Contemplating a Request
By darkwings09
Disclaimer: All of the Tennis no Oujisama characters (And bishies, for the matter of that) belongs only to the magnificent Takeshi Konomi. I, on the other hand, have nothing to associate with it. Lol.
Author's indifferent babbles:
You know the drill. Complain about this, grumble about that and other matters. This is a Christmas fic (And well, December 24 is Ryoma-kun's birthday and so…) Well then, read on, minna-san:D
And btw, before we proceed, I have one more thing to say:
Merry Christmas, minna! And may you have a happy New Year!
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The weather was harsh and cold, threatening the plants and trees outdoors with its violent gush of wind. The skies continue to shed white and dazzling snowflakes down the frozen earth below, being unable to hear the pleads and protests of the creatures. Outside was foggy and the air was dense and thick, much like his own personality. It was yet another freezing night of December, and today, the world-renowned Christmas Eve.
December 24.
Still, Ryoma Echizen wasn't all too happy about it. To him, his birthday was like any other day, when his mind will only be occupied with tennis matters and stuffs. Right. Or maybe, feeding his mind with tennis bits and pieces was his reason to be a bit apart from the others now. Just now. During his birthday. It's quite infuriating to find himself stuck once more with the fact that he would be the center of attention if he ever enters their house willingly. But then, only a dim-witted person would surrender without a lack of enthusiasm to negligence of his own birthday.
And, he can prove that he's not a dim-witted person. And an idiot, for the matter of that.
'That,' he thought to himself bitterly, his brows twitching in annoyance, 'I cannot avoid… Che'
After all, he is the birthday celebrator. Wait- there's no time for debating against the truth. He shouldn't argue with himself, his own ego. With that, he rose idly from his initial place and took a deep breath, just like what he usually do before every tennis practice. He then cast a backward glance, and found the wooden bench partly covered with snow. He massaged his temples as he closed his eyes for a moment and felt the cool caress of the wind against his face and against his whole body.
He then ran his numb fingers over his tousled hair as he slowly strode around their residence. He can already perceive the loudness and noise inside the house, as if he was actually within it. If that's the case then, what more if he goes in it?
Sighing in defeat, he twisted the doorknob with his icy fingers, those poor fingers that he didn't even bother to warm them up even in the slightest scale. The December air then went through and spread its coldness inside in swift and rapid movements.
"Close the door, seshounen! Do you want all of us here to catch cold?" reprimanded his oyaji as he quickly made his way to slam the door shut. Ryoma, in one way or another, remained oh-so-expressionless, yet somehow became hesitant towards his oyaji's statement.
"There. I think that you owe us an explanation," his oyaji said, still the typical grimace plastered on his face, staring down at him. The latter blinked innocently and tore his glance from his father's stare to his senpai-tachi.
"Explanation? For what?" he inquired in a low voice that only the one who thinks that Ryoma owes them an explanation can hear. Nanjirou slapped his own forehead in a mocking manner and slid his hands down to his large pockets.
"How can you be late, when you perfectly know that your birthday party begins at six o'clock sharp?" he replied as he took a second to gaze at his watch then to his son who stared still nonchalantly at him, "by the way, your fellow tennis regulars are here to somehow liven things up."
"Oyaji, only fiftheen minutes had passed after six o'clock until I got here," he retorted as he removed his winter jacket from his body and started walking past through his father.
"…Besides, I can do anything I want in my birthday, ka?" he added as-a-matter-of-factly, this time in a much lower tone of voice. Right, he can do whatever he desires. That's what birthdays are for, right?
"Tsk. That arrogant seshounen," Nanjirou muttered to himself as he shook his head lightly, "He'll never learn. Mah. As if I ever learned much about proper attitudes."
As Ryoma braced himself from his senpai-tachi's fearsome grips, grabs and holds, Kikumaru and Momoshiro showered their questions first. And even before Ryoma could answer one of them, the other would interrupt immediately. Annoying though it may be, deep inside he was quite content that he had met once again with his senpai-tachi. Ever since he arrived at Japan afresh, he knew that there's still some place in his being for the old nearly forgotten past to return to.
"Have you heard much about Ryuuzaki-san? You know, old grumpy Ryuuzaki-obaasan's granddaughter?" Kikumaru exclaimed gaudily, which caught their kouhai's attention vaguely. Momo can only nod in agreement, wishing that he should've asked him about it firstly before his red-haired senpai did.
"Hn" was Ryoma's only response as his honey-colored eyes flickered in… what? Amusement? Irritation? Or perhaps, nostalgia? He still denied his own emotions, just like what he did in few years back. And now, his crime is repeating itself.
"Nya! You inhuman cold-blooded person! You could've at least thought about what she feels," Kikumaru said, looking at his kouhai in feigned accusations. The latter can only smirk back at him in reply along with his infamous cocky lines that may be his permanent trademark, "Mada mada da ne."
"Let him go. After all, it's his birthday," the blue-eyed tensai advised as he joined their endless conversation, seeing Ryoma buried under tons of the other two's unanswered questions.
Earning confused looks from his senpai-tachi, he took his chance and treaded away from the small crowd softly. He heard the last statement from Momoshiro, which goes like 'That Echizen. I think he never changes, desu ka?' proceeded by a roar of laughter. He inwardly smirked again as he felt the calmer portions of the wind against his weary body.
But its feckless calls won't divert him away from his righteous path.
"Think you not?" Fuji mumbled questioningly to Momoshiro with his eerie smile still etched on his face, as if he was reading his mind, "…Sometimes it takes deep concentration to find out what's that Echizen up to. You'll never know."
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"Ne"
Sakuno scrambled back to her feet in astonishment as she tried to regain her sense of balance. She picked the shadow's owner instantly as none other than Echizen Ryoma himself. She can only watch him in awe as he bent down readily and took her black-inked pen that was dropped earlier on the floor then gave it to her.
As their gazes locked, she realized that his eyes held the same expressions like before. Something like arrogance, coldness, and a little bit of vacuity. Yet, no matter how his eyes continue to alter expressions rarely, she was enticed by those in the first place. His cat-eyed gaze left her delicate body momentarily in a frozen state.
"What are you doing?" he asked in unresponsiveness as his left arm went slightly limp on his side. She tried to shy away from his unwavering presence that often scared her, but surely not enough to dominate and cloud her senses fully.
"Anou… I-I was…" she stuttered as a blush crept to cover her pale features. His intense stare was actually terrifying enough to send surges of bizarre emotions within her.
It was his birthday today. And she hadn't bought him anything at all. She stopped abruptly and mustered all the courage she could to look at him full on the face.
"Anou… Ryoma-kun…" she choked out finally and let out a small silent whimper, "Gomen…"
"There's no reason for you to apologize," he said in a flat, seemingly uninterested voice. A heavy sigh escaped her lips as Ryoma gradually sank to the ground and sat there, his tired back leaning against the hard wall. She, in turn, plainly observed his slight actions. It seemed to her that he was very exhausted.
"Ryoma-kun… why?" she finally questioned him, her face becoming more and more solemn. He closed his eyes to shut and said nothing at first, leaving her unanswered simple question hanging in suspense.
"… Stay put," he coolly replied to end her statement as he slightly curled upward to rest his head against the thick and cold material, "…and lend me something to lean on for a while. I haven't slept much these days."
Certainly, she wouldn't take that incoherent request as an answer. She inched forward to his direction, then ceased and checked her steps, like she was reluctant to do so. But then he sounded oddly when he said those words. Her purpose held fast.
A step, then followed by another, until she was able to sit down beside him, only, she was very timid to come closer, and yet, she was within his reach. Automatically, she glanced sideward, and saw that he had fallen asleep fast. Her face reddened once more when she saw his peaceful appearance as the moon cast faint beams on his face through the window.
Everything seemed so serene that night, and just in a minute or two Ryoma, who was still submerged in the depths of his sleep, unconsciously fell bit by bit down to Sakuno's lap. She almost yelped in surprise but immediately covered her mouth firmly with her free hand. After her shock subsided, she closed her eyes and listened to the beats of her heart, which were in a faster rate than usual. It may be pretty obvious that she was blushing ten beets of red right now.
However, she didn't mind the fact that he had laid his head on her lap involuntarily. In fact, she didn't mind his weight and all. What only matters to her was his presence. And it was enough.
Before she, too, drifts off to sleep, she murmured to him a simple yet affectionate greeting…
"Happy Birthday, Ryoma-kun, and Merry Christmas…"
And her response form him is one flimsy and soft snore.
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Yo, minna-san! How do you all fare with all the Christmas shopping rush? –sighs- But anyway, Merry Christmas to you all!
I apologize for not updating my other fics. I really can't promise about the future updates to come earlier (Bad Dark-chan! –slaps forehead-). But I'm trying. Otherwise I'm overwhelmed with my being a slacker.
Oh yeah, before I go, I have another matter to say. I loosely based the 'leaning' part of the fic on a good (And the cutest one at that!) scene between Ayumu and Hiyono in another anime entitled Spiral: Suiri no Kizuna. Of course I did major twists on that part. But the said scene serves as a general inspiration for me.
Although AyuHiyo is now my current OTP, RyoSaku fandom still has a place in my heart:D
Ja' ne minna-san! And don't forget to R and R, be it either flames or constructive ones!
Darkwings09