Hi There! This is for my REBELLING! ! ! Why? I am so agitated! I still cannot access the site from my work. Feel my angst you—. This is what I thought, another one-shot fic. Sorry guys, this fic is full of angst I guess but if you continue until the end… you'll find the result… This is one-shot fic story… everything will happen here… I hope you like this. Thanks…
DISCLAIMER: I do not own the Prince of Tennis and never will.
Reversed Time
Chapter Summary: "That's ridiculous." His words started it all. Find it all out.
"That's ridiculous."
Her eyes snapped opened when she heard the dull, cold voice of the tennis prince in front of her. She was still bowing her head as she thanked the boy having their date that Saturday night. They just went out from a fancy restaurant and were on their way to her home, they stopped at the park to give him a proper thanks.
…But only to receive a cold reply from him.
She looked back to see the boy's unchangeable expression a few meters away from her;
"W-what do you mean?"
He looked away from her as he inserted his hands to his pocket and said, "How can you say that I made you happy with just one date. Who are you for me to date with anyway?"
She flinched as he said that. The boy was somewhat irritated and he didn't care what he was saying at that moment. But the words that were coming to his lips were somewhat painful to her;
"R-ryoma-kun… I-I—"
"You wouldn't even call this a date either, It's just a waste of time."
She looked down as he said that. He was being rude to her and she wouldn't let that go on, "T-then, why did you accept my offer? W-why did you go out with me today?"
"Are you blind?" He sternly looked at her, "Of course, I have to agree or else sensei is going to kill me."
She walked a few steps backward, "Y-you are lying. H-how can you be so rude?"
Ryoma mockingly smirked at her, "I am rude, am not now? Maybe, just because they tell me that you sort of like me that I ended up with this ridiculous date with you. I couldn't even have my time with tennis by myself."
She was deadpanned from her position as he was mockingly smirking at her. She looked down as she tried to control herself, "W-why are you saying all these words. I-I did like you. T-that's why I took the courage to ask you t-to go on a date with me. I-I thought that y-you will like me even just for a bit, n-not just for a mere acquaintance. For three years that we've known each other, I've always liked you."
"…"
"…"
"Are you done?"
She gasped when he said his words. It was very painful and she thought that there was no painful than that but she was utterly wrong.
…Definitely wrong.
"Only stupid people would do that. I don't feel anything for you so don't hope that I will be in the future." He walked towards her and whispered to her ear making her heart break into pieces;
"Stop daydreaming because it will never happen."
Her eyes widened when he said that.
"There's no way that I'll grow fond of you."
He walked passed her after he said that not leaving his last words of advice, "Stop bugging me from now on. You might be a good riddance."
She was frozen on her location. She couldn't believe it. Ryoma was able to hurt her like that. If the boy didn't like her, he should at least tell it to her gently but it didn't happen like that. She turned around and tried to convince him;
"W-why Ryoma-kun? I-I am just your fan girl, I know. B-but I never thought that you would act like this because I am Obaa-chan's granddaughter."
Ryoma didn't stop walking away from her but he said something that crushed her to the fullest, "Mada Mada Dane."
She collapsed that time. Her tears fell down as she sat there on the ground. She couldn't stop crying now. No matter how hard she tried to wipe them, they just continued to fall. She bursted out crying that night and never cared if people were still there in the park.
Monday:
He was still pissed as he still saw the girl who was watching him that morning. He saw her standing outside the fence while talking to her best friend. He felt annoyed that the girl was following him no matter where he went.
He didn't like it. He didn't like a girl who would do the initiative and not him. Not at all.
He was the guy for Pete's sake. And what the girl was doing was pissing him more. He would ignore the girl as long as she wouldn't change. He was not interested with her at all.
Not interested at all.
Not at all.
His eyes narrowed as he looked down. Then, why am I feeling empty? He thought. Before he could answer his own question, Tezuka called all the regulars for practice.
xxx
"R-ryoma-kun."
He didn't look up from the sink as he washed his face there. His match with Kawamura just ended a few minutes ago.
"C-congrats on winning."
There she was again. She never stopped bugging him, "Didn't you understand what I said to you the other day?" He said not looking at her.
"I-I know and I understand you."
"Then what are you doing here?"
"…"
"…"
"I'm sorry."
Ryoma looked at her with irritation in his eyes, "Will you shut it already? It's annoying."
"I-I won't go near you again, I promise!" She suddenly said making him flinch a little, "B-but, y-you can never stop me from supporting you—the team in general… because you're in Obaa-chan's team."
"…"
Sakuno looked away as she continued, "The senpais, they are so fun to be with. I am glad that they are Obaa-chan's students. I'll keep supporting both the girl and boy's tennis team clubs," She then looked at him trying to hold the tears from her eyes, "I-I won't bother you again, I am sorry for being a nuisance to you all this time… T-this is…"
Ryoma stared at the fragile girl that he hurt nights ago. He unconsciously gripped his hands tight.
"This is the last time that I'll talk to you privately."
"…"
"…"
"…"
She looked at him with a genuine smile on her face but she couldn't stop her tears anymore;
"I-I'm… giving up on you, Ryoma-kun and that's a promise."
He just looked at her stationarily. No reaction, no expression and no movement. The girl was still smiling at him despite the tears fell down her face, with eyes closed to add that.
"Sayonara, Ryoma-kun." With that she started to run away. He still saw some droplets of tears from her eyes as she turned around. He was left there staring at the retreating back of the girl. Until the end, he was keeping his stoic reaction.
If he would be honest to himself, he didn't know what to feel at that moment. What he was so thankful about, the girl was finally coming to her senses to leave him alone. Though, he wasn't satisfied for an unknown reason.
xxx
She didn't care where her feet would lead her. As long as she could get out of the court, away from him away from the person who broke her heart cruelly. She couldn't stop her tears from falling. What he did to her was really painful. She couldn't believe that she didn't defend herself from him.
She was just a girl who fell in love with him.
…Probably one of the few girls who shared the same feelings as hers.
Did he reject the girls who confessed to him the same way he did to her? Was he really that rude, cruel and mean to every girl who was in love with him? He was really cold-hearted as she proven that now. And she decided to end it. She would stop following him; she would stop bugging him as he said that she was, she would give up on him.
That was it. She would never talk to him privately. To avoid hearing harsh words from him, she would painfully do that. She wiped her tears continuously as she never stopped running.
That she ended up bumping into someone. She bumped the person's chest and good thing that she didn't lose her balance.
"Gomen nasai," She bowed for several times as looked at the person who she bumped to. She could recognize that it was a boy but she couldn't see his features because of her tears. Her right hand was at her right eye trying to wipe her tears once again, "Honto ni, Gomen nasai."
xxx
He was a bit shocked when someone bumped him and to see a girl crying in front of him. He had been staring at her for a while and barely recognized her voice when she apologized once again.
"I-Iie, it's… okay." The boy looked at her wondering why she would cry like that. Before he could ask her a question, the girl quickly turned away and continued to run away. He just stared at the girl with long braids run away from him.
"Shinta! Let's go! We'll be late for class!" He heard his classmate call him. He looked at the location where the girl disappeared to before answering his classmate;
"Alright, coming!" He started to run while thinking the cute girl despite the tears that was free falling down from her face. I think she looks cute if she smiles. I hope I see her smile when we meet again.
One Month Later:
"Hey, do you know the guy from class 3-3. I heard he is trying to get Ryuzaki-chan."
Ryoma stopped from entering the club room when he heard someone gossiping about someone. If his ears were barely recognized the voice, it was definitely coming from the five years of tennis experience as he called himself. He frowned when he heard something more.
"So it's true then, he's trying to be friendly to her," Kachiro said, "I think he likes Ryuzaki-chan."
"He's entertaining her, I guess." Katsuo said, "He saw her cry one day and started comforting her. It seemed that the guy did something to know about her."
"Heh, she's really nice to everyone. No wonder guys like her," Horio said and then standing up, "I also have a crush on her but I don't think I have a chance."
"Good thing that you knew." Katsuo and Kachiro both said at the same time.
"What are you whispering about?" Horio retorted when he saw them snicker from his back.
"Nothing." They said in unison once again.
"But ever since that day, she never spent longer time to watch the regulars' game. I wonder what happened," Katsuo asked, "Is she seeing that guy now?"
"No way!" Horio cut him, "What about Echizen? She's head over heels to him, right?"
"Horio-kun, stop raising your voice," Kachiro warned him, "Did you notice that they haven't talked to each other for a month now. I think they have a problem."
"But seeing another guy is not the solution here." Katsuo said.
"Stop jumping into conclusions, guys."
They looked at the door as shock registered to their faces. Fuji was standing outside the door with Ryoma wearing a slight shock on his face. He was looking at Fuji with disbelief; probably he didn't expect the tensai to appear there suddenly;
"Just because Ryuzaki-chan is seen with other guy doesn't mean she's going out with him," Fuji explained to them and then looked at the younger tennis prodigy behind him, "Right, Echizen?"
Ryoma didn't blink when the tensai asked him. He silently walked to his locker and grabbed his uniform before exiting the place, leaving them all behind.
"What was that?" Horio asked looking between Katsuo and Kachiro who just shrugged.
"So… that's his answer, huh?" Fuji looked at Ryoma who was walking to a bench at the court.
"Fuji-senpai, I don't get it, what's his answer?" Kachiro asked his senpai.
"He silently answered." He said keeping the smile to his face.
The three just looked at him. Later on, the regulars arrived with the oblivious event that was about to spread in the future.
Another Month passed:
She was there just like the old days. She never missed a day to support the team or watched them practice. She smiled when someone made jokes at her or helped her grandmother sometimes after practice.
But she made sure that he would leave after she enter the court or she made sure that she was with someone when she talked to him. He knew that she couldn't bear speaking to him alone, yet alone to stare directly to his eyes. If she would meet him somewhere like in the corridor, the gym or even at the cafeteria, she would likely bow and leave afterwards without saying a word.
She was true to her words. Everything changed between them. She was there for the team but not basically spending time with them.
He never noticed when but he was starting to pay attention to her moves after he discovered that someone was starting to notice her. He ignored it first but not until three weeks later when the guy suddenly appeared at the court and watched the game beside her.
What a great timing, because it was his game when he appeared that time and he heard him talk to the girl. He took a quick glance at them only to be pissed.
The girl was smiling at him as the guy was telling her jokes.
He returned to his game and became fierce. His poor opponent, who happened to be Momoshiro became his victim that day but the regulars knew why he acted like that. He ignored their snickers as well as the small conversation outside.
He was doing his warm up as he secretly glancing at the girl who was talking to Oishi and to Eiji. She smiled her usual reaction when she talked to his senpai like that.
He was wondering why he knew that well about her. Had he been observing her for long? He focused on his warm ups but his thoughts about her never left his mind. He wanted to do something but he didn't know what. He was a bit confused on something but he couldn't name it. He was getting pissed by something that he didn't know.
He was closed to getting snapped when he heard her shriek.
"S-Shinta-kun!"
He heard her say his name. He accidentally looked at her direction. And like the other regulars out there, he was shocked as well. The guy was hugging her from behind causing the girl to blush really hard.
"Ne, Sakuno-chan! Aren't you going home yet?"
"S-Shinta-kun. Let me go first."
"No way!"
"What's the commotion here?" Sumire suddenly went outside and was shocked when she saw her granddaughter was being hugged by another guy, "Hey, Shinta! Stop hugging my granddaughter!"
"Ah, but Ryuzaki-sensei, Eiji-senpai is hugging Sakuno-chan like this too, why can't I do it?" Shinta pouted a little.
"He's right, nya." Eiji agreed raising a hand, "Ryuzaki-chan is really cute."
Sumire separated the two of them, "No more hugging to my granddaughter from now on, not even you Eiji."
"But sensei…" Both Shinta and Eiji said but earning a death glare from Sumire instead.
He saw Sakuno blush really hard as she couldn't look at anyone. It had been a while since she blushed like that. He felt nostalgic when he saw her that. He gripped his hands really hard.
"Ne, sensei, let me take her home today, okay?" Shinta volunteered.
Sumire looked at him and then to Sakuno, "Well, if Sakuno's okay with it."
"Of course, she's okay with it," Shinta said as he grabbed the girl's hand in the process, "right?"
"A-anou…" She blushed but later on she nodded.
"Alright!" He rejoiced much to Sakuno's embarrassment.
The rest of the regulars started to tease the girl about dumping Ryoma and ended up choosing the other guy. Sakuno couldn't look to anyone when they mentioned his name. She couldn't bear to look at him; she wouldn't want to know his reaction. She would just feel pain once again.
She didn't tell anyone what happened between them, even to Tomoka. But they were slowly realizing that something was wrong between them. Ryoma kept quiet too even though they started to ask him, he would just ignored the topic and walked away.
They came into conclusion that their relationship was somewhat in turmoil.
Ryoma on the other hand was secretly hearing and seeing what happened in front of him. He was the only one who didn't approach the crowd. He glared at the guy who was holding the girl's hand. How dare he do that? What makes him ask the coach to send her home? He has no right.
Then his eyes widened when he realized that. He quickly turned away from their location. What was he talking about? Since when did he care about the girl? What if she started avoiding him? What if she stopped talking to him? Didn't he tell her that? It was his doing, so why was he complaining inside? He mentally shook his head to clear his mind. He wanted this day over already. He wanted to get away from what he was seeing right now. He walked away as he went to the wall to have some another rallying to do.
Unknown to him, Momo, Fuji and Inui noticed the sudden change of attitude of their kouhai. They knew that he was just suppressing his feelings. They wanted to laugh out loud of his denseness. The boy had no idea what he was missing.
If he wouldn't do something about the current situation, he would definitely miss it before he even got a hold of it.
Another month had passed:
"It's been confirmed."
Ryoma stopped from exiting the shower room when he heard the voice of the tennis tensai inside the club room. He thought that everyone left the club room already but why would Fuji still be there? And who was he talking to?
His question was soon being answered when the second person talked;
"Nya, What's being confirmed Fuji."
Fuji looked at the acrobatic player and smiled like the usual, "Shinta-chan is head over heels to Ryuzaki-chan."
"What!"
Ryoma was shocked as well. He heard Momo, Eiji and Kawamura reacted at the same time.
"How can you be so sure about that, senpai?" Momo asked him.
"He told me himself"
"Eh?! M-maji?" Eiji couldn't believe him, "How?"
"He even asked me to help him."
"What did you say then?" Kawamura worriedly asked the tensai.
Fuji smiled at him before answering, "I said that I will."
"S-senpai, h-how could you?" Momo was upset at his answer, "What about Echizen?"
Fuji stared at them for a while before saying his words, "Echizen doesn't bother on what is happening around her, I think he doesn't care if she dates him."
"I don't think Ochibi will like this?" Eiji looked down.
"Are you sure that you are going to help the guy instead of Echizen?" Kawamura tried to make sure.
"I've been observing Ryuzaki-chan these past months. I'll see if Shinta and she would make a good chemistry," Fuji assured them, "I love seeing people suffer but I won't let Ryuzaki-chan experience it."
They looked at him with doubt in their eyes. The tensai smiled;
"Hey, if this goes wrong, I'll be the one to stop it."
"Just make sure she won't hurt herself, Fuji." Eiji said warning his best friend.
Fuji nodded, "Actually, the guy is planning to confess to her today."
"What!" They reacted in unison.
"He is waiting for her at the entrance gate of the school," He continued, "Since most students went home now, Shinta-chan decided to stay and waited for her to finish her afternoon duty. I already told Ryuzaki-chan that he was waiting for her at the entrance gate."
Before they could react at his words, a loud bang could be heard that was coming from the shower room. They were shocked to see the youngest regular member of the tennis club there. His hair was still wet from the water and it was still dripping on the ground. He was only wearing a towel to his waist. His head was down but he was breathing really hard.
"Echizen/Ochibi!" Everyone was shocked when he saw him there.
"What are you still doing here?" Momo asked the boy.
Ryoma didn't say a word but he decided to look up and stared at them. Fuji was the one to notice his stare. He was telling them a message that only him could understand. His eyes were serious and intense.
He was still breathing hard when he tried to talk, "I… I-"
He was cut off when Fuji grabbed his uniform and threw it at him. He stared at the tensai with wondering eyes.
"She's in her classroom; go now before she leaves there." He said to him earning oblivious stares from the others.
Ryoma on the other hand quickly wore his uniform and hurriedly ran out of the club room not forgetting to say a word;
"Sankyuu."
Everyone looked at the door that he exited. Fuji smiled after that which the others were still curious about it.
"Saa… what should we do with the other one?"
Kawamura thought first before realizing the situation, "F-Fuji, you knew that he was here?"
Fuji just shrugged at his question, "I think we should meet the other at the entrance gate."
Everyone sweat dropped. They knew that he loved people seeing suffer… in front of him.
In the classroom:
She was writing the names of the next students on duty tomorrow morning at that time. Her partner for that afternoon went home a couple of minutes but she decided to stay for a little longer. That was the time Fuji appeared in front of their classroom and told her that Shinta was waiting for her. She could still remember her partner teasing her about Shinta being her boyfriend.
She ended up blushing with her classmate's comment. Shinta was really kind to her. He was always there to comfort her when she was upset. To the point, he ended up watching tennis matches with her when he had the time. There were times that they teased them for being sweet and all but she kept denying the fact that they were a couple.
…Which was true anyway.
She finished writing the names of the students on duty tomorrow morning but she stared at them. If Shinta-kun really likes me… like they always tell he does, liking him back is not hard to do. She thought as she noticed something on her left wrist.
Something was hanging there; it was a charm bracelet that Shinta gave her.
If you are sad, just stare at the bracelet and think of me. With that, you will be happy again.
She remembered what the boy told her. She giggled as she thought of his words. I guess… I'll learn to like him… and I can finally move on. She needed to do that before she lose her mind about a certain tennis prodigy that no matter what she did, her effort would gone to waste. Liking someone else was another option for her and that option was slowly approaching to her.
She had that resolve confidently now. She wouldn't stay sad and lonely. Three months was enough for her to be upset and now it was time to move on. She smiled as she put the marker on the table and grabbed the broom and dust pan to her side and put them at the corner of the room.
Just when she just placed them properly, she noticed that there was another figure standing not far from her. She looked up to see who it was only to be shocked;
The person that she was expected to see last was standing at the entrance of the classroom. He appeared casually there that she didn't notice him there right away.
When she recovered from the shock, she quickly went to her bag and grabbed it without saying a word to him. Considered her to be rude but she was not planning to talk to the guy. She quickly turned around only to be found him a few meters away from him.
She let out a faint gasp as quickly as that. How did the boy suddenly appear in front of her? Did he teleport or something? She remembered him being at the entrance a while ago. It was freaking fast though. Not wanting to be rude completely, she bowed in front of him and hesitantly walked passed him.
Only to be stopped by his hand grabbing her wrist.
She gasped this time. She didn't face him but she felt the firm grip he was giving to her wrist. The next thing she knew, she was being dragged by him elsewhere. She was startled at his actions. Why would he, of all people there drag her? Did she do something wrong? She kept her promise to him. She stopped bugging him, bothering him, annoying him. She even promised that she would give up on him. She felt a sharp pang on her chest when she thought that. She came to her senses as she gathered all the courage to pull her wrist from his grip making the guy flinch in the process.
Again, without saying another word, she slowly turned around and started to walk away from him. She hadn't taken the third step when the boy grabbed her wrist once again and continued dragging her to who knew where.
She was surprised with his persistent, "W-where are you taking me—." She quickly covered her mouth with her free hand when she suddenly spoke and looked away from him. The boy didn't answer her but she felt that his grip tightened once again.
She noticed that they were ascending the stairs so she figured that the boy would be taking her to the rooftop. She bit her lower lip as she stared at her hand that he was holding. She didn't know what the boy was thinking at that moment.
Later on:
They reached the rooftop without hassle. She noticed that most students had already gone home. It would be a problem to her because no one would help her that time. Tomoka went home early that day because she needed to take care of her siblings. She didn't know how to handle the situation if ever he did something harsh again like three months ago.
She knew she was right.
She was being pulled forward in a harsh way as they reached the rooftop. She almost stumbled due to shock. The boy was still obviously rude to her. She closed her eyes as she tried to compose herself.
"W-why are you doing this?" She asked still not facing him.
"…"
"W-what did I do wrong? Why did you bring me here?" She looked down when she hadn't heard anything from him.
"…"
She gripped her hands tight as she decided to turn around and looked at him, "Stop this already! Don't do things that you are not really sure!" With that she tried to walk passed him to exit the rooftop but she was once again stopped by him. The boy quickly took a few steps backward and locked the door which was behind him. His gaze was still on hers making her flinch in the process, "W-what do you want?"
"You."
She gasped as her eyes were slowly widened. He said it firmly. He only said one word but it did sound so strong. His amber eyes were locked on hers.
"Stop avoiding me." He took a big and fast step towards her.
"W-what are you—" She quickly walked backward as he moved forward.
"Stop running away from me." He took other big steps.
"B-but you—" She continued walking backwards. Her eyes were still widened, couldn't believe what he was saying at that moment.
"Stop ignoring me." He took another big step.
She felt a wall at her back making her panic in the process. She looked at her back for a while.
"Stop looking away from me!" He slammed both of his hands on the wall cornering her there.
She instantly looked at him when he did that. She was scared now as she couldn't react at his actions. What was the boy saying to her now? What was she going to reply to his words? She didn't know at all and all she did was indeed stare at him.
…Staring at his amber eyes which were looking at her intensely.
…The stare that she had never seen from him before.
…The stare that made her so nervous.
"S-stop it…"
She saw him flinch when she talked;
"I-I promised you, didn't I? I promised you that I-"
"Break that damn promise!"
She almost jumped when he interrupted. She could feel how fast her heart was beating right now.
"Break it!" he repeated.
"I… I don't want to be a nuisance to you." She looked down. She couldn't hold his stare any longer.
"Then do break it!"
"No!" She shook her head, "I don't want to bug you anymore. I stopped daydreaming long ago. I understood you back then."
"I knew what I said, alright!" He retorted, "I knew I've been rude to you."
Her eyes widened. Did he regret what he said to her three months ago? He didn't move from his position since the moment he slammed his hands there but she felt that he was shaking… for she didn't know what reason?
It was not fear, sadness or anger?
Regret?
She couldn't read his mind.
"I did things that I was not really sure, you were right," He continued, "But I'll make things that I will not regret… at least not anymore," He pulled a hand from the wall and placed it on her chin making her to look at him, "if you look at me like the way you did before."
She wanted to slap her face for being red now. Her reaction was betraying her. Didn't she just make her decision that she would get over him a while ago? Why the boy would suddenly barge in again to confuse her mind? She couldn't think properly and she was breathing irregularly at that moment.
His amber eyes noticed something at her left wrist. He faintly grunted as he suddenly grabbed her wrist and hoisted it in front of them. He looked straight at her eyes when he asked, "This thing belonged to him, right?"
Her eyes widened as she remembered the bracelet and then the person who gave her the bracelet. Right, she was going to meet him at the entrance gate that day but he suddenly appeared in front of her and dragged her all the way to the rooftop.
"S-shinta-kun, I need to see him today," She tried to free herself from his grip, "H-he's waiting for me downstairs—"
She was shocked once again when the boy harshly pulled the bracelet away from her. The bracelet snapped as it left her wrist. She stared at it as it fell on the ground. Tears were forming on her face as she faced the culprit, "W-why did you do that—"
She was lost of words once again when the boy firmly grabbed her forearm with his hands and leaned her on the wall behind her. He was looking down when he firmly said his next words;
"I don't want you to talk to him."
"H-he's—"
"Talk to me instead."
"Wait… l-listen to—"
"I don't want you to see him."
"I-I'm not se—"
"See me instead."
She gasped when the boy demanded that.
"I don't want you to date him."
"R-Ryoma-kun—"
She wasn't prepared when the boy suddenly looked up and stared at her;
"Date me instead."
Everything was out of her hands now. She never expected those words coming from the tennis prodigy. Actually, she was not really prepared from all things that were happening right now and the boy was not finished yet.
He stared at her for a while after he said his last words. He suddenly leaned closer to claim her lips without warning.
Her head fell back on the wall when the boy crushed his lips to her. She gasped due to shock. He was kissing her and it was her first kiss. Her eyes were widened as she stared at his closed eyes. Gripping her wrists firmly, she couldn't make any struggling as he kissed her there.
He slowly released her after a few seconds but not the grip instead he encircled his arms to her back hugging her completely, "I love you, Sakuno. Choose me… instead of him."
She didn't know what to feel. She couldn't find her emotions at that time. Everything was fast for her. How could he say those words now when she was expecting those three months ago?
Why now?
"Y-you're… lying," She weakly said, enough for him to hear, "Y-you said that you'll never—"
"I knew what I said… and I," He whispered back, "couldn't believe I said that."
"…"
"Gomen…"
Silence erupted between them. Sakuno was trying to register what was happening at that moment. She was still trapped in his arms after all.
"W-why did you… hurt me then?" she couldn't help but asked, "Why?"
It took him a long time before answering her, "I… didn't want you… to take the initiative, that's why?"
Her eyes slowly widened when she realized his reasons. She started to struggle from his hug and released her despair on him, "T-that's it? Y-you didn't want me to take the initiative? W-was that your reason?"
"…"
"Baka! Ryoma-kun no baka!" She was trying to free herself from him now but the boy wouldn't let her, "Y-you made me suffer for that lame reason? I-I tried everything to forget you! I tried to be normal again! I tried to busy myself with everything! I tried to be strong! I tried everything!"
"…"
"But you keep hurting me." She was crying to her heart's content. Her tears fell that she held for she didn't know how long, "I even said goodbye to you and that was hard for me."
"…"
"I started to move on and was ready to forget you. Why are you doing this to me?"
Ryoma leaned her further to the wall making no space for her to escape. He placed his one hand to the wall once again next to her face.
"R-Ryoma-kun," She gasped as he was squeezing her there, "Let me go…"
"No."
"Onegai." She begged.
"No." He firmly said.
"W-why do you always control everything?" she closed her eyes shut.
"Because I am strong enough to protect you," He said nudging his face closer to her, "if you allow me."
She let her tears fall down freely to her face. She was hurt and the one responsible was the person hugging her at that moment, "T-they were painful… for me?"
"I am sorry, Sakuno," He whispered to her ear, "I am sorry, forgive me."
She continued crying as she heard him saying his apologies. She looked down a little, "I-I hate you."
He flinched a little when he heard her say her words. He replied, "I am sorry."
"I really hate you."
"…I am really sorry."
"I hate you."
He hugged her tightly but he didn't say a word this time.
"I hate you," She slowly reached for his shirt and tightly gripped it. She shed another tear as she restlessly leaned her face to his shoulder, "…for loving you."
Ryoma shifted his hand which was leaning on the wall and hugged her back once again. She felt suffocated as he hugged her tightly like that but she didn't struggle that time. She just listened to his whispered words;
"Then… you can hate me forever."
Later on:
He felt relieved when he finally got her. He knew he was wrong and he knew she was right. He was awfully stupid and his reason of hurting and making her suffer like that was ridiculously and practically lame.
And it took three months for him to realize that.
It was so stupid of him.
He needed a new character for him to be able to understand that. If he didn't make the move today, he would probably lose Sakuno for good.
And it was a good thing that he followed his senpai and did what he think was right.
When she said that she hated him… for several times, he thought that it was useless. It was too late to have her back. That she couldn't forgive him.
It was unforgivable anyway.
But he learned that she was not the person who would keep a grudge to someone, especially when she suddenly confessed at the end. He felt another chance so he hugged her tightly not minding if he was hurting her in the process.
"R-Ryoma-kun."
"Un." He simply replied.
"I," He heard her say, "I need to see… Shinta-kun."
He flinched but not noticeable. The girl was getting her revenge right away. She was getting right back at him, "Yadda!"
"A-anou… I-I just want to talk to him."
"…"
"Please… I don't want him to wait for me."
"…"
"Please."
Without saying a word he slowly released her. Strangely but he couldn't look at her but he knew that the girl was looking at him;
"T-thank you." She composed herself after that. She grabbed the snapped bracelet and walked away from him.
He looked down as he was trying to think of something. There was no way he would lose to that guy. Not ever, "Sakuno." He said as he turned around and looked at her.
The girl looked at him as well; her face wore a slight surprise reaction on her face.
He stared at her for a while… looking straight at her eyes, "Don't give up on me… okay."
She was shocked as he could see that. He felt overwhelmed when the girl blushed suddenly and slowly nodded. Without saying another word, she left the rooftop.
Later on:
She saw the guy with the seniors. She told them that she needed to talk to him alone. They were hesitating at first but decided to respect her decision. She gave them an assurance that everything would be alright. So they started to leave them alone.
She told him everything, gave the poor bracelet back and apologized. The guy was surprised at first but recovered quickly.
"Why, Sakuno-chan? Didn't you suffer because of him? Why do you still choose that guy over me?" Shinta continuously asked her.
"G-gomen, I-I—"
"He'll keep hurting you. He's the densest, meanest, cruelest guy I've ever met!" Shinta retorted, "You will never be happy with him."
She stared at him. Shinta was hurt as she read his expression. He was true anyway. She never became happy with him yet and she didn't know if she would be in the future.
"I love you, Sakuno-chan," Shinta confessed making her shock in the process, "Am I too late for you?"
Blush still crept to her face. Was he really too late? Shinta was really sweet and kind. She didn't want to hurt him. She didn't want to be like Ryoma—the former Ryoma who was previously rude to her that she ended up suffering a lot because of him. Actually, she still couldn't believe herself that she had forgiven the boy after all he'd done to her.
…And loving him until now.
If Shinta was a little early, she would have answered him like she decided minutes ago. But Ryoma made his move first and realized that she could still forgive him.
"Think carefully, I can make you happy if you choose me," Shinta said walking closer to her, "I will never be harsh to you. I'll make you laugh when you are with me. I will never ignore your presence besides me. I will never do those things that he did to you."
She remained speechless as he stared at her. Being the weak one, his words were tempting. If she met Shinta before Ryoma she would probably choose him. But Ryoma did things to her before, despite the lack of awareness that he was giving her but she wasn't complaining at that, "Shinta-kun, I-I really—"
"What are you saying to my girlfriend?"
Both of them were shocked when they heard someone talked behind them. They looked behind them only to see a pair of amber eyes was nonchalantly staring at them.
"You only know my bad side but not my good side."
"What are your good sides then? How can you make Sakuno-chan happy?" Shinta asked the tennis prodigy while sternly staring at him.
"That's none of your business." He looked back at him with his own sternness.
Shinta looked at the flushed face of the girl and retorted, "Is this the person that you will love? He's really rude to answer a question."
"Shinta-kun, R-Ryoma-kun is really like that."
"How can you defend the person who hurt you a lot?"
She looked down and said, "T-the truth is… I don't know."
Ryoma flinched when she said her words. Shinta was shocked too, he was about to retort once again but Sakuno continued speaking;
"But… d-deep inside me… I felt of… giving him a chance."
"…"
"…"
"I…" Ryoma broke the silence which he rarely did and went to Sakuno grabbing her hand who gasped at the sudden contact, "…will take care of her."
She was looking down but she could clearly hear him. Shinta was shocked. He said it straight to his eyes and he was serious when he said that. He sighed for a thought and he couldn't believe that he was going to do this;
"Sakuno-chan," He started getting her attention which she did, "When he hurt you again, just tell me and I'll beat him to a pulp, okay."
Ryoma just stared at him. Sakuno felt his grip tightened but she nodded at Shinta's words.
Shinta turned around and started to walk away not forgetting to raise a hand, "See you then."
Sakuno stared at the retreating back of the boy and mentally thanked him. Ryoma on the other hand, stared at the boy and then shifted at the girl next to him. He didn't like the reaction she was giving to him. It was his fault anyway; his fault that she shifted her attention to another guy and it was his turn to get her attention back to him once again.
And that was what he was going to do.
xxx
She was in the process of staring at Shinta's walking pace away from them when the one holding her hand suddenly pulled her to a walk in a different direction. She was shocked at first when he did that and she realized that they were walking to a different path.
"R-Ryoma-kun, where are we going?"
It took seconds before he replied, "Date."
Her eyes widened when he said that. Worries and fears started to invade her system. She abruptly put to a stop and pulled her hand away from him. The boy faced her with a frown on his face. Before he could ask, she talked, "W-we don't have to… it's okay."
They didn't move for a while until Ryoma grabbed her hand once again and continued walking.
"R-really, w-we don't-"
"I want to make things right," He said as he continued dragging her to a place, "I'll prove to that guy that I can make you happy."
She was surprised when the boy said that. The boy probably heard everything they talked a while ago and was… offended by it. She was a bit scared. Call it stupid but she didn't want to hear the word itself after what happened on their first date. But he would do something about it.
She thought it would be alright but she was beginning to worry when the boy was taking her somewhere that she didn't want to remember.
And she was right.
It was the same fancy restaurant that they first entered before.
…On their first date.
For the second time, she pulled her hand from him and quickly shook her head, "N-no… not there… please."
Ryoma stared at her and faced her completely, "It'll be alright, trust me." He slowly grabbed her hand which was cold now.
She hesitantly walked as she followed his lead. She was looking down all the time as they entered the restaurant. Everything was still the same. Actually, she felt déjà vu about the things that were happening between them. They sat at a dining table and she could hear whispers around them. It was the same whisper she could hear.
She heard whispers like Ryoma's handsome, cute and gorgeous just like before while still hearing, she was probably a sister, a date or she was lucky or something. Though, it was not that rude unlike before. She could still remember that Ryoma didn't do anything to defend her back then and she thought that it would be alright.
"What would you like to order?" He said cutting her reverie.
"A-anything you like." She said still looking down. Then, she heard him saying their orders which were the same order they had before. She remembered everything; from the entrance to ordering their food. They were the same just like before. Thinking about it made her heart stricken.
"O-oi!"
She flinched when the boy suddenly talked. Then she felt something cold fell to her hands that were on her lap. She was crying and she didn't know when. She could feel everyone was looking at them now. Instead of wiping her tears, she looked down more and let them fall;
"G-gomenasai…" She started as she closed her eyes, "I-I felt so pathetic."
"…"
"I… I don't want… t-to remember," She bit her lower lip, "E-everything is—is…" She didn't finish her words when a hand suddenly touched her right cheek and turned it to her left.
…Only to meet the boy's lips with hers.
Her eyes widened and she couldn't react at that moment. She could hear whispers and gasps around them. Ryoma was kissing her… in public. He was showing it to everyone. It was a scene that never happened before.
"I didn't bring you here for you to remember," He said as he broke the kiss and stared at her, "I brought you here to create good memories of us."
"Ryoma-kun." She looked at him while still crying.
"Stop crying," He wiped her tears using his own fingers, "I want you to remember this day."
She nodded and gave him a smile. When she calmed down, he went back to his seat across her. Their food arrived and started digging in. They stayed there for a couple of minutes before deciding to leave the place.
xxx
He was still holding her hand as they walked. She didn't know where the boy would be taking her next. It was already night time and it was also her time to get home. She thought of telling him that when she noticed something. The place looked familiar to her.
And she was not mistaken.
She might be navigationally-challenged but it was not that hard to remember a place.
They were heading to the park.
…The place where it all started.
…The place where he broke her heart three months ago.
She panicked when they entered it, "R-Ryoma-kun…"
Ryoma let go of her hand and started walking forward. He put his hands to his pocket and looked ahead. He was not facing her and not even initiating a conversation.
Sakuno was worried. Everything that happened today was like a replica they had on their first 'date', with some slight changes in courtesy of the boy. She felt tense once again. The boy was making her remember that horrible night. He was unintentionally hurting her.
"Ne,"
She looked at his back which was facing her. The boy was still facing the other way when he continued;
"Say it again."
"W-what?"
Ryoma turned around this time to face her, "Say what you exactly told me three months ago."
She walked a step backward, "Ryoma-kun, w-why are you doing this? I-I thought—"
"Say it."
She bit her lower lip. Her tears were warning to fall once again. She became weak when the boy decided to get her. She hated herself for being weak.
"Say it, Sakuno."
She stared at his eyes which were intensely looking back at her. Not realizing, her lips started to move as she began her speech, "T-thank you for tonight, Ryoma-kun. I-I had a wonderful time going on a date with you today. I hope… I hope to have another one again… with you in the future."
"…"
"…"
Both of them stared at each other. Sakuno didn't bow that time as she said her words. She stared at his non-changeable reaction. Staring at each other for a couple of minutes…felt like forever.
"That's ridiculous."
She flinched that time. Pain was definitely transparent to her face now. He liked playing with her feelings and it was stupid of her to believe him. She was totally stupid to believe him, "No more! I-I should have known better! T-this is not going to work!" With that, she quickly turned around and started to run away.
"Even if you don't ask me, we will go a lot of times without you noticing it."
She stopped running when she reached the entrance of the park. Her eyes widened but she couldn't have the courage to face him.
"I'll make you happy; you will never doubt yourself to me again."
"…"
"I'm glad you chose me despite the pain I gave you."
She slowly turned around to face him; only to discover that he was just inches away from her. For the first time after three months, she saw his trademark smirk on his lips… not the mocking one he showed to her before. It was rather the playful smirk;
"So that's totally ridiculous." He commented as he raised a hand and flicked her forehead slightly.
She was surprised at his sudden action. She instantly reached her forehead with her hands, "M-mou, y-you are so hard to read." Another set of tears fell down her face as she didn't know how many times the boy made her cry that day.
No one could make her cry like that for a day aside from him. She knew that he was watching her that moment. Despite the cry, she couldn't help but smile, "A-arigatou, for reversing everything."
He smiled this time but she didn't see that. She felt him grabbing her hands and kissed her forehead. He gave her a tight embrace as he whispered something in her ear, "Mada mada dane, Sakuno."
His catchphrase gave her a different meaning and she knew what that meant. She leaned her face to his shoulder. She knew that everything would be fine after this night. She just knew it.
Ryoma on the other; tightened his hug towards her. Ryoma thought it over, he was glad that he successfully reversed the time like he planned to do. He wanted her to remember this night not the first one. It was not enough as he said it to her. And with that, he had all the time to see her smile to himself.
And he was not going to see it with just one date.
~Owari~
How was this one-shot? It was the second longest one-shot story I ever made... I think? But it was the hardest fic I ever finished prior to my 'Home for a Moment' fic. Anyway I hope you like this…
Review please… I want to know if this fic really paid off… my frustrations are not so gonna end here… arrghhhh!
I am rebelling with the story… I dedicated this fic to me 'beloooooooved' job. Hahaha…
Shinta is just my figment of imagination. Having the same name in different animes will be purely coincidental or anything of the sort. Domo...