The Ultimate Stride | Prince of Stride Fanfiction |

50 | A Call to Home

    | {Kyouko's P.O.V.} |

    It was impeccably dark on the corner my taxi driver had dropped me off at.

I could see the distinct shadows casted further down the block by tall, faraway streetlights, but I could barely see where my own two feet were planted.

The solidified crunching sound my sneakers made when I took my first steps outside of the car told me that I was definitely standing on top of elevated concrete- a sidewalk, most likely- and that fact made me sigh inwardly.

The road of my neighborhood doesn't have a sidewalk on it.

I had quite the walk ahead of me before I'd get to my desired street. That meant I would have an exorbitant amount of time to dwell on every last fear that'd been attacking my brain in those past few hours, and that seamlessly implied that I'd be fully indulged in poisonous, unwanted emotions.

Curse fatigue, I bitched to myself.

For because of my sleepiness, I had told the taxi driver the wrong damn street number, and now I would have to navigate my way home without the assistance of my (read: now broken) cell-phone.

"I guess I deserve this," I murmured beneath my breath as I began walking in the direction of the nearest street sign with my brows furrowed low over my eyes. "Me getting lost is probably Japan's way of saying, 'Welcome back, dip shit! This is what you get for leaving me in the first place!'."

As pathetic as that personification was, I was only trying to lessen the affects of the words I'd probably be hearing from my teammates once I made my presence known to them.

I could only imagine how angry they would be once they saw my pathetic, shriveled up face. I know I would've been livid if I saw the person who'd put me in such a pickle the day before an important tournament, so why would their reactions be any more forgiving or any less ruthless?

Instead of sticking to my word, I had scammed them. I had dropped every expectation they'd held for me like a moldy sack of potatoes, and now I was desperately trying to pick it back up and wipe off the dust.

They said that they would be understanding of my decision when they sent me that message earlier, but I think Nana might've sugarcoated their words a bit too much. I'm probably going to get the reprimanding of my life.

With this thought gnawing at my conscience, I slowly continued my walk.

After about thirty minutes of diligent wandering, I finally found a road that looked vaguely familiar to me. From there on, I was somehow able to track my way back to my apartment without anything going too terribly wrong.

Before my brain could even process the reality of it all, I was already climbing up the steps that led to my apartment door.

Unfortunately, the short climb reminded me very much of all the times Riku and Ayumu had fallen down the steps in the midst of their visits, so I began to dwell more on everyone's potential reactions for when they laid eyes on me again.

    I envisioned their looks of immense disappointment. They'd probably have their arms crossed over their chests, and they'd be looking down at me as if I were some pesky little bug. I was sure that they would have plenty of belittling things to say to me; any person would, really.