Youthful Days (Book 1)

12. Ultraviolence

When she did her jog the next morning, Ayuna spotted Ryoma crumpled on a bench at the opening of the cherry blossom grove, his head bent at an odd angle. Hearing footsteps, he looked up, and she immediately saw grisly cuts all over his face.

"Hanamachi, got a minute?" he croaked.

Ayuna nodded warily.

"Where's that first-aid kit of yours?"

"In my bag, back in the girls' locker room."

"Could you fetch it?" Ryoma grimaced, his teeth clenched as he eked out a plea, "I need your help."

She nodded again. To his shock, she spun on her heels and loped towards the gym without asking a single question. He waited with the bill of his cap hung low to conceal his blood-mottled face from anyone passing by.

Within five minutes, Ayuna was back at his side with a nylon pouch in her lap. They were both silent as she unpacked bandages and antiseptic solutions. When the damp cloth hit his wound, Ryoma inhaled sharply from the sting.

"What happened?" she asked.

"I fell."

"Like heck you did," Ayuna shot back. "With your dexterity, you wouldn't fall even if you hobbled on one leg."

Ryoma grunted once, as either confirmation or denial, she wasn't sure. Without speaking a word, Ayuna concentrated on staunching his bleeding wounds with a cotton ball. When she started to unroll the gauze bandage, she heard Ryoma speak again.

"Rocks," he said, taking off his cap. "It was rocks."

Ayuna stopped her movements. "Somebody hit you with rocks?"

"Served them with a racket—a handful or so."

"Why?"

"Like I know."

"Maybe it's your attitude," Ayuna pointed out, half-jokingly. She expected Ryoma to make a smart comeback. Instead, he seemed to be in agreement.

"You may be right. The guy was obsessed with not being ordered around. So maybe my attitude didn't help."

"Who was the guy?"

"Somebody from our next rival school," said Ryoma. "A senior from Yamabuki."

"Your opponent?"

"No idea."

She returned to unraveling the roll of bandage. "Seems like everyone's treating you like a moving target."

"Yeah, I think so," admitted Ryoma, almost painfully.

"You should take this situation and yourself more seriously. Nobody else is going to do that for you," advised Ayuna. She wrapped the gauze bandage around a huge gash on his forehead and secured it with several pieces of adhesive tape. "It's barely been a month, and I've already bandaged you twice."

"I think I said thanks."

"That's not the point."

When she finished tending to every single cut on Ryoma's face, she gathered a handful of used cotton balls, swabs and antiseptic wipes into a small plastic bag for discard. Running a hand over his face, Ryoma half-smiled at her. "Now I feel as good as new."

"Let's hope this is the last time, okay?"

Instead of replying, Ryoma asked, "Why don't you come to watch the game next Saturday?"

She was surprised by his invitation. Motioning to his patched-up face, she said, "If coach Ryuzaki still lets you play once she sees you. What do you plan on telling her, anyway?"