Disclaimer: I don't own Prince of Tennis and never will… By the way, this story will have one of Hatori-sama's ideas… 'The two souls living in a person' idea… (Taken from "A Thousand Years of Snow" manga!) But of course the rest of the story and how it goes is soooo totally mine! Haha!
Synemyoa: Well, the disclaimer says something about a two-soul thing. And that will affect this story… Hehe! I hope this will turn out good. I am having troubles writing the next chapters of my other stories so I'm trying to loosen up the screws in my head by writing oneshots. Haha!
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TWO IN ONE
'What's happening to me? These past few days I'm feeling something weird about myself…' Sakuno thought worriedly.
"I keep hearing a voice… A weird voice…" She whispered absent-mindedly, as she walked towards the tennis courts.
Everyday she goes there after class. She's part of the girls' tennis club. But whenever their club isn't busy, they are allowed to watch the boys' tennis club. She knows they are really good at the sport. Of course the girls are good too but the guys were just great. And she specially admire, Ryoma Echizen… A first year like her, but in tennis… He was way too awesome. She isn't really good at tennis… She was most probably average or worst than that. Still, no matter what... She wants to try her hardest and be better. That's why she always watches every match and mostly cheers silently for Ryoma in a distance…
But that day was a bit different… She was heading to the courts when she bumped into someone… She was about to 'make-friends' with the ground when suddenly, strong yet lean arms wrapped around her waist to save her. And when she looked up to see who her savior was…
"F-F-F-Fuji senpai!" she exclaimed while stuttering and blushing.
"Are you okay?" he asked in his angelic and gentle voice.
"H-H-Hai!" she answered enthusiastically but still blushing and nervous.
He let go of her… And then, he smiled before walking away. Her heart was beating fast. She only felt like that around Ryoma before… But now, she felt it towards her senpai. Even as he walked away her heart didn't calm down. She was blushing like mad and somewhere in her heart she wished he had hold her longer…
'What am I thinking?! This isn't right?! I like Ryoma-kun… right? What is this? Something is definitely wrong with me…' she was thinking while walking slowly towards her freshmen friends.
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'What was that? I felt like I didn't want to let her go… or something…' Fuji thought, his head still in a daze.
"Fuji! What are you doing-nya?" Kikumaru was saying while running towards him.
"Nothing. I was just thinking about something." He said and smiled like always.
'This is so wrong. It's like I'm betraying my kouhai…' Fuji thought, as an image of Ryoma and Sakuno entered his mind.
"Look! Echizen is all fired-up again!" Momo said cheerfully.
"Of course-nya! After all, Sakuno-hime is watching him!" Kikumaru said and Momo nodded in agreement.
Fuji turned to look at Ryoma. And notice that his friends were right. He seems to be always trying to impress the girl the past few days. Then, he looked in Sakuno's way… Their eyes met for a moment. Just like before, he felt something weird in his chest. He saw the young girl blush too and looked away. But somehow, he doesn't seem to see her as Sakuno but as someone else…
'What is wrong with me?' he kept asking himself and was in a daze the rest of the day.
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FINALLY
"Ryuuzaki-san…" Ryoma started by calling out her name.
'I can't believe my senpais would blackmail me like this… They'll pay for sure!' His logical mind said.
'C'mon! Don't act like you don't want this! Deep inside you really like her anyway!' the teasing voice of his emotional side said.
"Ah, Ryoma-kun… What is it?" the shy girl said while blushing.
"Ahm, as thanks for always cheering for me… I want to invite you to… a… ahm… hmm… To lunch on Saturday! My treat!" he said while hiding his blush from her.
'Eee! It's like a date with Ryoma-kun!' she thought feeling shy and excited at the same time.
"Ano… Sure! That would be nice…" she said shyly.
"I'll pick you up on Saturday, 11:30 am then…" he said and bid her goodbye.
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"Yey! Ochibi did it!" Kikumaru said and hugged Ryoma tight.
The others were noisy as well. Surprisingly, even Taka, Oishi and Kaidoh were very happy as well. Fuji was happy as well. But somewhere in him, a voice said that he shouldn't be…
'What's happening to me? I don't understand this at all…' he thought.
They all went to eat at a near fast-food chain to celebrate their kouhai's first date. They chatted merrily until it was dark and the time came for them to go home.
Fuji was alone walking in the path towards his house. When suddenly…
"Kyaa! Kawaii neko da! Come here, kitty…" a voice said.
He search for where the voice came from… Then, he heard a crash… And a shouting voice…
"You stupid girl! Look what you did to my shirt!" an angry voice shouted.
"I'm sorry…" the low voice of a girl said.
"Sorry! Do you know how much this costs? Pay for it!" the guy shouted again.
"How much?" the voice asked meekly.
"10,000 yen for dry-clean!" the guy shouted.
Fuji found them at last. He only saw the girl's back. But he knew she needed help. Just when he was about to step into the argument…
"What?! Are you kidding me?! 10,000 yen for that junk your wearing?! You've got to be kidding me!" the girl shouted back, her personality changing.
"What?! You're the one who have done something wrong and you're trying to act almighty?!" the guy shouted again.
"Well, we will see who's wrong once I call my dad. He's a police officer by the way… And it's dark already and you don't have your bicycle's light on. Do you know that's not allowed?" the girl said threateningly.
"F-F-Fine! I'll let you pass n-n-now! But next time it won't be like this!" the guy shouted, as he hurried away riding his bicycle.
Fuji walked near her and clapped… "That was quite a show there." He commented.
Then, the girl turned around… Fuji felt his body froze…
"Ryuuzaki-san…" he whispered.
"It's you!" she said and rushed towards him then hugged him.
He was more shocked and surprise because of this of course!
"What are you doing, Ryuuzaki-san?" he asked.
"Syuusuke…" she whispered, and fainted.
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A SHOCKING DISCOVERY
Fuji carried her small body in his arms and walked towards his house nearby. He was also wondering why she acted that way. And how she got there when her house is supposedly quite far from there.
When she awoke… She seemed to be okay. His sister was preparing food downstairs and he stayed to watch over her.
"Ryuuzaki-san? Are you okay now? How did you get here?" he asked.
"Syuusuke… I'm fine… And of course I walk… I wanted to see you…" she said while looking straight in his eyes.
"Ryuuzaki-san, did you hit your head or something? You must be hallucinating. I'm not Echizen." He said.
"Of course you're not! I did call you Syuusuke, right?"
"Something is definitely wrong here, Ryuuzaki-san…"
"Will you stop calling me Ryuuzaki-san! I don't know if you're calling my grandma, Sakuno or me!"
"Eee! Sakuno?! But aren't you Sakuno?"
"I thought your family was pretty sensitive. I guess the spiritual sensitivity only belongs to your sister."
"What do you mean?"
"I'm not Sakuno… Well, this body is hers. But I'm borrowing it for a bit… I've just been freed…"
"Freed?"
"Yes. I've been locked up in her heart… I am her supposed to be twin… But I died right after I was born. I'm a few minutes older than her. And I chose her to be the one to live between the two of us. But then, I found out when I awoke from my slumber… That I was inside her for some reason I couldn't understand…"
"I think you need some rest, Ryuuzaki-san. You are confusing fantasies from reality."
Ryuuzaki was about to continue explaining... When the door suddenly opened… Fuji's sister went in…
"Syuusuke… dinner's ready… Ah! She's awake! How are you? We haven't met before have we? I'm Yumiko." His sister said.
"Neechan what are you saying? You've met her before. She's Ryuuzaki Sakuno." He said.
"Sakuno? No. They may be identical but this girl here is definitely not her." Yumiko replied.
Fuji turned towards the girl claiming she's another spirit inside Sakuno's body… He didn't say anything…
"I told you so!" she said and grinned.
"I'm Ryuuzaki Saemi. Nice to meet you." She said to Yumiko while smiling.
'I can't believe this is happening…' he thought, feeling confused and bewildered.
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SOMEDAY
Days passed… Fuji and Saemi would often meet up after classes. She told him she was borrowing her sister's body for a while. After all, she was free for only a month… Ryoma and the others didn't seem to notice anything strange. Because, Fuji is pretending to be Saemi's tutor in some subjects… The date a week ago with Ryoma turned out to be fun. For that one day, Saemi let Sakuno take over again. Her reason then was…
"You know, Syuusuke… My sister really likes Ryoma-kun. And I want her to remember that date… their first date. But if I'm the one who went there… She won't have memories of how it turned out." She explained.
"Well, I understand. And you sure are a great sister. I'm certain Sakuno would have been glad to meet you." He replied.
"She met me already, you know. It's just that she thinks I'm her inner voice. And I didn't feel like correcting her since I'm not staying for long anyway…" She said, sadness in her voice.
That time, he hugged her tight. And they talked about a lot of stuff after the drama. She even said that her sister gave her first kiss as well to her beloved Ryoma.
"She kissed him?" he asked, finding it strange.
"Well… I kind of sent signals to her brain to kiss him!" she said while grinning from ear to ear.
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Day by day, Saemi and Syuusuke grew closer and fonder of each other. But none of them ever said anything about it. They were really good friends. They enjoyed each other's company and have fun together doing stuff.
'I'm falling more for him everyday… This is worst than what I already felt about him even as I only see him before in Sakuno's eyes… I was still locked then… But now, I'm free. And I can be with him… Even for a short while. I'll treasure the moments we have together…' Saemi thought silently, as she sat beside Syuusuke. They were stargazing and once in a while she would stare at his face when he's not paying attention.
'Im falling in love with her… I guess she was the person I was seeing and not Sakuno when my heart was beating faster than usual that day… I wish I could be with her forever… But our time together, her time here… Is limited. But I'm happy. She's here with me right now. I love her…' Syuusuke thought, as he tried focusing his attention to looking at the stars and not at her face.
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The last day of the month came… It was raining that day… It seemed, as though nature was grieving with her… For she was leaving… She won't see him again ever… She wouldn't know how it feels like again to be held by him. He would hug her whenever she felt sad thinking of the day she'll be leaving… He would whisper words to her ear that no one else would… She was happy… A month of happiness shared with him was… Heaven! Definitely!
It was a Sunday… They would have their last date together… He was sad that she was leaving… But he hoped for something… He didn't know what it was at first… That was until his sister told him before he left the house…
"If you two are meant to be, Syuusuke… You'll meet again someday. Surely, you will! Fate will make up a different road and lay it right in front of you… Just wait, patiently… And continue hoping for that." Yumiko said.
'Neechan, I believe in you. And I believe in my feelings for Saemi…' Fuji thought, as he recalled his sister's words while walking to the park where he would meet her.
"Syuusuke…" she whispered, as his form came clear in her view.
"Saemi!" he called out while running towards her.
"Syuusuke… I've got ten minutes left…" she said in a low voice.
"But I thought this will be our last date… The time is too short…" he said, bitterness in his voice.
"I know… But I don't want to prolong the pain any longer…" she said in between her tears.
He hugged her… Very tight. It seemed like he didn't want to let go at all. They dropped their umbrellas but who cares… They didn't…
"Syuusuke… I love you! I always have! I always watched you through her eyes… Although those were short moments because most of the time she only looks at Ryoma… In those moments when I see you, I was so happy! And this… our time together is the most magical of all! I will never forget you…" she said, as she drowned at the intensity in his eyes.
"Saemi… I love you too! If I would be selfish, I want you to stay. But this is Sakuno's body… Someday, my sister said we'd meet again. When the time comes that the road fate has set for us, is finished… We'll see each other again and we will be given our own chance for love to fulfill…" he said, looking deep in her eyes… in her soul.
And they shared their first kiss… Saemi and Syuusuke… The rain poured… And right after the kiss… She smiled one last time to him while wiping his tears away that mixed with the raindrops… And said:
"You will be in my heart… always and forever!"
And as her words of farewell drowned in the rain… Sakuno's body fell limp in Fuji's arms… He stared up into the sky where he could've sworn to see Saemi's silk-like soul flew away…
"Someday… For sure… Our paths will cross again…" he whispered softly to the wind and rain…
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Synemyoa: How was it? Was it good or bad? Will you care to share with me your thoughts or comments about this story? Hehe! Simply put, will you give a review? –smiles- Please? Haha! Take care everyone!