Disclaimer: Pot doesn't belong to me. Too sad, isn't it?

Rating: T

Summary: Sakuno is in the hospital waiting for her boyfriend to come out of the operating room. SanadaSakuno

A/N: English is not my first language; feel free to point out the mistakes I made.

I got the idea after having listened to James Blunt's song Goodbye my lover.

Please read & review.

GOODBYE MY LOVER

Here she is, in a hospital, waiting for her boyfriend to come out of the operating room. She couldn't remember how they arrived here but she did know that he had been badly injured.

Here she is, sitting alone in this cold corridor. Her granny wasn't in Tokyo and his family didn't like her. They told her they'd only come if she leaves. But she couldn't leave him alone. No she really couldn't leave him alone after what he did for her.

Sakuno clearly remembered the first time they met.

˜˜˜ Flashback ˜˜˜

Sakuno was visiting her grandmother in this hospital. She used to come every day to give her information about the Invitational Camp. Even if Tezuka came back from Germany to lead her group she knew she was worried. And being worried wasn't the best for her heart, doctors said.

She met him in front of the vending machine. Her coin slipped from her hand and landed under the machine. She could not reach it, so she began to take her purse out. At that very moment he came and shoved a coin in her hand with a cold "I found it under the machine".

Something stroke her mind as he walked away. His figure was very familiar, so was the cap he wore.

A few days later she met him again. She was bringing some towels to his team. She saw him playing against four players. He was practicing his speed. After the practice she gave each member a towel. When it was his turn he took it and walked away.

It was like paying hide and seek with him. She thought he must have gotten mad because, one day, he cornered her in the clubroom.

"Why are you following me around?" He asked with a glare that might have killed her if his eyes were guns.

"I…I…jus… just wan… want to thank you for giving me my coin back."

He looked at her puzzled. Then a little light shone in his eyes and his look softened.

"Oh yes, I remember. You don't need to thank me. Everybody would have done the same. Now stop following me! Please!"

He said this last sentence with his usual hard expression and he went out, leaving her alone in the empty room.

Their third meeting occurred again in the hospital. She knew that one of his teammate, his closest friend, was hospitalized. She was on the roof waiting for the doctors to leave her grandmother's room. She was listening to music. Suddenly the door leading to the roof was smashed open. She saw him coming in her direction, looking at the floor. He passed her by and sat down in a corner of the roof. A little noise, such as the one made by somebody sniffing, came from the place where he sat.

She came close and knelt in front of him. She wanted to comfort him. Seeing people suffering always made her sad. She put her hand on his shoulder and with the other one she handed him a handkerchief. He did not take it so she had to wipe his tears herself. As her hand came close to his face he took it and pushed it away. He stood up and looked at her with eyes filled with tears.

"What the hell do you want?" He asked with a deadly glare.

"Co… Com… Comfort you." She said in a tiny little voice.

"I don't need to be comforted."

He pushed her hard and she hit the fence. He did not bother helping her stand up again.

After that incident she went home without visiting her granny. She cried all the way to her room. She was so depressed that she even left the Invitational Camp. The last time she saw him had been when he played double with Atobe.

Two months later her granny was released from hospital. When they got out of the taxi they saw a bunch of lilies on the front step. There was a little card in the middle of the flowers. Her grandmother took it and gave it to her. Just one word was written: " Sorry"

Days after days the same flowers were sent with the same card on which the same word was written. Even the delivery man did not know who sent them.

One day, as she was looking through the window she saw a shadow walking towards their front door. Suddenly she heard a loud knock. As she was alone at home she had no other choice than running down the stairs and opening the door. It was an old man with grey hair dressed up in a black suit; he had a very stern face and eyes that could read your mind. He bowed and she let him enter. He was very straightforward and she did not have the opportunity to talk first.

"I want to apologize for the stupidities my grandson did."

She looked at him puzzled. She didn't understand what he was implying. Seeing she was lost he explained her everything.

"He pushed you against a fence two months ago and in order to be forgiven he sent you several bunches of lilies. According to my moral code flowers are not enough. I forced him to invite you to a restaurant tonight. A car is going to pick you up at 7.30 pm this evening. Make sure to be ready and do not hesitate to order whatever pleases you."

Without any other words he left, closing the door behind him, leaving her totally amazed and speechless.

She stood in front of the door; her mouth wide open till her granny came home just to leave one hour later. Before going away she asked her not to forget her keys like the last time she went out with friends.

7.25 pm. There was a loud knock. It was him. He didn't seem happy to be here. She could easily understand that. He dragged her out. The drive was everything but noisy. The meal had been as silent as the drive. The waiters kept staring at them because they had never seen such silent customers. The other customers were also amazed. She really wished she could have known what they thought about them.

The drive back home was less silent. He asked her if she had enjoyed the outing and he also apologized for his rude behavior on the roof.

When they were in front of her door, he waited for her to enter so that he could leave. Suddenly she turned herself in his direction, tears coming out of her eyes. He raised a questioning eyebrow.

"I can't enter. I forgot my key inside and Granny isn't at home."

He rolled his eyes and gestured for her to follow him. He took her to his place and gave her one of the many guestrooms of the house.

She couldn't sleep. The bed was too hard and cold. She wandered through the house looking for a blanket. She ended up behind the door of what seemed to be the dojo. Suddenly she heard a loud noise: the fall of a katana. She let out a little yelp, loud enough for him to hear it. He opened the sliding door and glared at her. His look was so hard that she ran away just to be caught by his strong arms. He held her tight, brought her back in the dojo and whispered in her ears.

"If you wanted to watch me train you could have entered. I have never eaten anybody. Moreover I really hate people spying on me. Now sit down! When I am over I will bring you back to your room."

She sat on a bench and watched him making beautiful movements with his sword. Sweat was swirling around him making his bare chest shine in the dim light of the room. She was watching him so intently that she didn't notice him stopping his practice and sitting next to her, wiping the sweat off his body. He saw that she was lost in her thoughts so he touched her on her shoulder to have her attention.

"Do you want to go back to your room? I still have to sit here during 30 minutes to relax in the most complete silence."

"I can wait."

He closed his eyes and began to relax.

She woke up two hours later. She had her head on his lap and he was caressing her hair, his eyes were half closed. She began to blush furiously and she tried to free herself from his grasp without disturbing him. It was a failure because he opened his eyes. He looked at her; his eyes were softer than usual. He asked her if she wanted to go back to her room. She nodded. So he stood up, took her in his arms and carried her there. Her cheeks were so red that she had the impression that they were glowing in the dark.

The next morning he drove her home. Since that day they began to see each other on a more regular basis.

They became friend.

˜˜˜ End flashback ˜˜˜

The red light was still on. A nurse wanted her to wait in the family room. Sakuno had no other choice than to obey. She sat down in an armchair, took a magazine and started reading it. A man entered the room: Genichirou's father. He looked at her. It wasn't a kind look.

"What are you still doing here? Go away! It's your entire fault! If you hadn't been there my son wouldn't be here struggling between life and death."

"I won't leave. I promised him I would stay here till he comes out of the operating room."

"So you want to prevent his parents from being near him. I knew from the very beginning of your relationship that you were a slut."

"No there's plenty of space. I sit here and your wife and you can take a seat at the other end of the room."

"No way! Either you leave or we leave! Your presence is an insult to our family!"

"I stay."

His parents left, leaving her alone with her pain. She didn't know why they hated her so much. Genichirou never explained it to her. She kept reading the magazine and her mind was slowly beginning to drift away.

˜˜˜ Flashback ˜˜˜

Three years had passed. Sakuno was 15 and he was 17. During this period of time they got really close. In fact she began to fall in love with him but he didn't feel the same. It was what she thought.

After school she took the bus to visit him in Rikkai Dai High School. She was to meet him in front of the school's gate. The travel was long and there were very loud people around her. Some were even giving her dirty looks. When the bus came to a stop she went down and began to walk in the direction of the school. She was followed by some of the men who were looking at her in a very disrespectful way.

She stood near the gate. They began to harass her. They were making some dirty allusions and one of them pushed her, making her lose her balance. She fell. He ripped her shirt open while another one kept her legs to the ground. She knew what was going to happen. She was going to be raped. Tears were running down her cheeks. She tried to scream for help but another man covered her mouth with his hand. Fighting was useless. They were way too strong for her to break free. The hope of being rescued was leaving her; when suddenly she heard a deep voice yelling.

"Leave her alone or you'll regret it!"

They stopped everything they were doing and ran in the direction of her savior. He was ready to fight them with his wooden katana. He didn't have to use it because they all ran away when they saw is dark expression. Genichirou could be quite frightening when angry. He followed them and then came back to help her.

Her shirt was no longer wearable. He lent her his jersey and took her to his house so that she could wash. She was so shocked that she wasn't able to walk. He had to carry her. Once in his house he made sure nobody was present and he took her to the bathroom. He helped her to clean her scratches and lent her a T-shirt.

While she was dressing, he went in the kitchen to make some tea. They drank it in his garden under a beautiful sakura tree. There, she began to cry and he took her in his arms, holding her close, his breath tickling her ear. He was whispering random words when she suddenly felt his lips on hers. It was a sweet kiss, not a demanding or hungry one. It was her very first one.

While taking her home he even confessed that he had fallen in love with her and that he would have killed those men if they had really hurt her.

They began to go officially out after her grandmother met his parents during a tennis match opposing Seigaku to Rikkai Dai. Their families were quite happy with this situation: Genichirou was finally thinking about something different from tennis and kendo and she was becoming less and less shy. She was no longer stuttering on each and every word.

They often organized dinners between their families. Everything was great until her 16th birthday. Genichirou's family gave a party, and at the end, his mother told her to stay away from him, that she could no longer come and visit him. She went as far as giving Sakuno a box filled with the presents she gave him.

Of course Genichirou didn't accept the decision of his family. He tried everything he could to make them change their mind. He failed. In spite of that they kept seeing each other in secret. He was the one who came to visit her.

The secret meetings went on till his 18th birthday. After school he came to Seigaku. She was taking her daily tennis lesson with Tezuka when he entered the court. He whispered something to her senpai who nodded and left the court without a single word.

Genichirou came close to her, kissed her tenderly on the lips and put a small box in her hand. She opened it. A little note fell. She picked it up and read the message written on it: "Will you marry me?"

She didn't expect a wedding proposal. She knew he loved her but getting married was too much. She wanted to refuse but he told her it was the only way to go past his parents' decision. She accepted and they planned to get married as soon as their studies were over.

When his family learnt about their project it was as if hell was on them. They wanted to prevent him from seeing her. They feared they would run away and get married.

To tell the truth nobody was happy for them except Yukimura and her granny. She thought Tomoka would be happy for her but it was the contrary. When she learnt it she stared at her and said that she was a slut, that she didn't love him and that all she wanted was his name just for its reputation. She tried to explain everything but she didn't want to see her ever again.

She was alone. Everybody in Seigaku avoided her. Teachers looked at her as if she was the worst whore that has ever existed. Only the tennis regulars of Seigaku and the one of Rikkai Dai still considered her as normal human being. She began to evolve in a totally brand new environment. She was much closer from them than she was from Tomoka and her other girl friends.

At the beginning being treated like someone suffering from plague was hard, but as time went by it no longer affected her.

Shopping with Kikumaru or with Yukimura was weird and cooking with Bunta was fun.

Each and every regular tried to make her forget about her past friendship with Tomoka. It was a success.

When her life was finally back on track her granny had another heart attack. It had been far worst than the first time. Her doctors said it also affected her brain and it might have damaged it.

She had been conscious during a few days before falling in a coma. There was very little hope for her to recover.

Every day she went to visit her with Genichirou. Sometimes Yukimura would come with them. He was their closest friend and he had a lot of respect for her granny. They talked to her about their projects, their future wedding and her life in High School.

One morning a doctor phoned her to tell her that she had been the victim of another attack during the night and that she wouldn't wake up anymore: this attack destroyed her brain and she could no longer breathe without the help of a machine.

She had to decide whether to keep her alive or to let her go. She didn't want to choose. It was too difficult. She cried herself to sleep during several days.

Genichirou was always here for her. He helped her and spent as many time as possible with her. He cheered her up and came with her to visit her grandmother. They spent most of their free time in her hospital room.

During one of their visit her heart stopped beating. It was painful but at the same time it was a relief.

From this day on she had to live on her own. It was tough with all the bills to pay. It went smoothly but soon she had to give up.

Yukimura knew she was deeply in troubles so he offered her to move in with his family. She accepted and transferred to Rikkai Dai High School.

His family was aware of her difficulties and they treated her as if she was part of it.

She would have moved in with Genichirou but his family was against this idea.

At first it had been difficult because they were richer than her and she felt ashamed that they had to take care of her, financially speaking. She even tried to find a little job but they made her understand that it was a pleasure for them to take care of her.

From time to time she spent the weekend with Genichirou at his place. They just had to make sure that his parents weren't at home. They were quite lucky because they had a lot of family out of town.

On her 17th birthday he threw a party for her just inviting their closest friends. They had a lot of fun but she regretted the absence of Tomoka and her granny.

As his parents were abroad she spent the whole week with him. During this short holiday they made It for the very first time. There's no word to describe what she felt.

From February to Mai they spent very few time together because they both had to study for their exams.

To celebrate the end of the exams and Genichirou's birthday she organized, with the help of Yukimura, a little celebration. His parents were present and they talked to her only because they thought that she was no longer going out with their son. They thought she was going out with Yukimura because she lived with his family.

In June Genichirou and her went to Tokyo. They wanted to buy a present for his mother's birthday. They saw a lovely silver necklace with a rose pendant in the window of a jewelry shop.

They bought it and went out of the shop.

The last things she remembered were somebody pushing her, a strange sound and blood. She fainted.

˜˜˜ End flashback ˜˜˜

A nurse was coming. She was followed by a doctor. They stopped walking and began to talk on the threshold of the waiting room. They threw her anxious glances as if they were afraid of something.

Her heart began to beat really quickly. She had a really bad feeling. Something bad must have happened. She knew it deep in her heart.

The doctor was now in front of her. She stood up.

"Are you part of Sanada-san's family?"

"I'm his fiancée."

"Please sit down."

Sakuno sat down. Her heart was now pounding.

"I am really sorry. Your boyfriend died during the operation. The bullet tore an artery. In spite of all our efforts we did not manage to stop the bleeding. I offer you all my sympathy."

The floor ripped open under her feet. She couldn't believe what she just heard. She just didn't want to believe it. She began to cry hysterically. A nurse had to come and give her an injection. Suddenly everything was black.

When she woke up she was in a bed. A nurse was at her side and Yukimura was sitting next to her. She looked at him, hoping he would tell her that everything was just a nightmare. He looked at her; his eyes were red and puffy. He squeezed her hand and she knew that what happened was the reality. The nurse coughed to have her attention.

"You shouldn't react so violently. It's not good for the baby."

Sakuno looked at her. She didn't understand what she was trying to tell her.

"A baby! What baby?"

"There's a little baby of one month in your womb, Ryusaki-san."

After her brain had registered what she has been told she began to cry. The nurse patted her on the shoulder and left her with Yukimura.

"What must I do now, Yukimura-kun?"

She was really upset. She needed someone to advise her and Yukimura was the right person.

"Well… It's Genichirou's baby, right Sakuno?"

"Yes."

"Keep it. I'll help you bring it up."

˜˜˜ 12 months later ˜˜˜

She was in the churchyard with Yukimura and Genichirou Junior. He was sleeping in his stroller. They were walking and they stopped in front of a beautiful grave. She took the baby in her arms and came close to the tombstone. Yukimura stood behind them.

She sat on the grass and began to talk.

"Hello Genichirou. It's been a long time. I miss you so much. I really would have liked to visit you more often but your family prevented me from coming. They still don't like me. Their dislike has turned into hatred. Well, I'm not her to bother you with that problem. I'm here to introduce you to your son. I named him Genichirou, in your memory. He doesn't cry, he is a tough little guy just like his father. Seiichi and I are making our possible to bring him up well. I'm also here to tell you that Seiichi and I are married. We got married a few weeks after the baby's birth. Everybody thinks the baby is his, only our friends know the truth. It's the best solution because your parents might want to take him away from if they knew you are his father. I hope you'll forgive me for having betrayed your memory by accepting Seiichi's wedding proposal."

Yukimura knelt next to her.

"Sanada, forgive me for taking her away from you. I promise I'll take care of them. They are the most important thing in my life. Nobody will ever hurt them. I swear it."

They stayed here during a great part of the afternoon. They talked about their life and their projects. They wanted him to know all about them.

The sun was slowly going down when Yukimura and her decided it was time to leave.

Yukimura left with their baby. She stood behind. She felt on her knees, hugged the tombstone, kissed it and with a voice broken by tears she whispered a last "I will never forget you".

She stood up and ran to catch up with her new family.

Last A/N: The last scene was difficult to write. I wrote it 10 times and each time it was a failure. So I decided to go to the churchyard and I wrote it in front of my grandmother's tomb. I hope I managed to use my feelings well.