the rather bald room.

“Excuse me,” she said as she stopped one of the nurses who was walking around, “Where is Nezumi? Akimoto-san?”

“Eh?” the nurse wondered as she peeked past the girl into the empty room before sighing deeply, “She escaped again, hasn’t she?”

“Escaped?” she frowned.

“The girl is impossible, she keeps escaping her room and roaming the hospital even though the doctor told her to stay in bed and rest…” she rolled her eyes. “I guess I’ll go look for her.”

As the nurse walked away, Michiyo grinned as she entered the room and decided to take a seat on the chair placed next to the bed. Even when she is hospitalized she causes trouble to the people around her. This somehow amused her.

The door opened rapidly which slightly shocked Michiyo as she looked up. Nezumi had run into the room and quickly closed the door with a wide smile on her face.

“Aww, come on!” she whined through the door to the nurse who had found her and send her back.

“You know what the doctor told you,” she replied. “You need to stay in bed, since you denied getting in a wheelchair.”

“I’ve told you already! I don’t need a chair, I can walk fine!” she huffed. “I was stabbed, not paralyzed!”

“And you should be thankful for that,” the nurse replied who didn’t much care if she was screaming loudly against the closed door. “Stay in your room!”

“Whatever,” she huffed as she turned around, crossed her arms and leaned against the door before noticing the other person in the room. “Ah, Kinoko-atama.”

“You should be more grateful towards the person who saved your life,” she shook her head.

“They didn’t save my life… It didn’t need saving in the first place,” she replied as she moved away from the door and sat down on the bed. “Besides, I’m just having a little fun…”

“You should listen to the doctor though…” she frowned. “Didn’t I tell you guys to be careful?”

Nezumi grinned as she rubbed the spot where she had been stabbed. They had stitched her wound and it was slightly itching. The nurse said it was a sign of recovery and also added she was amazed that her body recovered so quickly.

“Daijobu desu ka?”

She nodded, “Hai,” she grinned. “Don’t worry about me.” She then thought of something and looked up at the girl sitting in the chair. “Why are you here?”

“I just came to check on you,” she huffed. “You should be grateful!”

She laughed. “Oi, you are the one who’s so determined to become friends…”

“Well, I’ll leave then!” she got up and headed for the door.

“Oi! Chotto matta!” she spoke up and Michiyo turned around again. “Arigatou, ne?”

This might have been the first time that Nezumi thanked Michiyo. And actually sounded sincere. Maybe Michiyo’s persistence was finally getting through to her, or maybe she was just saying that to get the girl off her back.

“You better be back at school soon though,” she said as she stopped by the door, “As class representative I will not tolerate skipping school…” she winked and then walked out.

Nezumi shook her head with a grin. Some part of her was starting to get used to her snobby behavior and extreme cheerfulness. In the end all she meant was to do well.
She got up from the bed and moved over to the window to look outside. She was so close to reaching the garden today. But unfortunately the nurse found her and she had to quickly head back to her room.

The door opened again and Nezumi grinned for a moment, “Back again, Kinoko-atama?” but as soon as she had turned around the grin faded. Because it wasn’t Michiyo who had just entered her room…

“What are you doing here?!”

He chuckled as he closed the door behind him and stared at her.

“What? Are you here to finish the job your little girlfriend couldn’t do?”

“I have to admit you’re quite strong…” he spoke as he slowly moved more into the room. “Just wondering how many hits it would take for you to finally give up…”

She tilted her head, “Enough if you’re involved…” she replied as she narrowed her eyes. In all honestly right now she actually feared him more than she loathed him. After all, if last night went just slightly differently she could’ve died. If he had done it himself, she would surely have. But she couldn’t show him that fear, if she did he would only take more satisfaction from it. Satisfaction she was not about to give him.

“Impressive nonetheless…” he chuckled as he came even closer. She didn’t know what he was planning on doing or why he came here in the first place. But she didn’t like it.

“Why are you here?” she asked again since he hadn’t answered her question the first time.

He laughed, “Since I’ve only used messages to contact you,” he smirked, his voice sounding so face considerate, “It thought it be nice to how you were doing…”

“I think I’d rather have your texts,” she scoffed. “Those I can ignore and delete…”

“Oh?” he seemed very amused with her answer. She didn’t get why he found it so amusing to piss her off like that. Then again, his mind was a wicked one that barely anyone understood. “Don’t worry… I won’t stay long…” he took even more steps closer to her and reluctantly she stepped back a little, unable to move further because of the window. “I just thought I’d deliver this message personally…”

“How considerate,” she said.

He was now standing right in front of her, looking down on her as the little mouse she was compared to him. His eyes had those familiar disturbed twinkles that send chills down her spine. His smirk, thin lips curled up as far as they could, was painting his thin and pale face once again. And his scar, standing out on his face, shining in the light.

“I am done with playing games,” he sneered more seriously than he had ever spoken. His left arm latched out and grabbed her right arm, piercing his nails into her skin as his eyes purged through her sight. “This was just the start… Your friends will not be safe until you are dead. I will not rest before I can personally see the lights in your eyes disappear…” he continued as his grip tightened. “You should have just died when you had the chance… Then your friends wouldn’t have been at risk…” he tilted his head slightly as he could tell that she was actually intimidated – even better, afraid by his words and his entire being. This was what he wanted all along, or at least how he wanted it to begin.

“Leave them alone Saburou…” she managed to bring out through gritted teeth. “I don’t care how many times you’ll stab me or hurt me or torture me… Leave them out of this…”

“I guess…” he leaned his head a little closer. “We can work something out…”

The door opened and a sound of laughter entered the room and broke the dark atmosphere that had been lingering there for the past couple of minutes. Wataru and his friends had come by to visit Nezumi and their laughing abruptly stopped at the first sight of the unwanted visitor.

“You,” Wataru growled. “You have some nerve showing here,” he stepped forwards but Ryosuke was smart enough to hold him back. This wasn’t the time nor the place to pick a fight with Saburou.

“I was just visiting poor little Nezumi,” he chuckled as he stared at the group for a moment before turning back to Nezumi and finally letting go of her arm. “I do hope you’ll be back to full strength soon…” he added as he glared at her before passing through the group and left.

Nezumi turned around to face the window as she rubbed her hand over her arm where she could still feel the sting of his grip and his nails piercing through her skin. The look in his eyes haunted her sight for a moment as she recalled the words he had just spoken to her. She had to finally admit it. She was scared. This got way out of hand, even for her. She was certain that she would not be able to get out of this situation alive, and the only choice she had was to choose whether or not she would sacrifice others before herself or die alone. Of course, that choice was easily made.

“Oi, Nezumi…”

She took a deep breath, forcing away the tears that had started to burn in her eyes. She was not going to show any weakness in front of them. Not now, and not ever. She had to be strong.

“I’m starting to feel popular,” she turned around and forced a smile on her face. “So many visitors already…”

“What did Saburou want?” Wataru frowned.

“Eh?” she looked up before waving it away. “Oh, nothing!” she then looked at the group and smiled again. They all seemed rather worried and serious, especially now that Saburou had appeared. “Ne~ You all came voluntarily?”

“Of course we did, Nezumi-senpai,” Satoshi was the first to smile. Whether or not he was trying his best to cheer up everything or because he got the clue that she just didn’t want to talk about Saburou and the entire situation, she didn’t know but she was glad that someone was cooperating.

“How nice,” she nodded as she walked over to her bed and sat down.

“And we even brought you something,” he continued and held up his hands in which he was holding a teddy bear. Or rather, it was a mouse.

She laughed as she looked at the small furry stuffed animal. These guys weren’t all that bad, or maybe it was just Satoshi who was being considerate. But it was something to be appreciated.

“Ah! Kawaii ne~” she smiled as she took the animal. “Arigatou!”

“How are your wounds?” Mizushima then carefully asked.

She grinned, “Wounds? How many times do you think I got stabbed,” she winked at him since his face made clear he wasn’t sure if she was being serious or just joking around. “It’s fine. I’m all patched up and ready to go!”

“You get to leave already?”

“I can do whatever I want!” she grins.

“That’s a clear no.”

“Shush!” she laughed before tilting her head. “Ah, Ryosuke… What is your next step?”

He frowned as he seemed obvious to what she meant, “Eh?”

“Are you going to ask Kinok…- I mean Michiyo out on a second date or not?” she sighed.

“Ah! … So desu… I haven’t even thought about that…” he scratched the back of his head. “She doesn’t seem to be interested though so…”

“Oi! What kind of Yankee are you, giving up so easily!” she huffed at him.

“Ne~…”

She shrugged then turned to Yuuta, “So, are you prepared for your competition… uh… When was it again?”

“Eto... The day after tomorrow…” he seemed surprised that she would bring that up or even show interest in it. Up until now she could only make fun of tumbling and never really interested in anything else.

Truth be told, Nezumi was just looking for things to talk about that would distract everyone from the topic that was hanging in the air. She didn’t want to talk about it. She didn’t want them to worry. She had already figured out what she was going to do. And she didn’t need them to know about it or meddle with it.

“Well… I don’t think the doctor will let me go and watch so…” she crossed her arms. “You better bring back a prize to show me!” she told him.

Yuuta tilted his head. Was she serious about it or just making fun of them again. She had never really acted kind towards him before, nor did she show that much interest in his hobbies or anything except if she was making fun of them or bothering them.

“Ne?”

“Hai…” he slowly nodded.

“Good! I will seriously trash your gym if you fail though! If you lose…” she shook her head thoughtfully as a grin appeared on her face. “Muri desu… Ne?“

“Right!” Nippori said, all fired up. “We won’t lose!”

“That’s the spirit!” she grinned as she turned to Wataru, “Ne?”

He just kept staring at her the way he had been the entire time, a frown painting his face. Unlike the others he had not fallen for her bubbly behavior. She was hiding something. Something that Saburou was involved in.

“Oi! Genki dayo!” she tilted her head. “Oi, Wataru!”

“Saburou…” he then finally spoke. “What did he want?”

She scoffed, “I told you already, it’s nothing…” she repeated as she turned away to look out of the window. “He came to apologize for Yuko’s mess…” she shrugged.

“He should’ve done it himself then…” he continued and she turned to look at him once more, “So we could’ve killed him off…”

“Wataru…” Yuta sighed.

“Baka…” she scoffed.

“Saburou is a coward…”

“Saburou is a maniac… he is dangerous…” she corrected him. “If he, himself had come last night… I wouldn’t have been the only person in the hospital… ” she then scoffed at her own words, “I wouldn’t even be alive…”

“He will pay for everything he has done…”

“Don’t do anything stupid, Wataru…” she sighed as she turned to the window once again. “Even you can’t face him on your own… and you know that… So stop acting tough…”

“Ano…”

“Just… Focus on Tumbling,” she sighed once again. “I’ve been a distraction from that long enough.”

“So desu ne,” Kaneko nodded, though he wasn’t purposely implying that she was a distraction, even if she obviously had been. “Maybe we should go and practice some more… If we want to show Nezumi the prize…”

“Hai…” Yuuta nodded. “Ikou?”

The guys said their goodbyes and left, except for Wataru. He stood there for a moment, merely staring at Nezumi who had avoided her gaze to the window instead. He sighed and shook his head before turning around and wanting to walk away. But he was stopped as two hands grabbed his arm and hand and held him on one place. He looked back at her.

“Wataru…” she said. Wataru was surprised at what he saw. She wasn’t trying to look or sound tough anymore. No fake grin to hide the fear, no more bubbly words to hide the pain. She had tears in her eyes and he could see the fear hiding behind them. “Don’t go looking for Saburou… Onegai…?”

“He can’t get away with this… nor anything else he had done…”

“And he won’t…” she told him. “I won’t let him, but I won’t let you risk your life for me and my cause… No matter how much you want to help…” she continued as she looked down for a moment.

“He will not stop until…”

“Either one of us is dead,” she nodded. And right now chances were that she would be the one ending up dead while Saburou could carry on with his wicked ways. “So… We will just have to stop them…”

“We?”

She nodded, “I can’t do this on my own… I need your help, Wataru.” There, she admitted it. She needed his help. She wasn’t strong enough on her own. She didn’t have enough courage on her own. Even though she was denying it for very long, she was in over her head. She needed all the help she could get and Wataru might be the only one able to help her. “But please, promise me you won’t go looking for him yourself…”

“Nezumi…”

She tightened her grip around his arm, “Promise me!”

“Fine,” he finally sighed. “I promise…”

“Arigatou.”

Two days had passed and everyone gathered at the sports Hall for the first Tumbling event of the season. Groups from different schools all came here to participate and hope to make the first competition a success. Both male and female teams were going to participate today and they all looked excited and ready to take home the trophy, as were the teams of Karasumori High.

“Wow, so many people signed up…” Mizusawa said as he looked around at the many teams discussing, laughing or just looking around.

“This might be very challenging…” Kaneko sighs.

“Oi! What are you saying?!” Nippori said as he hit the back his head. “Baka! Don’t be so negative!”

“Gomen!” he quickly apologized as he rubbed the spot where Nippori hit him.

“But they are all very professional… We can’t mess anything up today…” Yuuta frowned.

“Daijobu ne?” Wataru grinned. “We won’t! We’ll show them how good we are and take home the trophies!”

“To show Nezumi,” Satoshi nodded.

“Oh!” Wataru nodded too.

There was a sound of a faint and single slow applause as they turned around to see where it was coming fromt.

“Now that is what I call a peptalk!”

“Eh, Nezumi?”

“What are you doing here, Nezumi-senpai?”

She grinned, “Did you think I’d miss this? I have to make sure you actually win the trophy, ne?”

“So the doctor finally let you go out?”

She nodded, “Ah~ they let me do anything I want,” she winked proudly.

Wataru scoffed as he tilted his head, “They don’t know you’re gone, ne?”

She grinned innocently as she took a look around. Even she didn’t expect this many people show up for something that she considered rather stupid.

“Are you sure that’s alright?” Satoshi wondered worryingly.

“Don’t worry,” she waved his concerns away. “I’m just going to watch you jump and then I’ll go back to the hospital like I’ve never left…” she grinned at him. She did appreciate his kindness, but she knew exactly what she was doing. She had everything planned out. Every unexpected thing was expected and there was nothing that could stop her from straying from that plan. Not today.

“Nezumi-chan?!” another surprised voice that spotted the young fighter amongst all the gymnasts walking around. Nezumi was starting to wonder if she was wearing some kind of Nezumi-radar that went off whenever she was near.

“Oh man…” she sighed as she slowly turned around to the girl who approached the group wearing her pink tracksuit and her hair tied into one bun on top of her head. She managed to get the others from asking any further questions but surely she would make some more problems about her sneaking out of the hospital.

“What are you doing here?”

“I came to watch the competition,” she shrugged.

She stared at the young yankee for a moment, “No, seriously. Why are you here?”

“I’m serious…” she simply said, although she realized it sounded slightly strange coming from her. “I’ve been thinking, I’m always taunting you but I’ve never actually seen you tumbling before…”

“So that’s worth sneaking out of the hospital?” she crossed her arms.

Ah, there it was. She was going to scold her for sneaking out of the hospital just like she scolded her last time when she tried to escape to the hospital garden and the nurse ordered her back to her room.

“It’s not like I’m here to see you,” she scoffed as she mimicked her posture.

“It’s alright, ne Michiyo-chan?” Ryosuke tried. “She’ll just watch the competition and go back to the hospital like she said.”

“You think this is a good idea?” Michiyo frowned, turning her eyes to the blonde yankee who had been desperately trying to gain her attention from the very start. “What if Saburou caught her as she was on her way out?”

“Yes… No… Maybe?” he stuttered.

“Ne~ Kinoko-atama, shouldn’t you be worrying about the stupid competition instead?” she scoffed.

Michiyo looked at her for a moment then sighed and shook her head.

“It’s hopeless…” she added before turning around and joining her team for preparations.

“She had a point, though…” Wataru frowned. “About Saburou…”

She sighed and shook her head, “Can we just stop talking about him?” she really didn’t want to think about Saburou. Not right now. She came here to support the people who she had endangered from the moment she arrived and this was the least she could do. There wasn’t much time to make up for all the trouble.

“Right,” Yuuta nodded. “Let’s get ready for the competition.”

The announcements were being made, and right after that the competition started. Because the amount of participating groups was so big, they decided to hold both the male and female competitions at the same time on separate mats in two different halls of the building

As the music started, the spotlight switched on, shining their light on the guys in the center of the mat. Wataru, Ryosuke, Yuta, Mizusawa, Kaneko and Hino were all in their starting positions waiting for their cue while Nippori, Kiyama and Satoshi watched by the sidelines with Nezumi and Kashiwagi-sensei. The music speeded up and the guys began their routine with a couple of elegant dance moves that Nezumi often taunted them about before entering the deer position and roll through into a series of jumps and flips.

“Wow…” she had to admit it, she was impressed. She had always laughed at them and taunted them with their passion for such a sport, but never before had she seen this in action. And she had to admit that it was something worthy of her respect.

“It’s not that bad, ne?” Satoshi smiled as he noticed the look on her face before turning back to the show itself.

“It’s impressive,” she nodded but then quickly looked over to all three of the guys. “Don’t tell Wataru or Michiyo I said that though…”

“Or what?” Nippori grinned.

“Are you seriously asking me that question?” she tiled her head slight as she took a step towards him. He quickly shook his head and turned back to the show. Nezumi grinned before turning around again.

The grin quickly disappeared as she felt the inside of her right pocket vibrate. She knew exactly who that was but regardless she reached for her phone and read the text. Her stare hardened as she turned back to the competition, reaching into the inner pocket of her hoodie from which she pulled an envelope. She tapped Kashiwagi on his shoulder to gain his attention.

“Eto… I’m going back to the hospital…” she slowly explained as he fully turned around.

“Ah? Naze?” he asked with a frown appearing on his face. “Daijobu desu ka?”

She nodded with a slight grin, “Hai! Daijobu desu,” she assured him. “I just realized I’d better get back before they notice I’m gone and tie me to the bed next time!”

“Ah… So desu,” he slightly grinned although he still didn’t seem really convinced. But he just had to do it with this explanation. She didn’t feel like telling him, a teacher, the truth. Besides, he probably didn’t even know about what had been going on for the past weeks.

“Demo…” she looked at the envelope in her hand before holding it out to him. “Can you give this to Wataru? After the competition is over?”

“Hai, of course.” he nodded.

She smiled at him before turning around and walking towards the exit. She kept an close watch on her surroundings because she was sure he had send someone to keep an eye on her. Just in case she would try and make a run for it. But no matter how much she wanted to run and hide, she knew that it wouldn’t make any difference. He would always be able to find her.

The music stopped, and so did their movement. As they froze in the same position they ended in, they awaited the reaction of the audience as they were trying to catch their breath. It took only a moment or two before the audience busted into cheers and applause that gave them enough proof that they did good. They relaxed as they quickly took in their well-deserved applause before leaving the mat to make room for the next team.

“Yatta!” Wataru pumped his fist into the air. “Perfect!”

“We’re sure to win this!” Ryosuke added.

“The other teams are pretty good too, though…”

Wataru scoffed, “Oi! Don’t be so negative!” he told him. He was sure that this time no one could beat the performance that they just gave.

“Yeah!” Nippori nodded. “If Aniki said it was perfect, it’s perfect!”

“And if he tells you to jump off a cliff, would you do that?” Kaneko frowned.

“Oi!” Nippori stepped forwards with his head tilted and slightly aggravated.

“Well…”

“Ah! Michiyo-chan~” Ryosuke moved through the two fighting idiots and approached the female tumbler as she was on her way to them. “Did your routine go well?”

“Eh? Of course it did!” she said, her voice slightly arrogant and filled with confidence, which was to be expected from her in the first place. “Ne, where is Nezumi-chan?”

The others looked around them as well. They hadn’t even noticed that they were one person short but she was nowhere to be found.

“Ah, she went back to the hospital,” Satoshi explained who had caught that bit of conversation between the girl and their teacher.

“Ah? Is she alright?”

“She went back just in case the nurses were missing her…” Kiyama added who also overheard the girl talk earlier.

“You mean she actually listened to us for once?” Wataru frowned.

“That is weird…”

“I’m sure she’ll have her reasons,” Ryosuke waved it away before turning to Michiyo completely. “Ne, do you think you’re going to win today?”

She shrugged, “Some of the other teams are pretty impressive…”

“At least someone is being realistic…” Hino crossed his arms. He too thought it’d better to just wait and see what the outcome would be instead of already celebrating victory with all these other teams around.

“Oi!” Wataru sighed. He was trying his best to keep up the mood of the team. And he was sure that this year they were better than they had ever been so the chance of winning was bigger.

She slowly approached the place where they agreed to meet up. It was slowly getting colder outside as the day was slowly coming to an end. Although this was eventually her own decision, she felt nervous and maybe even scared about what was going to happen. She already knew this was going to end bad. Her heart was throbbing in her chest, she had never expected that it would have to come to this but there was nothing she could do about it. This was inevitable.

She wasn’t ready to fight. Not against him. No matter how much she tried to convince herself that she was fearless and almighty, there was nothing less true than that. She had fears and she wasn’t almighty. The people she had fought before were nothing. Tonight was going to be final match. One of them was not getting out alive and Nezumi was well aware that she was going to be that person. But strangely enough, thinking about the situation itself and what had happened the past couple of weeks, the fear slowly decreased. She didn’t regret this decision because she had a reason for doing this in the first place. This battle would end everything. Even though this might be the last fight she would ever fight, Saburou gave his word that if she would fight him on her own to settle the score he would leave everyone else alone. Everyone who was not involved in this in the first place, Wataru, Satoshi, Michiyo, all of their lives would be safe. And that was more than enough for her to do this. It’s something that Mizumi would’ve done herself.

She stopped right in front of the entrance. This is where their paths had crossed twice before and they ended the same every single time. Only this time she really was on her own. Neither Wataru nor Michiyo knew where she was or what was going to happen so they couldn’t come to her rescue might she need it. And by the time they find out that she’s not in the hospital it’ll be too late anyway. There was no way out. And she was not about to give up that easily either. She was going to give it all she’s got, Saburou was not going to get away with it that easily.

Slowly she moved her hands up against the cold door and applied slight pressure to open the entrance, screeching as it moved aside and revealed the dimmed lights of the inside and the daunting silhouettes of Saburou and his group. He had brought them along, naturally. She didn’t expect him to do such a thing on his own, his gang was his back-up plan just in case she turned out to be slightly more powerful than he had expected.

“It’s about time,” he smirked as the dimmed light illuminated part of his face and reflected the sparks in his eyes. “You certainly took your time saying farewell…”

“I didn’t,” she replied seriously as she took a few steps into the warehouse and heard the door slam shut behind her.

“Ah?” he tilted his head slightly in wonder.

“Why should I bid farewell to those I never want to see again in the first place?”

In all honesty, she would’ve just bid her farewells in other situations. The past couple of days she came to appreciate the others some more though she still rather not have them around. But if she would’ve said farewell so suddenly, they were sure to suspect something; especially since she was supposed to be in the hospital. And despite that, Wataru would have tried to stop her if he found out. Either that or follow her. They’ll find out soon enough that she’s not where she’s supposed to be, and once they figure out what was going on it would be far too late…

“Well… ” he chuckled. Why this amused him as much to cause a chuckle was beyond her understanding, but she rarely understood any of his wicked ways lately. “Whatever.”

“So…” she looked around at the group that had gathered around them as she took a few more steps to the center where Saburou was standing. She recognized some of the older members who had been in the gang back when she was a member as well, and some had probably just been gathered and had no idea what was actually going other than the promise of a fight. “I thought you were done playing games…”

“Oh, I am,” he nodded with that same smirk that ran from ear to ear. “I just thought an audience would be at place. After all, this is going to be quite a spectacle…”

“How considerate of you to share this special occasion…” she replied, her eyes moving back to the young man before her. “I should’ve invited supporters too then…”

“Ah?” he chuckled once again. “Supporters for you? ”

She grinned, “Your right. I don’t need supporters…” she tilted her head slightly. “I am not that needy…”

“Are you getting nervous, Nezumi-chan?” he grinned.

She shook her head. Although she was slightly nervous, she accepted the fact that whatever was going to happen had to happen in order to keep everyone else safe. Either she would die and he would leave the others alone, or she would manage to end his wicked ways herself. Either way, Wataru, Michiyo and the others would be safe.

“Sa… Shall we get this over with?” she said as her eyes narrowed and she moved into a rather defensive pose, her arms slightly raised and her hands clutched into fists.

“Hai…” his eyes narrowed as well as he lowered his arms from the crossed position they were in. “Let the spectacle begin…”

“Aaah… Muri desu…” Wataru sighed as he let himself fall back onto one of the chairs in his mother’s restaurant. They had just returned from the Tumbling competition, empty handed.

“We were so good…” Ryosuke nodded as he joined his friend. “How could we lose…?”

“Maybe because we were too sure we were going to win?” Yuta suggested as he glared at Wataru, who had been the one shouting the loudest that they were going to win the competition.

“Oi! At least I believed!” he responded.

“I think we lost because someone didn’t believe as much as Aniki did, captain,” Nippori glared back at Yuta.

“But everyone did they best, and had fun right?” Satoshi tried. “That’s what matters the most, ne?”

Kiyama nodded with a slight grin, “Right.”

“Who knows, maybe it was because Nezumi brought us bad luck,” Kaneko chuckled at the thought. For him she pretty much brought along bad luck whenever she was in the neighborhood from the moment they got involved with her.

“Ah! So desu ne…” Kashiwagi suddenly remembered something and quickly searched his pockets until he found the little envelope hidden in his left inside pocket. “Wataru, here,” he held out the envelope to the red haired yankee.

“Nani desu ka?” Wataru frowned as he hesitantly took the envelope and observed it.

“Nezumi told me to give it after the competition…” Kashiwagi shrugged.

“Nezumi kara?” he wondered as he opened the envelope and pulled out a letter. He tilted his head slightly before starting to read it out loud.

“Minna-san e.

If you are reading this it must mean that I couldn’t stay and watch the competition or support you until the very end. I am sorry. But I am sure that you did your best and made me proud.

I know I haven’t always been nice or supportive towards you, I have brought you nothing but trouble and put all of your lives at stake. This time I am being honest.

Wataru, I must admit I’ve misjudged you. I can’t believe I took Saburou’s word and thought you would actually be someone that would kill a person. Surely the flame of your yankee soul is still burning deep inside your heart, but you showed me a different kind of fighting spirit. You were fighting for your friends, your team. For the thing you love the most. And I admire that.

Ryosuke, ganbare!! Don’t give up on Michiyo just yet. I know she acts all tsundere towards you and I don’t really know why. But I know that deep down inside she likes you. You are a talented yankee and tumbler. Do your best.

Nippori, don’t put too much pressure on your own shoulders. You are a skinny guy, you can’t carry the load on your own. Trust on your friends and on your own power. And stop bullying Kaneko-kun so much. Keep fighting!

Takenaka, I am happy you decided to follow my advice and create a whole new routine. I told you that your old routine was boring, I can have good ideas too. I know I’ve caused you and your team some trouble, but keep your eye on the prize. Just remember it’s okay to take a break once in a while though.

Mizusawa, don’t give up! You are a kind and passionate person, even though you might feel out of place sometimes. You are too talented to let that go to waste. Let your voice be heard and your talent be seen.

Kaneko, don’t let Nippori tease you so much. I know you have it in you to stand up for yourself the way you did to me. There is a little yankee somewhere hidden inside you, and it’s okay to let it out sometime.

Kiyama, please look after Satoshi-kun. He really looks up to you in particular and I can see why you are his role model. Make sure you never let him down and treasure the friendships that you have around you.

Hino, you are so talented in what you do but still your ego gets in the way. I’ve heard that you had been more distant before but I feel you still need to light that team spirit in your heart even more.

Satoshi, you have been so kind to me even though I’ve treated all of you as dirt and even brought your lives at stake. I know how much you love tumbling and please remember that even though you can’t participate on the field, you are the heart of the entire time. Without your hope and trust, I don’t think they’d actually survive anywhere.

You must be wondering why I have written this letter. First and foremost it’s because it’s just too awkward for me to say these words out loud. I know it’s so unlike me to say these kind of things so writing it down would’ve been the easiest way to get it out.

This letter serves as somewhat of a farewell. The truth is that I’ve broken my promise to you, Wataru. I made you promise not to go look for Saburou on your own. But Saburou promised me that he would leave everyone alone if I would fight with him one last time. It’s either him or me, but either way all of you will never have to worry about him again. I knew that if I told you about this that you would try to stop me, Wataru. And by the time you are reading this it’s probably too late.

I am sorry for causing so much trouble. I am sorry for worrying all of you. I am sorry.

Please take care.

~ Nezumi”

“She is going to fight Saburou?” Mizusawa frowned once Wataru had lowered the letter. “Alone?”

“That’s going to be her death!”

Wataru frowned as he lowered the letter and stared right in front of him. He thought about the words he had just read, about everything she said. About the look in her eyes when she made him promise not to look for Saburou on his own and how scared she looked. Was it fear or guilt that drove her into such an idiot plan that could only lead to her death? Was she really so afraid for their safety or too proud to ask for help even though it was right in front of her?

He crushed the letter in his fist and shot up from his seat, causing the others to turn their heads.

“Not if I can help it…” he said, dropped the crushed letter and marched out of the restaurant.