Ryoma's Resolve: The Antagonist
By: Ren Nomiya
Why do antagonists always end up falling in love with the protagonist's girl?
"Hahaha! I can't believe it! Koshimae actually compared his love life to a manga!" Tooyama Kintarou clutched his belly for support.
Echizen just groaned.
"You're not a manga character, you idiot!" Kin-chan added and wiped the tears that are coming out from his eyes.
SMACK!
Ryoma and Sakuno (and unfortunately, Kin-chan) stopped on A Burgers to eat after they coincidentally came across Shitenhouji's rookie. And now, they were on their way home when the stupid Jungle Boy just had to ruin Ryoma's mood even more when he found out about his thoughts about Ryuzaki and manga characters and mocked him. And so, being the cool prince that he is, he hit Kintarou on the head with his racket to shut him up.
"Ryoma-kun, why did you hit Kin-chan with your racket?" Ryuzaki asked curiously; cuteness never leaving her face.
"He was annoying," he replied as he nonchalantly drags Kintarou by his collar while walking.
"But dragging him like that will only ruin his shorts," Ryuzaki reasoned out. Why is she protecting this stupid kid! He ANNOYS him to hell and Ryuzaki still votes for him! Annoying, indeed.
"Don't care," Ryoma replied coolly although he is totally pissed right now.
This annoying thing won't even happen if Kintarou didn't pop out like a mushroom. He hugged his girl in the middle of the sidewalk, ignoring the looks of bystanders. Those strangers must've thought that Jungle Boy and Ryuzaki are going out and thinks that he is the third party. For your information, Ryoma is the protagonist in this story!
In his life story, he means.
Jungle Boy is his rival in almost everything; tennis, eating contests, manga reading, studies, moneymaking, Ryuzaki Sakuno, and what else? Oh yeah, Ryuzaki Sakuno. Ryoma felt his blood boiling up as he remembered the day when Kintarou and Ryuzaki first met. That episode, after his match with the Monkey King (Ryoma: Another antagonist who ruins my life). She was only congratulating him like any other day, and offered some of her tennis rice balls, which he loved by the way. He only said "Wouldn't it be harder to make rice balls that taste bad?" because it is true. It is definitely harder to make bad rice balls when she is cooking because she's a great cook. And that was meant as a compliment! She just didn't decipher the meaning behind those words!
And someone just had to enter their scene.
Jungle Boy accidentally fell off the tree he was taking a nap with and Ryuzaki dropped the container filled with his lunch. Good thing the intruder caught it but the tennis rice balls accidentally dropped on the ground when some random thief tried to pass by them. And being the prince of cockiness, he needed to show off (especially to his girl) what he can do. And unfortunately, the prince of annoyingness also got Ryuzaki's attention by also showing off. And what's worse? His lunch was ruined because the annoying prince dropped it on the ground when the thief passed by them.
Ryoma was pretty sure that Ryuzaki will be mad at Kintarou but she was just too nice, that it annoys him to hell! And what annoyed him more is when Kintarou ate her rice balls even though it dropped on the ground. And he SAW the way Ryuzaki's expression softened when the red-haired-bundle-of-shit-face complimented her cooking.
Ryoma complimented them, too!
And yes, he said the word annoy a lot.
Tooyama Kintarou… yep, he is one pain in his ass. Other men who try to court Ryuzaki often back down due to his menacing glares and-or death threats. But Kintarou is too naïve to even notice him! That piece of shit focuses too much on Ryuzaki and his affections towards her that he doesn't even notice his warnings. And it will be a lot easier if he's not that good in tennis, because Ryoma was sure he can wield his racket like the way Battousai wields his sword. Heck, he can turn one tennis ball into a cannonball!
But noooooo. Jungle Boy can also do the things he can do with a tennis racket and tennis balls (Ryoma: I'll make sure to put the word tennis before balls just to be safe).
And hell knows how Jungle Boy found out about his thoughts revolving damsels and Ryuzaki.
Ryoma knew from the start why the antagonist falls in love with the protagonist's girl. It's the same reason why the protagonist fall in love with her. The damsel is cute, caring, innocent, if not, violent, and pretty much anything a guy can fall in love for. But the point in this question is 'Why do they try to steal the girl even if she was already taken?' or 'Why can't they just mind their own business?' and even better; 'Why can't they just drop dead?'
They'll never end up with the damsel anyway.
After Ryoma walked Ryuzaki home, he walked towards the sunset still dragging Kintarou like a kid dragging his bear. He knows what to do with this guy. Jungle Boy will surely wish he wasn't the antagonist in this story. He'll regret being too close with Ryuzaki.
A bunch of Fuji-senpai's usual sadistic tactics entered his mind.
"I'm not the antagonist in this episode, Koshimae," Kintarou suddenly said as he crossed his arms looking at the path that Ryoma passed by. "And Fuji-san's sadistic tactics won't work on me either, and you know it."
That surprised him. Jungle Boy was awake all this time. But how'd he read his mind? Freaky.
Ryoma dropped Kintarou's collar and turned to look (glare) at him. "How long were you awake?"
"I was awake before dropping Sakuno-chan off her house!" Kintarou grinned and stood up.
"How did you know what I was thinking anyway?" Ryoma asked as his glare became even fiercer.
"I can read you like an open book, baka!"
Truly, surely, definitely, Tooyama Kintarou is the antagonist! After all, Tooyama was only introduced after the series and on the second episode of the ova… and his first appearance was in chapter 245! He, Echizen Ryoma, on the other hand, was introduced on the first episode of the series and the first chapter of the FIRST VOLUME of the manga! Echizen Ryoma is definitely the protagonist, and here he is, the prince of annoyingness proclaiming that he's the protagonist! What kind of a sick mind did he have!
"I didn't mean the anime. I meant our love triangle! Sakuno-chan likes me, can't you tell?" Kintarou said, looking convinced.
"Ryuzaki knew me first." Ryoma replied. "And my hentai Oyaji is coach Ryuzaki's longtime friend which means that I have the advantage."
"That doesn't apply in real life. You should learn how to separate real life with manga." Kintarou said as he placed his hands on the back of his head.
He's the one to talk; the one who believes that Shiraishi has poison claws.
"That attitude of Kin-chan when he excitingly tells his stories about monsters and mythical creatures who exist in real life is quite adorable!" Ryoma remembered Ryuzaki said to him once.
So… Ryuzaki finds Jungle Boy adorable, huh? What does she see in this noisy kid, anyway? He's sooo much better than him, he's sure. He has won both national and international tournaments, so why bother noticing this annoying redhead? Ryoma is cool… waaay cooler than that bundle-of-shit.
"Ryoma-kun, you should lessen the way you curse people. It makes you look like the bad guy." Ryuzaki once said to him, too.
If he's not an arrogant brat, he would've turn into a corner and sulk at the way Ryuzaki defined him as the bad guy. But he's cool and an athlete's smirk is cool.
"Bad guy, huh?" Ryoma unconsciously said.
"Yeah, you're the bad guy!" Kintarou nodded and started walking away.
Usually, in his (Kintarou's) manga, antagonists who steal away the protagonist's girl are the arrogant ones. They are also foul-mouthed, equally handsome with the protagonist, laugh evilly and smirk a lot. (Ryoma: -gulp—I do not laugh… evilly) And if they don't laugh evilly, they don't laugh at all! (Ryoma: DANG IT!)
The protagonists are carefree, cheerful, sometimes innocent, equally handsome with the antagonist, powerful and has a lot of friends. Well, for your information, Ryoma also has a lot of friends! And he's also powerful and… and… (Ryoma: What else describes the protagonist?) oh yeah, he was introduced first!
..
And he was mostly in every episode/chapter.
..CHARACTER!
And the main character always ends up with the main girl. And as far as he knows, Ryuzaki is the main girl.
And besides… there are different kinds of antagonists and protagonist in a story. It just so happened that most of the personalities of a clichéd antagonist are the same with him. After all, he saved Ryuzaki from bullies. And not only Ryuzaki but the ichinen trio, too. That's right, he's a hero. And what does Kintarou do for a living? He just reads manga all day… and makes Ryuzaki smile… a lot.
Wait. Kintarou makes Ryuzaki smile? That's a fact and everyone knows it… but…
The protagonist is the main reason why his female lead smiles. "Kin-chan is really funny, ne Ryoma-kun?"
The antagonist is the one who scares the female lead, and often makes the girl stutter. "O-Oh… i-is that s-so? S-Sorry, R-Ryoma-kun…"
Oh, god.
Is Ryoma really the antagonist?
All these times, the prince of tennis is Tooyama Kintarou?
And he is Jungle Boy?
Oh, please no.
It's time for Ryoma's resolve regarding antagonists!
The antagonists are only there to ruin the protagonist's life. They end up with nothing. They disappear after they're defeated or they became one of the protagonist's friends.
Seigaku won against Shitenhouji during the finals! Read carefully the word won!
Just like Hibiki Ryoga (Ryoma: The one that's not my brother) who meddles with Saotome Ranma and Tendou Akane's love life. Even though he's the antagonist, he still ends up as Ranma's friend. This love triangle is just like RyoSakuKin. Kintarou and Ryoma still remain as friends and only considered their fights as friendly rivalry.
But neither one of them can accept defeat so they just have to call each other rivals. And if they just keep on fighting for Ryuzaki, she might just end up with neither of them.
Who else? Oh yeah, Yahiro Saiga fell in love with Todou Akira but when Akira and Tadashi became lovers, he found his new love; Yamamoto Megumi. Hmm… maybe if Ryoma somehow manages to find Kintarou a girl for himself, he'll stop bothering their lives.
That's right. He needs someone to fall in love with Kintarou. That's the only way he can keep Ryuzaki to himself. But who?
Osakada Tomoka: the loudest girl who was ever born in the universe. Her loudness and Jungle Boy's loudness will surely indicate the explosion of every person's eardrums if they end up together, or…
Kitazono Kotoha: the slut who tried to ruin his relationship with Ryuzaki.
He needs to find her. But where?
"Did I just hear you hooking me up with another girl?" Kintarou suddenly stopped walking and turned to Ryoma. He added, "Not happening. Sa-chan's the only one for me!"
Really freaky. How'd he know what Echizen is thinking? This is disturbing…
His first resolve against the antagonist was a failure before it even started.
"Would you just butt off? Ryuzaki is mine," Ryoma said, showing his irritated look.
"No she's not. In fact, no one owns her," Kintarou smirked, "but me."
A vein popped on Ryoma's head. "Really?" Ryoma said in a threatening voice.
Antagonists ALWAYS find a way to annoy the protagonist to hell. Just like what Kintarou is doing right now. Like Mao, who fell in love with C.C which made Lelouch go to drastic measures. Who wouldn't when dealing with an insane psychopath like him? Not only C.C, but he dragged Shirley to his insanity as well. Oh yeah, he deserves what happened to him.
Also, Tessa's brother kissed Kaname Chidori even though he knows that she is in love with Sousuke Sagara and vice versa! Oh boy. Hopefully, Kintarou and Sakuno have not kissed yet.
And Gin Ichimaru when he tried to kill Hinamori Momo, so Hitsugaya Toushirou threatened him that if he spilled one drop of blood from Hinamori, he'll kill him without second thoughts. What could threaten Tooyama Kintarou? Other than killing him, at least, since Tooyama is too naïve. Death threats were always left ignored by people with the likes of an idiot like Jungle Boy.
"Shiraishi's poison claws," Ryoma said in another threatening voice. That's right, Kintarou is serious about his fear with Shiraishi's imaginary poisoned claws.
He saw Kintarou pale. "D-Don't drag Shiraishi into this!"
Ryoma smirked. He'll just ask Shiraishi to remove those bandages of his to scare Kintarou.
"I-I don't want to die yet!" Kintarou said as he waved his arms around.
"Then leave me and Ryuzaki alone," he said as his smirk turned into seriousness.
"No," Kintarou replied even though his voice is trembling, "I'd rather die from Shiraishi's poison claws than give Sa-chan to you!"
And Ryoma's second resolve was also a failure before it even started.
Maybe, Ryoma should just imitate what Train Heartnet did when Creed killed Saya; live a life filled with revenge and hatred only to be found by new friends who will take him out of the darkness? Nah, that won't work out, unless he works under some underworld organization and be one of the legendary warriors who kill evil wanted men and live a dull life filled with misery … The good news? Ryoma is a normal tennis player (not really) who uses techniques that defies the law of physics and-or gravity. The bad news? Train Heartnet and Echizen Ryoma both have golden feline eyes overflowing with desires to defeat opponents in a matter of nanoseconds.
Nope… imitating the cast of 'Black Cat' won't do him any good (besides, Kintarou is not a psychopath who killed Ryuzaki because he thought that she is getting in the way of their… err, sorta, kind of… homosexual (or not) relationship/partnership unlike Creed).
Darn it. Think Ryoma, think. Think of other manga characters… with annoying antagonists…
That's it! Who would forget the famous OT3, Uzumaki Naruto, Haruno Sakura and Uchiha Sasuke? This threesome is also a bothersome. Honestly! So… who will end up with whom? Who knows? Masashi Kishimoto is still not finished with the manga. But Sakura was in love with Sasuke, the antagonist… although it seemed like she's also starting to feel something for Naruto, the protagonist. And the last result is what's important.
Fortunately for Takeshi Konomi, he made a sequel… which meant that the ending of the first one is not yet the end (Ryoma: I gave her my red Bridgestone Dynabeam Grandea tennis racket as a gift); which also means that he and Ryuzaki can still have a chance to be together… and the only way for them to be together is too… (Ryoma: Hn…)
An idea suddenly popped on the prince's head. This resolve will definitely be a success.
"I know how to deal with a third party like you," Ryoma said; confidence evident in his voice.
Kintarou's eyes widened for a second and he suddenly grinned. "Seems like you're thinking what I'm thinking, Koshimae. Too bad for you though, because…"
Kintarou ran as fast as he could back to Sakuno's house leaving clouds of smoke behind.
Ryoma just stood still to his spot, surprised by Kintarou's sudden movements. He glared at the redhead's back and run towards him.
"… Because Sakuno-chan and I are madly in love with each other!" Kintarou continued and laughed maniacally.
This is one of the things the antagonist does. They kidnap the girl so that they can have them for themselves. The loser!
DING DONG
Sakuno closed the book she was reading and proceeds to the door. When she opened it to see who her visitor was…
BLAM!
She saw Kintarou and Ryoma on the ground, hugging each other. She blushed and quickly closed the door, "I-I didn't see anything! J-Just c-continue what you t-two are d-doing!"
Ryoma was currently on top of Kintarou, pinning him down. Unfortunately, Kintarou was on a head start when he ran towards Sakuno's house. He already rang the doorbell when Ryoma caught up to him. He knows Kintarou is going to confess the second Sakuno opens the door. He just hoped that her grandma is the one who's going to open it. But he suddenly remembered that the coach is on a business trip leaving Sakuno alone on her house right now. And because he was desperate, he tackled Kintarou to the ground to stop his plans (which is also the same as his plans) and pinned him to the ground.
And that was the time when Sakuno opened the door.
"Great! She thinks I'm now dating Jungle Boy!" Ryoma thought sarcastically when Kintarou used his strength the get Ryoma off of him.
"Get away from me, you perverted homosexual ugly tennis player!" Kintarou yelled as he stands up, blushing.
Kintarou quickly turned towards the closed door and knocked continuously, "It's not what you think, Sa-chan! Nothing's going on between me and Koshimae, I promise! Please come out!"
Sakuno hesitantly opened the door, still blushing. "W-What do need?"
"Ryuzaki… look, I—"
"Sa-chan, the truth is I'm actually—"
"I love—"
"In love with—"
"YOU!" They both said in unison.
"Eh?" Sakuno blinked.
"Who do you like, me or him?" Kintarou's tone was filled with disgust when he looked at Ryoma.
Ryoma just glared at him.
He can't blame the antagonist if he fell in love with the main girl. And it just adds up with the rivalry between the main guy and his challenger. What's more exciting than that?
Nothing is more exciting than that because Echizen Ryoma is selfish. He wants Ryuzaki Sakuno to himself. He hates sharing the simplest things (Ryoma: Like my pencil), let alone the love of his life! No way! And he needs to show how he deals with people who have the guts toviolate his rule, like Tooyama. But unfortunately, Tooyama Kintarou is also as good as him in terms of tennis. Hn… if only Ryoma studied martial arts, then he could seriously injure those who wants to get a piece of his mind, if they were equally good in tennis with him anyway. If only Jungle Boy didn't meddle with other people's business then everything will be okay. But noooo… he just had to meddle. Honestly! What is up with people who have no lives! Can't they just… mind their own business!
"S-Sorry…" Sakuno said and looked apologetically at them.
Kintarou grinned, "Ha! Looks like you got rejected Koshimae! I'm the protagonist, after all!"
"Are you an idiot? Oh, that's right… you are. You're the one she rejected," Ryoma said as he glared at Kintarou.
"She didn't!"
"She did."
"She DID NOT!"
"She DID."
"Sa-chan! Tell this guy how badly you feel for rejecting him!"
"Ryuzaki, knock some sense with this guy."
"What did you say!"
"You heard me."
"Why you!—insert fighting here—"
"Both of you STOP IT!" Sakuno yelled.
The two were frozen on the spot. Ryoma was about punch Kintarou's jaw and Kintarou was pulling Ryoma's hair. The two turned their heads to Sakuno.
"Honestly! Can't you be more mature for once!" Sakuno scolded.
Ryoma and Kintarou sweat dropped.
"I know you two like each other, and please don't drag me into it! Just confess to each other already!" Sakuno added, "I know you two love each other so much, so please don't let me be the third party! Leave me alone!" So now, Sakuno thinks that there's something going on between the two tennis geniuses.
"No, Sa-chan! You've got it all wrong! Koshimae and I are not in love with each other!"
"Ryuzaki… you think I'm homo?"
"IDIOTS!" Sakuno yelled before shutting the door closed with as much force as she can give.
"M-My resolve…" Ryoma muttered.
Kintarou gritted his teeth and snapped at Ryoma, "THIS IS ALL YOU FAULT! Sa-chan and I would've been officially couples right now if you didn't meddle!"
"Look who's talking…"
"What'd you say!"
"Yeah, I know you were deaf all along…"
"Y-You! You'll regret this, Koshimae! And to think I was actually going to let you win our next match!"
"Right back at you…"
"Jerk!"
"Asshole…"
"W-What did you say? Sa-chan, did you hear that? Koshimae just said a bad word to me!"
"No, I did not…"
"You're a liar! You ARE the ANTAGONIST here! Protagonists never say bad words!"
"Yeah, and you're a motherfu—"
"Echizen!"
Ryoma and Kintarou turned to look at the owner of the voice. Ryoma paled and sweat continuously when he saw coach Ryuzaki standing not too far away from them.
"Did I just hear you swearing at Tooyama here?" Sumire asked. "I expect you got that from your father. And don't think you'll get away with your foul language! You're not allowed to see Sakuno for a while; you might influence her with that dirty mouth of yours!"
"Ha! Heard that Koshimae! By law, you're not allowed to approach Sa-chan!" Kintarou said childishly and stuck his tongue out.
"Honestly, you two, if you don't scram in less than two seconds, I am going to pinch your cheeks like there is no tomorrow!"
Ryoma and Kintarou made a dash for it.
"T-That scary granny! I have to get used to her since she'll be my grandma-in-law…" Kintarou said as the two of them stopped running in a nearby playground.
Ryoma continued on staring nonchalantly at the path they ran unto. "My resolve…"
"You still care for your resolve! You'll never get it now since you're not allowed to see Sa-chan anymore."
Ryoma let out his deathly aura and super-duper-ultra-mega-extreme-ultimately-deathly glare at Kintarou.
"I despise antagonists!"
Next thing Kintarou knew, he was being strangled.
"WHY DON'T YOU JUST DROP DEAD!"
"Ryoma-kun, stop it!" Ryuzaki suddenly interrupted his murder case.
"R-Ryuzaki/Sa-chan!" The tennis princes both said upon recognizing the princess.
Sakuno bowed apologetically at them. "S-Sorry about the way Oba-chan treated you back then."
She came back! The damsel in distress came back! She was going to clear things up… and breaks Jungle Boy's heart, hopefully. She is the leading lady after all. She needs to decide who she likes between him and that piece of shit… and she'll be the one who'll determine who's the protagonist and not!
"But you two somehow deserved it! You two kept on fighting. When will you just drop the knife and call it truce?" Ryuzaki said in a soft tone.
"Sorry, Sa-chan… So now, who'd you pick between us? Make it bearable for Koshimae; he might die of a heart attack if you rejected him that crucially."
"Don't talk to yourself, Jungle Boy."
"How many times do I have to say STOP IT!" Sakuno tried to yell but it still ended up in a soft tone.
"Just tell us who you like already." Ryoma's patience reached its limits, if he ever had one.
Sakuno blushed and looked at the two tennis geniuses in front of her. She blushed redder when she looked at Ryoma's cool façade. Ryoma noticed this and smirked.
"S-Sorry… Kin-chan… I-It's not you… it's me—"
"Sa-chan, that's the line when breaking up with your boyfriend," Kintarou halted when he realized something, "S-So d-does that mean t-that S-Sa-chan and I were going out this w-whole time! COOL! Ha! I got her first before you, Koshimae!"
"Idiot," Ryoma muttered.
"Too bad she broke up with me though… Don't worry Sa-chan, I'll get you back, I promise! For now, I'm going to run dramatically to the sunset leaving you two alone!"
So, Kintarou ran dramatically to the sunset, leaving the two alone.
Hn. That's right. Echizen Ryoma is the protagonist and Ryuzaki Sakuno is his female lead in this story. Your lost Jungle Boy.
Antagonists are always annoying. That's a fact that Ryoma knows for a long time. They were just there to let out the hidden powers that the protagonist have (or only comes as a challenger) and bring the protagonist and his girl closer. Love blooms when jealousy occurred. That saying undeniably describes the tennis prince. Just like the occurrence with the progress of Otani and Koizumi's relationship. Ryoma guessed that he needs to appreciate what Kintarou had done, because without his antagonist, he and Sakuno would've never gotten together.
Antagonists are annoying but he guessed they're not that bad… and that concludes Ryoma's second resolve regarding antagonists and their annoying behaviors.
"Darn it! Why do jerks like Koshimae always get the female lead! And I'm the protagonist, mind you," Kintarou murmured to himself as he walked casually. "Although it seemed like Sa-chan and I dated before… without me knowing about it…"
"Ore-sama can help you with that," a familiar egoistically voice startled Kintarou.
"Eh? You're the Monkey King, aren't you?"
Atobe laughed mockingly, "Everyone thinks that the protagonists always win in the end, but they're wrong.
Simply because… (Kintarou peeked behind Atobe and saw other familiar faces.)
Antagonists always come back with allies after the big defeat!"
.OWARI.
A/N: Rated T for language. Thanks for reading 'Ryoma's Resolve: The Damsel in Distress', by the way. Here's the sequel and/or expansion ^.^ Reviews? Another sequel?