Note: This is only a preview of the true Chocolate Bruise. The original chocolate bruise will be published at the month of December.
disclaimer: ya know... pot isn't mine. but ryoga's heart is mine and no one can take it. bwahahahaha! gets hit by a humanoid potato aw, that hurts!
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Monday. How can students ever forget monday? It wasn't because monday is the first day of the week, but it is the day when students get SICK. Sick? Sick of what? It is being sick of attending schools at such a very early time. What's worst is if it has the irresistible rain. Maybe the only reason that made this day special at the month of february is the day of Valentine's Day, where dark clouds settled at the skies of Tokyo and its tremendous showers covered the whole city.
The atmosphere was really bad, especially for a meek, weak and tidy girl who was known as the Wobbly Hips, Sakuno Ryuzaki. A Girl who have a unique taste of tennis and have the unpredictable strength in worrying and praying.
"Mou... fate doesn't really agree with me..." she murmured while feeling her ache head from an unexplainable matter. She didn't used her umbrella, but instead, hugged her very big bag beneath her shaking arms while her steps towards the school known for its tennis teaching- Seishun Gakuen or Seigaku.
Wait, did she said that 'fate doesn't seem to agree with her'? Well, I think she struck a chord at the heavens. The sun never had the chance to peek even a second from the skies and was piled up with the pouring rain. Saa, the heavens loved her determination so much.
Sakuno entered the grounds of Seishun Gakuen with a sly of smile on her features. "Yokatta!(thank goodness!)"she rejoiced. Sakuno dropped her bag at the foot of her body-sized locker, bent down and looked inside the almost wet black bag. "Thank goodness; the chocolates were not- eh?!" she backed off when she saw a melted part of the biggest chocolate; the one she poured most of her time to. "Oh no... the chocolate that I made for him was, ruined..." she thought of. "Ah! What if I go back to the house and get the spare chocolate that I left inside the fridge! Demo, obaa-chan might worry if she knows that I skipped morning classes while she's away for two days..."
Sakuno sighed deeply in despair. Today is the day when she's going to give him the chocolates. But, how could she if he's stuck at the tennis club practice after classes? She might not even see him.
The auburn haired girl walked upstairs in hopelessness while feeling the heavy sensation crossing the temples of her head. She pulled out her cold hand and rubbed the right side of her forehead. "I feel like..."
"I feel like I'm going to..." Sakuno murmured softly.
She mumbled with her chocolaty eyes feeling heavy, thus resulting her to lose her conciousness and balance.
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Maybe I should go now to the locker and hide...
Ryoma Echizen have this thought from the very moment he stepped in the grounds of Seishun Gakuen school. He already thought that Valentine's Day will do no good for him, and a bunch of school fangirls can prove it for him. It's no good since the first greeting for him in the morning was the evil and cocky teases of his father. Tsche, he kept on blabbing about having a girlfriend.
He brushed his hair with his left hand while dropping his tennis bag in front of his chair, slid the sliding door and walked away. Ryoma dragged his feet through the hallways silently and walked downstairs. A very bad outcome will instantly come and devour him if someone sees him escaping.
"Worst Scenario." the prince of tennis murmured. His eyes were lazily shut down, his skillful hands relaxed at each side of his pants' pockets. Ryoma Echizen had just a dose of pure bad luck today, ne?
First was oyaji's non-stop mouth about having girlfriends. Attending classes during mondays especially with a great pour down of rain was the second. And third, it was the Valentine's day. My locker was very full of letters three times than usual. What else can I get more than this? Ryoma thought of while having a very deep sigh escaping from his lips.
"I feel like..." a very familiar soft voice came from the lower portion of the stairs. Ryoma peeked at the said part with his pair of cat-like golden eyes. Ryoma's uninterested mood shifted to another kind of emotion.
The owner of the voice have auburn hair cascading on her shoulders, her bag dropped down when she touched the temples of her forehead. "I feel like I'm going to..." she mumbled and lost her balance and conscience.
Ryoma's eyes widened. She's going to fall! he thought of quickly, ran downstairs to catch the girl's fainting body. He exactly caught the said girl beneath his arms, and was glad when he made it on time.
A second passed, thus telling him to look who's the girl he helped.
Ryoma's eyes widened when he saw the auburn haired girl. "R-Ryuuzaki?!" he retorted. He pulled out his right hand and patted Sakuno's rosy cheeks. "Oi Ryuuzaki, wake up!" he called on. When his hand surfaced her smooth cheeks, he felt something that jolted his mind.
S-She's hot!
"Oi, Ryuzaki! Hold on..."
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A pair of chocolaty eyes heaved after a very long sleep and scanned the whole room. "W-Where am I?" she wondered as she blinked slowly, her eyelashes brushing her delicate skin.
"In the clinic." a stern voice greeted her ears. Sakuno scanned the whole room once more, and was quite shocked when she saw someone sitting beside her bed. "W-Who are you?" she asked, for her long and heavy sleep blurred her eyes.
Ryoma laid his back on the wall and said, "Echizen. I am Echizen Ryoma." he answered.
Sakuno's blurred eyes widened like dinner plates, as if his name sent jolts to her spine. She sat up quickly, adrenaline rushing to infest her rosy cheeks. She rubbed her chocolaty eyes and looked at the person who talked.
"R-Ryoma-kun!" she almost stuttered.
Ryoma crossed his arms before his nape and laid once more on the wall. "The nurse told me that since Ryuzaki-sensei isn't here, I should escort you towards home." he said directly.
Sakuno's head tilted slightly. "E-eh?" she responded. The youngster gazed at the window above her bed and frowned. "Demo, obaa-chan might get worried if I skip classes..."
"Ryuzaki-sensei will be more anxious if she knows that her granddaughter did urged herself to attend the school while having a high fever." Ryoma closed his eyes lazily and objected calmly.
Sakuno backed off while registering the exact words he told her. "Demo, Ryoma-kun..."
"Let's keep on going..." Ryoma said and stood up. He picked up the bag that she was carrying a while ago, and slid the sliding door open. He looked behind him and noticed that she hasn't stood up yet. "Oi." he called on.
Sakuno was snapped back to reality when he called her. The young lady wore her black shoes and stood up. She walked towards Ryoma slowly, while feeling the very hot and head-aching sensation crossing her forehead. She sat in front of him and rubbed her temple with such a feeling inside her mind. "I-Itai... it hurts..." she murmured. Ryoma noticed that she almost close her eyes when she did, thus driving him to an unexplainable feeling.
"Take my hand." the prince of tennis told her and stretched out his right hand in front of her. Sakuno looked at his hand innocently and in seconds, she dragged it and held his hand.
It was her first time touching his hand and it gave her a very different affection.
Ryoma helped her stand up and released their entwined hands after he did.
"Is it okay if we ride my bike?" Ryoma asked to her while leading her towards the exit of the school. He gave their gatepass to the schoolguards and continued on walking. Sakuno nodded. "It is okay, but it is still raining..."
"I don't have an umbrella here, and I had also found out that your umbrella was damaged too. So, we can do nothing to resist the rain. So, is it really okay if you get wet?" Ryoma asked once more, making her clear what can happen because of not having a proper umbrella. Sakuno looked at the ground and nodded. "It is way better than being stocked here." she said.
A few minutes had passed and they reached Sakuno's house with their bodies very wet. Sakuno hopped off from the bicycle and bowed. "Anou, thank you... and I'm also sorry to interrupt you..."
Ryoma hopped off from the bike to give her luggage and nodded. "That's nothing. I'll keep on going."
-CRASH!
"Aah!" Sakuno screamed when a very loud crashing sound of thunder visited their ears. She looked at Ryoma anxiously and opened her mouth.
"Ryoma-kun, I think you should stop by for a moment and let the rain pour down until it gets weak." Sakuno dragged Ryoma's fist before he hops on his bike. Ryoma gave up the same reaction he gave to her when he was injured by Shinji Ibu's spot technique. Ryoma just nodded and gave up a surrendering smile.
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"Etou, I'm really sorry, but these are the only clothes that I think will suit up for you..." Sakuno blushed in embarrassment while offering him a pair of clothes.
Mou, why did I even stopped him awhile ago? she thought of.
Ryoma took the said clothes and changed inside the bathroom. Sakuno walked upstairs, entered her room and there, she changed clothes. Laundry time will be on Wednesday, meaning that she have no choice but to pick up her very big shirt that reached her knees. She wore shorts that was still covered by her big, thin clothing.
She slowly walked downstairs only to see Ryoma sitting on the couch silently. Sakuno approached him with a faint blush on her face and asked. "Anou... I'll just make some coffee..." she said and walked towards the kitchen.
"Need my help?" he asked. Sakuno shrilled and looked at him sheepishly. "Eto, I think I will just bring the ingredients at the living room..." she said. Ryoma walked out and sat at the previous couch and waited.
Sakuno settled all of the ingredients at the black tray and brought them to the living room. "Anou...sorry to keep you from waiting..." she said as she served the cup in front of him. "Let me do that." Ryoma said and reached the sugar container. Sakuno smiled, her eyebrows narrowing. "Eto, let me..." she was about to reach the sugar container when she felt Ryoma's different temperature. Both of them backed off and looked at the ground. Ryoma just served his own coffee, as well as Sakuno.
A few moments had passed but no one ever tried to break the silence.
"Anou... I wonder if the rain had gotten gentler by now..." Sakuno smiled, trying to butt in a conversation. Ryoma nodded, walked at the doorstep and stood up to see if it already did.
-CRASH!
"AAAH!" Sakuno screamed once more. Another roll of thunder came by, causing all of the lights to blackout. Sakuno searched in the mid-darkness for something to hold on, but instead, she spilled the cup of coffee. "Itai!" she reacted, causing Ryoma to search for her. Sakuno stood up and...
"Ouch! What was that?" Ryoma reacted when his forehead bumped on something.
Sakuno's face blushed crimson red when she heard Ryoma speak above her body. "Anou... R-Ryoma-kun..." she called on. Ryoma wondered and looked at the figure under him. "R-Ryuzaki?" he asked. Sakuno looked away and nodded. "H-Hai..."
Upon hearing her meek and mild voice, Ryoma had the perfect reason to shade crimson red.
"S-sorry." he apologized and sat up as Sakuno did. She nodded and blushed even more. "O-okay..." she stuttered and faced her back to him. Ryoma laid on her back, causing him to shift his weight to her weak body. "Ano, Ryoma-kun. You're heavy." she responded. Ryoma looked at her and smirked. "I'm not exerting force on you. Just lay your back on me and you'll never feel my weight again." he said. Sakuno did the thing that Ryoma had told him. They were on a back-to-back, feeling a very comfortable spot with each other.
"It was Valentine's Day..." she murmured and buried her face beneath her bare legs. Ryoma looked at her by occupying the space and asked, "i wonder what's so important in Valentine's Day..." he wondered. Sakuno faced him and answered, "Valentine's Day is the special day where you and-"
She cut off. Why?
gasps Kami-sama! What's this feeling? I could feel my cheeks burning! Sakuno thought of when she felt Ryoma's breath towards her face. Ryoma did the same way to, when he heard her voice enter his cleared ears. Their lips were gaped so closely. So closely. Just an inch and they are about to kiss.
Sakuno looked at the other way to stop herself and stood up. "Etou, I remember!" she clapped her hands together to make herself forget what happened a while ago. "Etou Ryoma-kun, I have a self-made chocolate at the fridge! I think we can-"
"Stay here." Ryoma commanded and grasped her wrist, hugged her quickly and whisper inside her ear. "I know what's important in Valentine's day."
Sakuno's eyes widened when she felt the ticking sensation that his breath brought to her ears. Her mouth gaped open and asked, "What?"
"In Valentine's Day, you'll learn how to explore your feelings..." he whispered once more and hugged her beneath his encircling arms.
"R-Ryoma-kun..." she mumbled. She can feel the fast beating of her heart taking over her. She wondered if Ryoma can feel it too.
"Ryuzaki.." he started and held her chin. Sakuno blinked several times as hints of blushes infested her face.
"I think I'll get the chocolates by no-"
"No." Ryoma said, bent down to the smaller feature in front of him and started kissing her soft lips. He savored every moment.
The prince should know how much he made her princess very happy.
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A/N: This is just a preview… hehe so I changed the title. Thanks!
rookie-chan