More than a little
One shot
Author: The flutterer
Hi! This used to be tempted but I've changed it to a name that I think is more suited. I've altered the ending bit of this story hoping that it sounds much better now . Tell me what you guys think. Thanks! Oh..(in a dejected voice) prince of tennis does not belong to me..sigh..
She sighed and spread out her arms to lay back against the patch of mossy grass. The sunlight blinded her eyes and she lifted a thin hand to cover her eyes. For a moment, an odd emotion welled up at her chest and tears slid down her cheeks. Sakuno no baka, she scolded herself. Then she sat up to wipe away the torrent of tears that seemingly fall without her say. The choking feeling came from her frustration that Ryoma didn't notice her despite her efforts. She had always been there at his games, being his avid supporter next to Tomo-chan of course. So cold, Ryoma was always cold towards her.
Was she sure of her own feelings for him? Or is it puppy love, her obaa-chan said that she would get over it. Young love, she called, will easily die out like flames of a candle. If she wasn't sure, would she be feeling as if her heart was breaking and it was never going to be all right? Oh, she was sure. It's been close to three years that she first met him.
"Ara, are you still crying here Sakuno?" the familiar voice of her obaa-chan rang.
Sakuno tensed and quickly rubbed her eyes, a blush spreading across her cheeks. She turned her head, catching sight her grandmother smiling at her somewhat understandingly.
"Iie.." Sakuno stuttered and got up to leave.
"Sakuno, sit with me for a moment," her grandmother called out to her and promptly sat down on the park chair.
Sakuno duck her head and went to sat beside her grandmother.
"Sakuno, do you like that boy that much?" she asked.
"Hai! It's not puppy love obaa-chan I know it," Sakuno said strongly, her cinnamon-brown eyes hard and determined.
Ryuuzaki Sumire was a little surprised by her granddaughter's strong reaction towards that question but then her features soften and she smiled at Sakuno. "Then why are you still crying Sakuno? Ryoma, he's sigh a little too dense to feel that kind of love."
Sakuno bunched up her fist, her fingernails digging into her palm.
"Sakuno, your tennis has improved..it can be better. Would you like to be trained by my friend, she's a great tennis coach and she owes me a favor?" her grandmother changed the subject effortlessly.
"Huh? Why suddenly?"
"I think it'd be a great holiday for you, take some time to relax. What do you think?"
Sakuno stared ahead of her and answered finally, "I think it'd be great."
Ryuuzaki Sumire or Ryuuzaki-sensei as she was called in Seishun Gakuen Jr. yelled at some of her players to buck up and do more swings. Her eyes wandered towards the tennis prodigy that was the captain of the Seigaku tennis club. He was watching the other regulars play against each other with an expressionless mask not unlike one of her ex-captain, Kunimitsu Tezuka. Dark hair kept in tow beneath a white cap and sharp and assessive treacle-amber eyes. He's grown, she acknowledge more matured than he was in his first year. Nevertheless, the child nature that was there when he was younger still lingered. And provocation...
"How come we've never seen the captain play?" one of the ichinen whispered..somewhat in hearing range.
Another boy beside him answered cockily, "Maybe he's not that good as they say he is, maybe he's scared I can beat him," and finished with a boisterous laugh.
Treacle-amber eyes narrowed at the boy.
"Ah, Taichi-kun but he's still a regular and I heard he was a regular since first year."
Taichi scoffed, "If I get a chance to play, I'd beat him."
Mataku..
Ryoma was already striding towards the first year with his racket. "Let's play then," he said.
Taichi seemed to loose his composure there for a moment but he pushed it behind him and stood his ground. All for the sake of his ego, Ryuuzaki sighed.
"One set match. Taichi to serve," the second-year referee called.
Taichi, short by half a foot to Ryoma threw the tennis ball in the air and hit it with a loud plunk. Ryoma returned the ball effortlessly. A lazy smile lingered upon Ryoma's lips and Ryuuzaki knew that the game would end very very soon. Other first years stopped their practice to look at the match. They had practically never seen their captain play before (just like Tezuka, ne, ne?) and here he was hitting the ball so easily that it seemed just like child's play.
"Game set match Echizen. 6-0," the referee proclaimed as the ball touch the court. Taichi was on the ground breathing harshly. The game ended in less than 5 minutes. Ryoma was being ruthless.
"Mada mada dane."
"Regulars, gather around!" Ryuuzaki yelled.
The regulars stopped playing and gathered around her. Ryoma took his customary stand beside her.
"The prefecture tournament will be in a week's time, give it all you've got! Dismiss."
"Ne, Ryuuzaki-san still hasn't got back yet?" Horio asked Tomoko, who was sitting beside him licking her ice-cream.
Tomoko stopped licking her ice-cream and watched the dark haired boy wearing a white cap from the corner of her eye. He had stopped drinking from his can of Ponta and although his head was facing down she knew that he was paying attention. Well, you were the cause that she went away, she thought indignantly. I'll be damned if I don't make you suffer a little, but only a little cause you're still my Ryoma-sama.
"Oi, Tomoko!" Horio said loudly.
"Ah, gomen. Not yet, she told me that she was extending her stay for one more month. She seems like she's enjoying herself."
"And how is she?"
"Ma ne, she says she's fine but you never know with Sakuno. She got better at protecting her emotions over the past years," Tomoko said, the tone of her voice dropping.
"Ja, I've got some stuff do to," Ryoma said suddenly and headed off, tossing the empty can of Ponta into the bin.
"But we're suppose to meet up with the rest of the regulars," Horio yelled out.
"Just tell them I don't feel well."
Horio and Tomoko watched him walk away. "Somehow I think he likes her more than he knows," Horio said quietly.
A pair of cinnamon-brown eyes watches the movements of the Seigaku player with intense concentration. The player was indeed a good player and the strength of his return were strong and it made his opponent stumble more than a few times. I wonder whether I am able to play with him evenly this time, she thought to herself.
She looked at the calluses on her hands and smiled to herself. She had been practicing hard and her coach was persistent and strict. It had been hard during the first few weeks as she lacked stamina and skills. But she got better and the coach was pleased and asked her to stay for one more month to work on her skills. For the first time, she felt that tennis was actually for her. Her hands went up to finger the ends of her hair.
"Sa-sakuno!" a familiar voice rang behind of her. She turned around only to have herself enveloped in her best friend's arm.
"Tomo-chan!"
"Waa waa, you were back and you didn't come find me," Tomoko complained.
Sakuno laughed, "I just only got back and your mom told me you were here, so I came straight here."
"Okay, you're forgiven. I've missed you Sakuno, don't go away for such a long time anymore."
"Tomoko," Sakuno said softly, her eyes misting.
"And your hair!" Tomoko gasped. Gone were the long braids, in place was slightly wavy hair falling loosely an inch below her shoulders. Two hair clips were used to hold her hair back from her face.
"Yeah, it came in the way when practicing. So I had it cut," Sakuno explained.
"Neat! Come let's go greet Ryoma-sama. They've won the prefectural tournament," Tomoko said pulling her along.
"Ah, Ryuzaki-san, you're back!" Kachirou welcomed her.
She clashed eyes with Ryoma for a moment and something akin to warmth showed in his eyes before being replaced by his usual coldness. I may have been mistaken, she thought quietly. He was ignoring her presence again but this time it didn't hurt that badly. Her two months away taught her to be stronger.
"Konichiwa minna," she greeted them in return and bowed.
"Let's all go out for celebration at Kawamura-senpai place," Horio said.
"Osu!"
"Congratulations minna!" Kawamura said as he served the sushi.
"Domo, Kawamura-sempai," Ryoma answered and ate a piece of sushi.
"Ne, Ryuzaki-san I heard you've been taking lessons."
"Hai!"
"Let's have a game then tomorrow, are you coming Echizen?" Horio said. Sakuno held her breath.
The whole table was quiet, waiting for his answer. He shrugged his shoulders and muttered a maybe.
"Then it's settled, we'll meet at the free tennis court at 10," Tomoko said enthusiastically.
He didn't want to go.
But he figured that he was curious to what she had been learning. And he noticed the change in her..a steadiness that she never had before. The change in her, he never noticed how expressive her cinnamon-brown eyes were or how her laughter would change her features to more beautiful. Yeah he was just..curious.
He was late and they were already playing. His eyes wandered towards the lithe body of a young girl with two short braided pigtails.
Sakuno.
Her attention was on the game and beads of sweat decorated her forehead. Her white collared shirt was slightly wet and it clung to her body contour. The short pink skirt she was wearing fluttered near her thighs as she moved and he caught sigh of white creamy thighs..damn the hormones working. She swung her pink racket at the ball and quickly moved forward to catch the return. She had indeed improved, and her opponent Horio was being completely beaten.
"Ah Ryoma-sama," Tomoko called out and went to stand beside him. "What do you think?"
"She's better," he answered shortly.
Tomoko grinned widely, he was paying attention to Sakuno after all.
The game ended with a 7-5, Sakuno winning over Horio.
"Aiiiyaah, I didn't realize you were this good Ryuzaki-san," Horio told her.
Sakuno smiled, happy that her training had paid off. She turned as she felt something tapping at her shoulder.
"Ryoma-kun!" she gasped.
"Let's play," he told her and stalked off the tennis court to warm up.
"Oooh, ikou Sakuno. Ganbatte ne!" her best friend shouted.
He saw her grasp her racket somewhat hesitatingly. But she stood firm and ready to accept his serve. He didn't hit using his twist serve, he didn't even hit that hard. They played and the rest watch the ball hitting forth and back. Sakuno was returning all Ryoma's hits determinedly and aggressively. It was something that she had never done before.
"Ochibi is playing against a girl?" Kikumaru Eiji said from the back of the rest.
"Sempai-tachi!" the gang said in unison.
Oishi, Inui, Fuji and Kikumaru were observing the match with interest.
"Today, Echizen plays against a girl.." Inui noted into his book.
"Hmm..is it me or is there something going on between the two of them," Oishi asked.
Fuji's smile grew wider, "Saa.."
The game wasn't anywhere that exciting like the match they had played against Rikkai or Hyoutei back in their days in Seigaku but there was something that kept their eyes glued on the game. Sakuno was holding her own quite well but Ryoma wasn't using his full strength.
"Nyah, this game is taking a very long time for ochibi to end nyah.." Eiji said with a whine.
"It's as if the two of them want to keep playing each other and are reluctant to end it," Fuji said quietly with a smile. What the rest probably didn't notice was the discreet glances the two gave each other. The intensity of their gazes at each other, unknown by the other was almost giving out sparks.
Finally the match ended with Ryoma taking a win over 6-4. They were both panting heavily and their bodies ran with sweat.
"Ochibi!" Kikumaru hollered, waving continuously.
Ryoma took one look at his sempai and walked the opposite direction.
"Oi, Echizen," Oishi called out. He didn't understand why Ryoma didn't want to meet them. If he had turn behind, Oishi would have notice that Fuji had a very sly smile on and that Inui was smiling cunningly with his pen and notebook ready.
"Konichiwa, Ryuzaki-san," Fuji said to Sakuno as she neared them.
"Konichiwa Fuji-sempai. Konichiwa sempai!" she greeted all.
"Sakuno, you look sweaty," Tomoko said.
Sakuno laughed, "Hai. I'll go wash up," and she ran off towards the taps with a towel in tow.
Ryoma figured that he should disappear for a while until at least his sempai had gone away. He saw the look on Fuji and Inui's face. They had figured it out after all, something that he had actually tried to deny ever since he saw her. Damn, all this feeling inside of him was more confusing than all the tennis games he played.
Did he actually like her more than a friend?
More than tennis? Now that was a hard question.
Sakuno came back a few minutes later, her face looking fresh with a few wet tendrils of hair stuck on her forehead. She had taken off her shirt, wearing her camisole top which clung to her young body. She was used to doing this during her training with her sensei, letting the sweat dry up with the help of the wind.
"Looking great, Sakuno-chan," Horio winked at her, which earned him a nice thump from Tomoka.
"Ah, itai!" he cried, rubbing the sore spot. The rest merely laughed.
Cat-like eyes narrowed furiously. How dare she let other people ogle her like that? A small feeling of possessiveness filled him.
Suddenly he heard Sakuno saying, "I think I left my sweat band at the taps. I'll just be a minute."
He perked up when he heard that, thinking that this would be a good opportunity. He rummaged into his tennis bag, found what he was looking for and stalked off towards where she was headed.
On her way to the taps, there were a few whistles and cat calls headed her way and she blushed. Maybe she should put on her shirt again. But it was really hot. She ran a hand over her forehead to wipe the sweat.
She found her band hanging off one of the taps and retrieved it. She turned around to head back and collided into a hard wall. Ouch, didn't remember there being a wall here, she thought to herself, absently rubbing her forehead.
"And I thought you outgrew your clumsiness," a familiar cocky voice penetrated her senses. Her cinnamon eyes flipped open, "Ryoma-kun?"
"Yeah, here," he covered her shoulders in his tennis jersey. He thought smugly to himself, That ought to not draw any attention.
Sakuno pursed her lips and said, "Uhh, Ryoma-kun. I'm not cold but uhh..thanks." She took off the jersey and handed it back to him. Oh, she would have loved to have kept it.
But the young Seigaku tennis captain wasn't going to take no for an answer, "Wear it."
The heat was beginning to get on her nerves and he was only making it worse. "Don't be unreasonable. Who wears a jersey at such a hot weather?"
He felt heat rise to his cheeks. All right, so it was a silly idea. But he wasn't going to back down.
"You shouldn't go wandering around, dressed like that..clothes sticking..to your-" Ryoma broke off. It bothered him that other men other than him were looking at her appreciatively.
Sakuno bristled, "Unreasonable."
Ryoma snarled at her, riding on his anger, "I am not unreasonable. Why did you wear such a short skirt anyway and what happen to your proper top?"
"It's a tennis skirt in case you haven't notice. And it was hot, so I removed the shirt," she retorted.
"You're provocating others to look at you!" he poked back. Okay, not very cool Ryoma.
She raised an eyebrow at him, "So what if I am?"
She stood in front of him, her clothes clinging to the contour of her breast and hips. And her skirt riding short up her milky thighs. Her dark-cinnamon eyes glittered with traces of anger and her tongue darted out to moisten her lips. She was unconsciously bringing him to the edge.
He took a step closer to her, "This happens." he said softly.
"Wha-" she was cut off by the sudden press of Ryoma's lips on hers. He wrapped an arm around her tiny waist to pull her body closer to his. He kissed her full on her lips, his tongue trailing her trembling lips coaxing them to part, insisting and when she opened to him, his tongues slid into the recesses of her mouth. She moaned as a deep warmth filled her.
They broke apart as they needed to breathe. Without letting go of her, Ryoma whispered huskily into her ear, "Do you see what happens?"
She gazed at him with heavy lidded eyes, "Ryoma-kun, do you..like me even a little bit?" she asked in such a small voice that he was tempted to kiss her again.
His amber eyes turn to a smoldering gold, "More than a little, Sakuno." Then he took her lips in a kiss far deeper than the first one. Her hands wound up around his neck and he molded her body to his.
A soft giggle went by unheard by the two lovebirds.
"So that's how it is," Oishi said understandingly as he watched Ryoma practically devour Sakuno. "Demo, don't you think we should stop it I mean they're just kids.."
"Nyah, they're in love, Oishi," Kikumaru said cheerfully.
"Don't worry Oishi, they're just releasing their pent up emotions," Fuji said reassuringly.
Inui scribbled into his trusty notebook, "Ryoma can French kiss.."
Today was the first match of the Regional Tournament. Sakuno stayed behind the fence and cheered for Seigaku. It was the last point match for Ryoma, and if he got the point they win. The silence was overwhelming, as everyone watched with anticipation. Suddenly the crowd grew excited and they started cheering boisterously. They had won.
He came to her first when they got out. She smiled at him and congratulated him, noticing the thousand eyes observing them. But he took her hand, gave a tug which caused her to fall against him then his hands went around her encompassing her into a hug.
"Definitely, more than a little," he whispered into her ear.
And she closed her eyes, contented to be enclosed within his warmth.
Owari!
I'm pretty satisfied with the changes I made. What do you guys think? crosses fingers