A/N: Sorry for not updating the two of us...
I just had to type this out before I forget it so...
I promise I'll update the two of us after this, so don't throw tomatoes at me Dx
I think this story will be on semi-HIATUS...
Dedicated to Saru-chan! Happy belated birthday! (The link to her profile is on my profile… If any of you are interested.)
And of course, thank you Saru for being my beta reader for the first half (Even though it's your birthday prezzie)!
And of course, thanks JunScay for being my beta reader for the rest!
Chapter one: The seed is planted
"Living a happy life is the best thing anyone can wish for."
"Hontou? Ever better than having enough money to pay off our debts?" A very innocent eight years old questioned.
"Of course it is, Sakuno."
"How do you know?"
"I'm your grandmother. I know these things."
A woman in a black business suit yawned. She looked around her office and sighed. "I really do need to organize my office. It's too messy."
She looked at her messy desk filled with folders and messy stacks of papers that needed her signature. Slowly, she took out a key, and opened the top right drawer. Reaching in, she took a photo out and stared at it. It was of her when she was still in school, with her long time crush. For a second, she wondered what he was doing now, but immediately pushed that thought to the back of her head. It's better this way. It won't hurt as much.
Suddenly, someone knocked on her door. She quickly put the photo back in and locked the drawer. "Come in."
A man in his mid-forties confidently walked in.
"Do you need something?" The woman asked. She was sure there wasn't anything scheduled until half an hour later.
The man looked at her straight in the eye, and said, "You're the owner of this company... are you not?"
The woman merely laughed, and nodded to the sign on her door, which very obviously stated the answer to his question in bold letters. "I believe so." She finally said with a smile.
The man nodded, and said, "I am from the company M&K, and I have a proposal to make."
The woman sighed mentally, and she pointed to a chair. "Well then. Sit down, and let's hear it."
"Please! Answer our questions! Cooperate with us!"
"I refuse. Whatever the company does is none of my business. It belongs to my step-brother, not me."
A man with the name of Echizen Ryoma answered all of the questions unwillingly. He just got back from a tennis match and he found all these annoying people in front of his house. All he wanted to do was to home and take a shower, eat, then find a tennis court and practice somewhere. Taking a nap didn't seem like a bad idea either...
After forcing his way towards the house, he quickly shut the gate behind him, and went inside. His mother and father had died from a car crash a few years ago, and he was adopted into his godmother's family. His 'family' now consisted of two stepbrothers, one older, one younger, his step-mom, and step-dad. Ryoma never once called them Okaa-san or Otou-san, always preferring to be formal with them. They kept saying "No need to be so formal!", but he couldn't bring himself to it.
It was true that they were friendly, and kind, but they were still not his real parents. No one could replace them. He thought of his younger stepbrother, Akio. He was a year younger than Ryoma, and is known for being a playboy. He was never serious, and was always fooling around. His older stepbrother however, was the exact opposite. Naoko has a cold attitude, and with his unusual light icy blue eyes, people called him 'the iceberg'.
He took a shower, and after putting on a pair of jeans, walked out and laid on his bed. His wet hair made the pillows equally wet, but he didn't care. Taking his cell phone from the top of the drawer beside him, he dialed a long distance number, seeing as he was in US at the moment, and the person he needed to talk to lives in Japan.
"Hello?" A deep male voice answered.
"It's Ryoma. Have you found her yet?"
A pause, then, "Ah! Are you talking about your lovely girlfriend Saku-"
"Who else?" He snapped. He had intentionally ignored the girlfriend remark, as that was the furthest thing away from his mind at the moment. The most important thing is to find her.
"Unfortunately, no. However!" The voice quickly added, before Ryoma could hang up, "We found some clues."
Ryoma closed his eyes as the other person went on and on, until he couldn't resist but say, "If you've found so many clues, why don't you GO and see if it IS her?"
"Ahh! Ryoma-san, I-"
He was cut off as Ryoma hung up on him. Again. He shivered, and quickly gathered his things and headed out. He knew better than to ignore Ryoma's request, after all, the money Ryoma was giving him all these years was enough to last any normal person a good fifteen years or so…
"How was our offer?" The man asked. The woman closed her eyes, and said, "Sorry. Not interested."
The man looked at her in a strange way. "Excuse me?"
The woman sighed, seeing the expression, she explained. "In order for me to accept your offer, I would have to break our contract with the A/L corp. I can't do that. I admit, it is a very tempting offer, but I must refuse."
The man shook his head and laughed. "Are you sure? This is a once in a lifetime opportunity. You'll regret refusing us."
"Oh? Will I regret it now? I never knew you could predict the future." She stood up as soon as she saw her secretary made hand motions towards the clock, and continued. "Also, next time, please make an appointment with my secretary Yuuki there, as our little 'meeting' is disturbing my meeting with the others."
He glared, and he finally snapped. "You little brat." He looked at her up and down. "I've been in M&K for over twenty years, and you? You don't look a day past eighteen, and you own Mist?"
The woman sat back down, and calmly waited until he was finished, but suddenly looked up at the phrase, "You're just probably using your parent's influence and money to get you where you are right now."
The coffee cup she was holding was placed on the plate with a loud clang. Some spilled onto the plate, but neither of them noticed. "I am very flattered that you think I'm eighteen, but I am not." Although I'm not that much older than an eighteen years old... I'm only nineteen.
She stood up. "I personally don't give a shit about what people say, but I made it to this CEO seat because of my own abilities. My parents you say? They're dead."
She took a deep breath, "Story time's over. Now leave." She walked closer to him, and narrowed her eyes. "Before I lose my temper and throw. You. Out!"
The man glared at her one last time, then left. When he was almost out of the door, he heard a loud noise. He looked back and saw something that scarred him for life. He quickly walked out, and vowed never to come back again.
Where the hell could she have gone? It's been four years dammit. Why am I still even thinking about her? Ryoma sighed. Maybe because you fell for her… and wanted to see her ever since that day…
"So? What happened to that… person?" A girl smirked.
Ryoma rubbed his eyes, and yawned. He answered the question without opening his eyes. "What are you talking about?"
"You know. That girl with the freakishly long hair. The annoying one."
Ryoma opened his eyes, and narrowed them. He looked at the girl in front of him, and was positive she was in her second year. "Long hair? Annoying? Isn't she right in front of me?"
The girl didn't get it. She turned around, and looked, but saw no one. Frowning, she said, "But that's impossible. I saw her leave school earlier with a man. How can she be here in front of…" She blinked. "W-what? Why are you so mean to me Ryoma-kuuun?"
"Don't call me that." He snapped. Unable to take anymore of her talking, he stood up, and left, not even bothering to say bye. It was only when he almost turned the corner that he finally knew who the girl was talking about. Turning his head, he saw the girl looking back at him with a shocked expression. "What did you say earlier? About a man?"
The girl sighed, and slightly turned her body away. "Not telling."
Ryoma just shrugged, and left quietly. He almost reached the tennis courts when he heard the girl scream. "HOW COULD YOU JUST LEAVE ME ALONE HERE LIKE THAT? THE PRETTIEST GIRL ON EARTH JUST WASTED HER TIME TO TALK TO YOU, YOU KNOW?"
Ryoma tugged on his cap, and ignored the outburst. Even though he had left, he was still curious about Ryuzaki and the men. Although he seemed cold, and people often said he didn't understand love, a certain girl had changed all that. From the day that she became friends with him, he had cared about her. It was only recently that he finally understood what this feeling meant. He loved her, and had been for the past two years. However, he also acted the coldest to her. Always ignoring her, and looking away. It wasn't because he hated her. It's just that he was sure she didn't like him back, despite what his senpai said, not to mention the fact that he had just introduced her to a friend of his, and they started going out. He also acted cold to her because he didn't know how to face her.
"Echizen-buchou, the change room seems to be locked."
He decided that he will go to her house after practice and see for himself. He slowly walked towards the change room, ignoring the first year, and wondering about Sakuno all the way there.
Two days later…
Ryoma finally got the time to visit Sakuno. 'Maybe she's sick. That's why she didn't come to school for the past two days… and her grandmother had to stay home and take care of her. That must be it.'
He rang her doorbell, but no one answered.
"Coach? Ryuzaki…?"
He pressed the button a few more times, but he received no response. 'Maybe their doorbell isn't working. I'll try knocking.'
He was about to knock when someone tapped on his shoulder. Turning around, he found himself face to face with an old woman. Instinctively he moved backward, and stared.
"Are you looking for the Ryuzaki's, kid?"
He slowly nodded.
"Ahh." The grandmother suddenly had tears in her eyes. "Sumire-san passed away just two days ago, and lovely Sakuno-chan just moved away yesterday. This house is empty. You're a bit too late, kid."
"Nani?"
From that day on, as if by magic, she slowly disappeared from everyone's hearts and memories. Her desk was moved to the corner and piled with junk. Her face was long forgotten by everyone, except her best friend, and Ryoma. All that remained to remind them of her was a diary. A diary filled with her thoughts and feelings. A diary that Tomoka found, and shared with him.
He was reading it during his lunch. Most of it was about tennis, and how much she loved someone. Ryoma skimmed through those. There were some pages about Sumire. He flipped to the last page, and the last three words almost made him punch the tree trunk he was leaning on.
Ryoma-kun, I love you…
Their feelings were mutual, but Ryoma had taken the wrong turn, and when he came back, it was a step too late. She was already gone.
Suddenly he heard a knock, and he was brought back to reality. "Come in."
The door quickly opened, and he heard footsteps. Slowly opening his eyes, he saw several girls staring right back at him. He groaned inwardly. Sluts from Akio's party. Soon, they were crowding around his bed, whispering to each other. One of them pointed to his chest, and giggled. It was then that Ryoma remembered. I didn't put a shirt on…! Getting more and more annoyed by the second, he finally shouted, "Akio!"
As expected, he came out of his hiding place. "Yo onii-san." Akio stood by the door with crossed arms, and he was also leaning against the door frame. "Sup?"
"Akio. Get these slu-" He coughed. "These women out of my room."
"Aww. Common. Have some fun. Both Naoko nii-san and you are so boring."
"You have fun. I'm sleeping." With that, he covered himself with his bed sheets, and ignored all the commotion. One of the braver women reached out and stroked his hair. He flinched and turned around to glare at the culprit. "You! Don't. Touch. Me."
The girl quickly retrieved her hand, and left, the others soon followed.
"Akio-kun!"
"Aww. Well it's fine if he doesn't appreciate the finer things in life. I do."
With that, they left, Ryoma got up to close the door, and locked it to prevent unwanted guests. He didn't mean to be so cold to them; it's just that the touch was so different. Just too different from hers… And he drifted off to sleep with that thought in mind.
"Ryoma-kun?"
"Hm?"
"Are you alright? I heard that something happened to Karupin."
Sakuno was in gym class, and because the teacher wasn't here, and there was no replacement, they had a free block. She was on her way to the water fountain when she found Ryoma sitting under a tree. As usual, he didn't answer her.
"O-of course you don't have to answer. Sorry for bothering you." Sakuno stood up and was about to leave when Ryoma reached out and grabbed her hand.
"Ne Sakuno. Can you comfort me?"
"C-c-comfort you? How?"
"Like how you would to Karupin when he is sad."
"Okay…"
Sakuno looked at him, and although his facial expressions remain the same, she noticed how sad his eyes were, and couldn't help but want to help him. She sat down in front of him, and hugged him. She patted his head, and ran his fingers through his hair. "Karupin, good boy. Everything's fine. See? I'll buy you a new cat toy the next time I pass by the pet store."
She rubbed his back, and continued talking in a soft, soothing voice. She immediately blushed when Ryoma hugged her back, and she realized that it was Ryoma she was comforting and not Karupin. Not trusting her voice, she merely continued what she was doing before, rubbing his back. After a little while, the bell rang, which signaled the end of school. Sakuno started to let go, but Ryoma didn't. Instead, he did the opposite. He hugged her even tighter.
"Thank you Sakuno. I feel better now."
He finally let go of her when he heard some students walking towards them, immediately missing her warmth. Sakuno stared at him and he stared back. He looked away when a boy came over to talk to her, but didn't move from his spot.
"Ryuzaki! Why are you here?" Following Sakuno's gaze, it landed on Ryoma. Sakuno's classmate looked away. He slowly lifted his head, and was about to put his arm around her to get her away from Ryoma when Ryoma suddenly spoke.
"Don't even think about it."
He instinctively let his arm fall back to his side, and his eyes widened.
"Don't even think about touching my things."
He turned his head towards Ryoma, but stopped when he noticed that Ryoma was staring, no, glaring back at him. Sakuno had no idea what was going on and she looked back and forth between them. He quickly muttered, "Sorry Ryuzaki. I have to go. Bye."
Ryoma continued glaring until he disappeared, and Sakuno noticed.
"Ryoma-kun? Are you mad?"
"No."
Ryoma noticed that the guy from earlier wanted to come back again. This time however, he was lurking around with some friends. Ryoma frowned.
"Ryuzaki."
"Hai?"
"Can you sit beside me?"
"Huh? Ano…"
Ryoma broke eye contact with the guys, and turned to look at her.
"O-okay."
When she sat down beside him, he turned both his head and body, and leaned on her instead of the tree trunk. She blushed, but he couldn't see. He was too busy glaring his death glare at them.
They finally got the clue and left. Ryoma sighed. All that glaring was making his eyes tired. He closed his eyes, and thought one last thought before he fell asleep. 'Sakuno's quite comfortable…'
She was just in the office, when she heard, "Ryuzaki-san! There's a request from Naoko-san. He said it's nothing important, but…"
"Naoko? I'll call him. Thank you Yuuki."
She took out her cell phone, and dialed his cell number. She had made a mistake of calling his work phone once, and had to talk to his bitchy secretary. In the end, she didn't even get to talk to him. She made sure never to repeat that mistake again.
"Hello, Naoko? You called?"
"Who are you again?"
"Me."
"Ah… Sak-"
"Mmhmm. So? What do you want?"
She heard Naoko chuckle over the phone, and almost asked him to explain why he was laughing, but stopped herself in time. So what if she's always straight to the point, and interrupting him before he even finishes his sentence? Time is valuable. There nothing wrong with that.
"Well then. My father wants my younger brother to go to your company and work. I don't really mind what kind of job he has, but my father requested that he know some things about business. Personally, I would've made him work at my company, but I'm kind of busy at the moment."
"And how do you know that I'm not busy myself?"
"Because you have good time management."
She laughed. "Well all right. Besides, you did save me from drowning two years ago, and I still haven't repaid you yet. So? When's Akio coming?"
"Akio?"
"Yes… You said he's coming… right?"
"Oh, no. Not Akio. My father's best friend died, and his wife died with him. My father, being the godfather of their child, took him in. Did I forget to tell you?"
"Yeah. I guess."
"You're not going to ask his name?"
"No point in asking. You're going to tell me eventually anyway."
She took a cup of iced-tea, and took a sip, while she waited for Naoko to give her his name.
"You might've heard of him, because his name is known world-wide, and it concerns your ex-favorite sport, tennis. His name is Echizen Ryoma."
The cup fell from her hands, ruining her many hours of work. "N-nani?"
A few days later, Naoko suddenly appeared in Ryoma's room. Ryoma, unused to being in the same room as Naoko, suddenly have a very bad feeling.
"Yes?" Ryoma said slowly, cautiously staring at him.
"Don't worry brother. It's nothing big."
"Then why do you have that look?" He answered bluntly.
Naoko chuckled, and continued. "It's just that our father requests that you know the basics of business, seeing as your father left you a company, which you will inherit very soon."
"He requested?"
"Yes," Naoko said firmly. "Father requested."
With that, he left the room, and it signaled the end of the conversation between him and Ryoma.
"Father, are you sure you want him to work at Mist? Your company still has room…"
"Ahh Naoko. The ever so thoughtful one. You don't want Ryoma to meet her, is that it?"
"It's not that I don't want them to meet, it's just that I don't think they're quite ready. Father. Are you sure this is wise?"
"Didn't I tell you to tell Sakuno that he's going to her company?"
"I did."
"And what is her reaction?"
"Shocked."
"How about Ryoma?"
"Didn't tell him… yet."
"Ah. Trying to give him a surprise Naoko?"
Naoko didn't answer. He knew that his father knew he wasn't trying to surprise Ryoma at all.
"Naoko, thank you for taking care of her for the past two years. I know that I adopted you, but to me, you're like my eldest son, and all I can say is, I'm sorry."
"Sorry?" Naoko frowned. "For what?"
"You may think I'm being unfair, but Naoko. You can't love her."
Naoko choked. "Love her? Father. I think you misunderstood. I don't think I ever told you before because I was sure you knew. I am her cousin."
"C-cousin?"
He watched as his father's glasses slipped out of his wrinkly hands, and he rushed forward to catch it before it fell and broke. Naoko sighed.
"Yes. I'm her cousin, but she doesn't know it. I have also searched for my uncle and aunt who have died, but that was a temporary lie. I asked around, and they told me that they're not dead. They just want people to think they are, so they can clear up the confusion about the debts. However, I heard that they have recently started searching for their daughter."
"Confusion? Naoko, what confusion is there? And they are searching for Sakuno? Why?"
"Father, you know the debt that they supposedly owe? Actually, it didn't have anything to do with her or her family at all. It was my father. He gambled, and he lost, and you can pretty much figure out the rest. They mistook my father for my uncle."
"Ahh…"
"Her parents have started searching for her again because the confusion is cleared. I paid them off with some of the company's money, seeing as I don't have enough. I hope you do not mind. However, I will pay you back very soon."
The man before him continued nodding, and Naoko wasn't sure if he was listening or not.
Naoko frowned again. "Father, I know that you researched me before you adopted me, so how come you act surprised? Shouldn't you know this already?"
His father shook his head. "True. I did do that, but it was only the basics, if you had any sickness, and things like that. There wasn't much detail about you. You were always the quiet one, never mentioning anything about your family."
Naoko looked down. Is this a good thing or a bad thing then? "Well Father, it is getting late, and I must leave early tomorrow for a business trip. Please excuse me."
With that, he left his dumbfounded father behind, who is still muttering something about a cousin, and a marriage. (a/n: Le gasps. A marriage? With who? Oh wait… I'm supposed to know. Heh.)
The next day…
"Ryuzaki-san, Naoko-san is here with Echizen-kun." A pause, then, "You're so lucky~~ I can't believe you get to meet with him!"
Sakuno sighed, and suddenly a very good idea came to her. "Ne, how about this… you go and introduce him to the workers and all that crap instead of me?"
Yuuki squealed. "REALLY?"
"Of course." She smiled out of relief and watched as her secretary practically jumped out of the room. She went back to her work, feeling lucky that she escaped. If only she knew how unlucky she would be later…
Twenty minutes later…
Ryoma looked at the girl before him. Naoko was in the washroom at the moment, but before he went, he said that the owner of the company would meet him. He looked at her again. He was suddenly reminded of Sakuno's friend. The Tomo-something girl. True, she wasn't as loud, but she was certainly talkative. He ignored her, and looked around.
For a chatterbox like her, the company is sure designed well, and even I could tell that this is a good company. Maybe she does her work at home where there's no one for her to talk to. Looking around some more, he spotted Naoko, and he watched as he walked over. Hurry up Naoko… Get me away from this woman…
Ryoma wasn't sure how much longer he could last. Suddenly, the girl was quiet. Ryoma look at Naoko, who was currently glaring at the woman, and looked at the floor again.
"Yuuki, where's Sakuno?"
Sakuno? Ryoma looked up, and stared. He started to say, "Nao-", but he was cut off by Naoko.
"Oh, Sakuno-san?"
Naoko nodded, and Ryoma once again looked down. Of course it's not her. Why am I even getting my hopes up?
"Uh… She's in her office."
Naoko nodded again, and looked at Ryoma. When he finally made eye contact, he tilted his head towards the elevator. Walking briskly, they left the speechless Yuuki behind, and waited as the elevator moved up. With a ding, it signaled that they had arrived, and Ryoma followed Naoko with his cell phone in hand.
Ryoma glared at his cell phone with the unwanted text messages. He read each one, but deleted most of it right after, stopping occasionally to text back. He almost bumped into Naoko and Naoko whispered, "stay here. Don't come in yet."
Ryoma shrugged, and Naoko knocked on the door, and went in. he wasn't really paying attention to what was going on inside, other than a soft woman's voice. Finally the you have no new messages popped up, and he slid his cell close. Feeling bored, he listened to the conversation inside, but there wasn't any sound. He was about to go in and make sure they were still there when he saw a flash of auburn hair. His heart ached.
Sakuno…
He was about to leave when he heard a voice. Her sweet voice that he unconsciously fell in love with. His cell phone dropped, forgotten.
"Naoko?"
Ryoma heard his sigh.
"Come in… don't just keep standing there…"
Ryoma's eyes widened, and he suddenly felt nervous. He ran his hand through his hair, missing his white Fila cap.
"Naoko? Who's behind that door?"
Ryoma stopped. Naoko? She calls him by his first name? Ryoma took a step back, then heard her voice again. "And could you please let go of me? I need my personal space please. And you make me feel like a criminal if you keep staring at me like that."
He finally took a few steps, and went inside the room. The first thing he noticed was a sofa with a tennis-ball patterned pillow on it and a table scattered with magazines in the corner. Then he noticed her. He saw how much taller she had grown. She was about Naoko's shoulder, a bit shorter, but almost. He saw the high heels, and almost laughed. He once remembered how she tried it on before, and when she twisted her ankle, swore that she'll never wear those again. But now? It gave her a sophisticated look. Is this… really her?
"Sakuno…?"
He watched as she stopped glaring at Naoko, and turned to look at him. Her annoyed expression was replaced by a blank one, then finally her eyes start to widen. A single whisper came out of her mouth.
"R-R-Ryoma-kun…"
A/N: Zomg. I finished. Heh. Yes I made this a BIIIIIT longer. It's now fourteen pages instead of like nine…
And 4000 and something words, not including author's notes…
Pretty damn long for me xD
By the way. I won't be posting stories for some time. Why? Because I have the provincials AND a piano exam which I NEEDED to pass. Oh and also because the teachers at my school teaches S-L-O-W-L-Y. So now I have all these homework piled up. Sorry 'bout that~
BETA NOTE: (You love these, you know it) OMG RY-RY IS POSSESSIVEEEEEE! AND SAKKO (lol) IS SOOO MATUREEE OMGGGG AND THE FANGIRLS ARE HILLARIOUS…. Cookies for anyone who reviews! 3, J-Scay