Okay… I'm glad I'm able to write again. Yet, this is really new to me since the genre I'm focusing my work onto was mainly humor/romance. And now, here I am, trying to make the complete opposite. So, bear with me folks!
Disclaimer: It is understood that I can't own POT even though as a Christmas present.
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"Is it snowing, Tomo-chan?" Sakuno asked in a soft voice, staring blankly into her front.
"Not yet. It seems like the snowfall report was wrong." Tomoka placed a glass of water by her table.
Sakuno smiled sadly, wishing that she could somewhat feel the upcoming snowfall. She had been blind due to melanoma, a cancer in the eye. Sakuno had it for a year, eight years after Ryoma left for America in pursuit of his own tennis future. The cancer was said to be dormant, yet it did affect her eyesight, eventually losing her vision.
Sakuno held onto her window while feeling the cold sensation winter has brought about. It had been a year since she last saw the white lump of snow. She wiped the moisture filled on the sill and sighed, only to catch Tomoka's attention.
"What's the matter?" Tomoka faced her with a bouquet of flowers at hand.
"I-I just feel… scared. Tomo-chan, a-am I… going to die?" Sakuno's hand slipped away and was later perched on her lap.
"D-don't say that! You'll get through this stupid disease! I-I know you would!" Tomoka yelled in muffled cries as she tried to sound sincere for her friend.
Sakuno laid down on her bed, succumbing herself to the soft cushions she was on. She was admitted to the hospital for about five months now, with tests conducted on her sparingly. Chemotherapy sessions were not yet issued because responses from the cancer cells were not yet triggered. Sakuno closed her eyes in thought, hoping that everything will go accordingly and that the disease she has now would ultimately leave her alone in peace. With that, she fell asleep, still unable to change her status.
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Finally, he has returned. It had been eight years since his last visit to his hometown, Japan. Ryoma slumped onto their couch, waiting for the tea his cousin Nanako had prepared for all of them right after their tiring fourteen-hour journey. He idly eyed the fireplace, watching as the red flames battled and danced, dominating to whomever they would come across with. He somewhat resembled them, with his tennis skills conquering the court and the world. A smirk graced his features as he continuously stared. His trance was sooner broken by the clattering sounds of glass as they rung through his ears.
"I heard that the old hag passed away just last year. December 23rd—that's what I've heard." Nanjiro held on his cup, a serious expression showing grief for the loss of his former coach.
Ryoma gazed at his reflection on his own goblet, quite shocked about the tragic news he just heard. Ryuzaki Sumire was truly a great woman, the same woman who led Seigaku to victory. Without her forceful drives, monstrous voice, blazing determination and passionate love for the boy's tennis team; what could have possibly happened to Seigaku's honor? To the upcoming batch of tennis stars? To Seigaku's future glory? To her granddaughter?
He stopped. His expressionless face was still present on his tea, yet the blank thoughts about the consequences of such a loss halted. Why suddenly think of the coach's granddaughter? Ryoma mentally acknowledged it as a form of condolence, knowing that the lass would be very depressed about losing the only family she had. And that brought a heavy constriction in his stomach.
"Ei seshounen, like to come visit her grave tomorrow?" His father's annoying voice stopped the whirling emotions inside of him, causing him to stare icily.
"Hn." He sipped his tea, unable to taste the warm liquid as it flushed down his throat.
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"Are you sure about this? Don't you want me to come with you?" Tomoka's concerned tone was audibly heard as Sakuno spoke to her by phone.
"It's fine. I want to be alone with her. And, you have work. Fuji-sensei is coming with me." Sakuno explained in a soft manner.
Sakuno placed the phone back to its original position, sighing in deep thought. Her Christmas wasn't blissful as it used to be, since a line of disasters fell upon her on that cold December night of the past year. Her grandmother passed away just a couple of days before the yearly festivity and she had slowly lost her vision two weeks after. Five months after that, Fuji perceived her case, finally telling her that she needed to be confined in the infirmary for test purposes.
Sakuno gently wrapped the woolly scarf her doctor, Fuji, had given her, and felt up her way towards the door. She halted by the room's cabinet, the whiff of carnations caught her attention. They were recently brought by Tomoka, her present for her. She held onto the drawer's top, only to bump into a fury tennis ball perched on it.
Sakuno held it in front of her, feeling every little detail of the green neon ball she had at hand. This was her request for a present when Momoshiro and Eiji paid for a visit, since she terribly missed watching Ryoma's games on the television. It somewhat reminded her of the same ball she had given to him eight years back due to his demand, and it brought courage and strength for her to stay strong and continuously fight until she will be able to see again.
A knock on her door followed, and Fuji entered the room in a brown trench coat.
"Are you ready? We're leaving." Fuji's irreplaceable smile was still there, and the sensual feeling of it made Sakuno nod and smile as well.
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"She would be very delighted that you have decided to spend some time with her on this cold season." Fuji drove towards the cemetery, not gazing at the silent maiden situated on his left (Japanese cars had their passengers' seats on the left).
"Fuji-sensei, just drop me off. I want to be alone." Sakuno meekly requested, her hands still gripping the tennis ball earlier.
"Sure." Fuji assured her, knowing that the lass went through a series of adversity, yet constantly stood up.
Sakuno heaved a smile of gratitude, placing the ball on her jacket pocket.
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They stood in front of her grave, praying for her soul in the process. Ryoma opened his eyes sluggishly, reading the frosty epitaph on his front. The gold Japanese characters which glistened proved her death, and eventually led both father and son to mourn in silence. Ryoma clasped his eyes shut, praying for her soul, while his father eyed the white snow in front of him.
"Let's go. You're mother said that there would be a snowfall this afternoon." Nanjiro patted his son's shoulder.
"You go. I want to stay longer." Ryoma replied.
With that simple response, Nanjiro left the lad clad in a navy blue trench coat by the epitaph of the late Seigaku coach. Ryoma didn't understand why, yet he instinctively stayed by the same spot without further question. He gazed at the marbled epitaph with same coldness, his hands tucked in his pockets. He gently closed his eyes, inhaling the December breeze surrounding him.
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Footsteps were audible a few minutes after his father left. Being the cautious gamin he was, he opened his eyes in a quick manner. Twisting his head to the footsteps' direction, he wasn't surprised to find that it was an auburn-pigtailed maiden--clinched into a black jacket, heading towards his direction, knowing perfectly well that she was Ryuzaki Sakuno, the deceased lady's granddaughter. Yet, he was visibly shocked to find out that the lass didn't mind him at all, not greeting him with the regular blushes and stutters he usually predicted eight years ago. In fact, she trotted in silence, a triumphant smile lingering on her face as she passed by him without a single glance.
Ryoma was outraged. The negligence she just performed towards him was too much, with the fact that he was able to recognize her—who wasn't that of much importance. He mutely eyed her, his thoughts in mind on how unpleasant she was the moment she walked through him. And there, he stopped and froze. Wait, was he that important for her to recognize? Why does he feel so pissed off the moment she abandoned him? She was nothing more than just his former coach's granddaughter, right? Ryoma denied all of the possible romantic assumptions he could find, and decided to call for her attention instead.
"Oi. You're stepping on the epitaph." Ryoma impassively greeted.
Sakuno yelped in surprise, astonished to find that someone else was there aside from her. She walked backwards right after the monotonous voice rang her out of her concentration on trotting on her own.
"A-am I? S-sorry, but I didn't notice that any-anyone else was here." She tried to recall the oh-so-familiar voice, not turning her back from the stranger.
"It's rude to talk with your back, Ryuzaki." Ryoma ruffled his hair, trying his best to keep his eyes from narrowing.
'Ryuzaki?' Sakuno faced the voice's direction, trying to decipher who this person was—only to stop with one.
"Ryo…ma-kun?" Sakuno wondered out loud, earning a smirk from the twenty-one year old.
Sakuno realized her statement, only to gasp in front of the prodigy once again. She muttered a few apologies (yes, they have lessened) and beamed shyly at the dumbfounded lad in front of her. Ryoma eyed her mysteriously, noting that there was something wrong with this encounter—that there was something wrong with her.
"It is me, Ryuzaki. What are you? Blind?" Ryoma cockily muttered, not knowing that he had hit the right spot.
Sakuno silenced herself the moment those words reached her developed ears. She had made a total fool of herself, assuming that he wasn't Ryoma for the fact that Ryoma was residing in America for eight years time. She quietly stared at her feet, as Ryoma raised his eyebrows in question. Yet, the dark sensation surrounding both of them was lifted the moment white beads of ice reached Sakuno's exposed nape and Ryoma's tousled hair.
"It's snowing." Sakuno touched her nape, feeling the cold, watery stir the snow had provided her.
"Hn." Ryoma replied with less enthusiasm, yet he continued to watch the smiling Sakuno as she playfully tried to catch the falling purity of the heavens.
Sakuno sealed her eyes shut. She felt the continuous drizzle on her head and the cold blankets of snow piled up on her feet. The presence Ryoma was emitting was somewhat peaceful now, not like the ones she felt during junior high. It might be because of age, because of the huge gap since they last saw each other.
And now, she won't be able to see him again. To notice how tall he was, to decipher the length of his hair, to see his smirks and smiles, to watch him play wholeheartedly. With that realization, she opened her eyes, staring blankly in the midst of nothingness.
"Yes. I am blind." Sakuno smiled, her eyes showing the lack of ability they once had.
Ryoma stood there, rooted on the ground. He was truly surprised to know such matters about the lass in front of him. Questions swarmed in his mind, concern flooded his thoughts—yet he paid no heed to all of them. He incessantly stared, trying to uncover the truth behind her recent statement just now. Yet she doesn't lie, and her hazy eyes are proof of that.
"Since when?" Ryoma couldn't contain himself.
"I had it for a year now. Doctors said that it was melanoma, a cancer." Sakuno felt the small mound of snow on her gloved palms, and she started craving for their frigidness.
Ryoma felt his stomach scrunch. He didn't know why, yet he eyed her impassively, processing the news about her current condition on his mind. To find out that she only had the disease two weeks subsequent to the death of her grandmother welled up a foreign feeling throughout his system. He eyed her calmly, watching her petite form wrapped up in a jacket as she tried to feel the mass of snow on her hand. His gaze, from her hands, traveled to her gentle face—only to see a small genuine smile grazing on its full glory.
"Stop that. Your hands will get numb." Ryoma warned her, not removing his feline orbs on her face.
Sakuno merely smiled at his direction, dropping the snow onto the ground. She was happy; to say the least, the moment those words of concern were spat out of his mouth. A small amount of pink fueled her cheeks right after that.
"It's funny, Ryoma-kun. All I see is black." Her eyes dropped, as well as her smile, catching the attention of the prince.
Sakuno felt helpless the moment she met Ryoma on the grave of her grandmother. To have someone she wholly loved find out about her illness would be too troublesome, both for her and the said person. She felt stupid, since she wasn't even able to face him directly, she wasn't able to see the man he had been. With those thoughts lingering in her mind, a single tear fled from her eyes without her notice at all.
Ryoma watched her closely upon hearing those words to be carried out in a depressed tone. He knew that she was unhappy—especially since the moment he found out about her situation. He silently sauntered towards her, only to witness the tear that gushed out of her left eye. Without further adieu, he threw his pride away and wiped it.
He heard her gasp. He saw her eyes widen. He saw the red color as it slowly arose to her puffy cheeks. Yet, he didn't take his hand off of her cheek. The bare palm caressing her cheek felt warm, and it made his lip twitch upward. He closed his eyes for a moment, rethinking his actions, yet never regretting them. He placed his other hand on her nape, letting the poor blind maiden to lean into his chest. The moment her head and his chest made contact, he was finally sure.
He was sure about what he felt. And the troubles he had in mind were finally drifting away.
"R-Ryoma-kun." Sakuno stammered as she stiffened, unable to process the happenings just now.
Ryoma remained silent, sliding his hand down to her waist. Sakuno grew more rigid than she was before, earning a smirk from the tennis prince. Ryoma placed his chin atop of her auburn locks, letting the girl in his arms feel secured. Yet, she was still paralyzed to the bone.
"Y-you c-can let g-go now, Ryoma-kun." Sakuno's continuous fidgeting is really annoying, yet, he couldn't care less.
"Yadda." He stubbornly answered in a cold voice, shoving her frame deeper into his chest.
"Calm down. Everything's going to be alright." Ryoma added, letting the lass feel comfortable at once.
Sakuno didn't know why, yet those words were the same words she wanted to hear. At that moment, all of her anxieties were deceased, and the blackness surrounding her seemed to lighten. She can't understand why he was doing this, yet the sensation of being in his arms was what she needed now.
Ryoma opened his right eye the moment she succumbed into his embrace. A smirk graced his features as he saw the smile that was plastered on her face. He knew that this was the only thing he could give her. And the moment was too ideal, under the drizzle of untainted white snow.
Maybe, just maybe, feeling secure in the midst of darkness was enticing.
Especially under a blanket of thick, black snow.
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That's it, folks. Hope you like it!