[takeda sadako]

The silence between them was thick with tension, made all the heavier by the mutual sound of heavy breathing, the pained crackling of stressed joints and displaced bones. Sadako reached up, setting two fingers firmly on each side of her nose, and snapped it back into place with a sickening crunch and a grunt of pain. She’d still need to haul herself to a medic to get it set properly, but it would do for now. She expected Ren to say something—crack some kind of a joke, offer up one of those warm smiles that he gave out so freely and say something kind and cheerful that would wash away the sick feeling that was festering in her gut. But he didn’t say anything; just tossed his blood-soaked towel over to her and barely spared a glance her way. He looked… she didn’t know how he looked. Pensive, maybe. But some people were like that. Sadako ran hot, she knew that, had a fiery temper that burned as hot and fast as a summer wildfire. Other people ran cold, shut down, shut out the world with a chilly disdain that would sooner watch you drown than waste the effort to throw you a line. She left the water bottle where it landed, watched with a flat, distant kind of disinterest as his clean white shirt covered up the damage she’d done. And just like that he was gone. Drawing her knees up to her chest, Sadako pressed her bloodied face to her thighs, taking in deep, shaky breaths. Her face hurt, her chest hurt, her stomach hurt; her whole body ached in a way that she thought she’d trained herself out of a long time ago. The pain couldn’t touch you if you didn’t let it, but at some point between then and now she’d gone soft, and the hurt settled into the exposed parts of her, taking advantage of the openings that she’d so stupidly left on offer. It wasn’t a question of does he hate me?—it was a certainty cemented into her bones. Just another bridge she’d burned. He didn’t give a rat’s ass about her, just like all the rest. The pain couldn’t touch you if she didn’t let it. She’d gone soft—she could fix that. Train harder, study longer. She didn’t need him. She didn’t need anyone. Sadako shrugged her hoodie back on, and she left for her run. [fin.]

Ishikawa Ren -- 413

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