Disclaimer: I do not own Prince of Tennis in any way shape or form…. if I did, then Ryoma and Syusuke would be making out every other chapter. Or maybe OT5…I find that a fun pair.
Disclaimer #2: Although the following chappie is written from a really sad Ryoma perspective, I promise that he will not go emo until at least a few more chappies pas…jk! But seriously, this chappie is Ryoma POV, okay? Have fun!
Disclaimer #3: I cannot promise you that Ryoma will end up with Tezuka or Fuji or Yukimura or whomever you're supporting. The end result will depend on my mood, how the story wants it to end up, and your votes.
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My heart pounded…I could hear the beats…it reminded me of the drums…of the keyboards…of the guitar…of the song that we all created together. Of the time when we were still together.
My iPod fell to the floor. The screen lit up to show Wonderful Days playing for the millionth time. I picked it back up and blasted the music as loudly as I could. I tried to drown out all the bad memories. I tried to remember a time when Tezuka and Atobe were still going out. Of a time when Eiji and Oishi were happy together. I tried to remember the years when Yukimura was still babying Akaya.
Yukimura…the one person I could still trust. The one person I could still see. The one person I could ask. The one person I could talk to. The one person, besides me, who remembers the days when Syusuke and I were still together.
Tears rolled down my cheeks, gently dropping off my chin. I pulled my iPod away from the falling droplets of salt water. This song, this video, was the only thing I had left. His clothing was gone. His cameras and lenses, his photos, even his stupid prickly cacti were gone. I silently wondered if somewhere he was thinking about me. I silently wondered if he was missing Karupin. I silently wondered, I silently hoped, I silently wished, that he was missing me.
I forgot how much it hurts to remember this stuff. It just drains all my energy. I haven't cried in years…I feel so weak now. I'm pathetic now. Akaya drops by all the time (mainly because he and Seichi are fighting now and he has to get out and partially because of a habit when Seichi would seduce him into visiting me) just to make sure I haven't committed suicide or anything.
Tezuka and Atobe were the first to go. Atobe's narcissism was too much for my stoic Buchou. Buchou…Tezuka's lack of expressions was too much for Atobe and his ego.
Another tear fell from my cheek. I gave up trying to keep my head up, preferring to use the rest of my energy to just sit up and let my head droop.
Eiji and Oishi were next. Who would've thought they would break up? The parents helped a lot with that one though. Apparently Oishi's dad had a thing against Eiji.
Surprisingly, Yukimura and Akaya were the last to break up. That's why Yukimura had to actually visit me with Akaya. I told him to keep out of my business and just try to keep his own relationship alive but…the idiot was an idiot for a reason.
Syusuke left me when he saw Eiji's sad face for the first time. The worst thing was…after all those years of glomping, I couldn't bring myself to hate Eiji…sure I disliked him…but I could hate him. I couldn't kill him…I'm pathetic.
I ran out of energy just as the last tear slipped out. Maybe I should've eaten something today…
My head hit the pillow, wonderful days still playing. I went unconscious just as the screen got a close up of Syusuke playing the keyboard. How ironic.
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I woke up to a huge smile. It startled me so much that I jumped up and rubbed my eyes three times before realizing it was just Yukimura. False alarm.
"Ryoma," Yukimura said, smiling. "I brought some of "that bouncing gum guy's" cake. It actually has some calories in it so you can avoid eating for another two days if you want to."
I almost smiled at his use of my vocabulary. "That bouncing gum guy?" I'm such a bad influence on Seichi…
I playfully whacked Seichi. "What makes you think I haven't been eating for two days?"
He smiled and said, "Inui."
My mouth dropped. I didn't know Inui seriously was a stalker!
Seichi laughed, a real laugh…not one of those fake ones he usually had after his breakup with Akaya. Kirihara better have had a good reason for leaving Seichi…or maybe Seichi was the one who left. I don't know for sure. I used to ask…but after Syusuke left…I didn't want to hear about another breakup…
"Come on Ryoma, you're as skinny as oh um…Hiroshi!"
"That's weird…I thought Yagyuu-sempai was actually still dating Niou Masaharu." I coldly stated.
Seichi's smile faltered slightly. Then he perked up. "That's probably why he's so skinny!"
I felt a tug at my lips…I'm sure Seichi spotted it too because the next thing I knew, he was on top of me. He pulled and tugged at the corners of my lips…
"Oh come on! Smile already! Don't you know you're so much cuter when you smile?" He pinched each cheek…kind of like your aunts and uncles do around Christmas time.
Finally I broke into a smile…
The two of us whined about how life sucks when you're gay and single…and how many girls have hit on us within the last month. I won by a landslide on that one. Seichi complained it was because I was a "cute little uke." I wonder who the hell came up with that as a description for me.
Moments later, Seichi's manager came. Even though he argued for a while, Seichi still said he had to leave. Press conference or interview or something. I nodded sympathetically. I totally understood. After all, I was the first one in the industry. Seichi asked, just as he always did, if I wanted to come along.
"Come on Ryoma, you know the girls are dying to get at you. And if I have to suffer I'm taking you with me! Oh come on…what about the press? They're totally dying to get an interview with you!"
My face went stiff. It took on a stoic expression I had mastered after copying it from Buchou. "About what? My famous career? Or my failing relationship?"
We both stopped there.
After Seichi left, I retreated to my room. My sanctuary, a world where my ex-boyfriend didn't exist…no it wasn't that he didn't exist, I just didn't think about him and Eiji together in there. Or at least not as much.
I picked up one of my rackets. It was heavy, pure gold. I smiled, stupid Atobe. I put it down and picked up a yellow one. Oh yeah, Taka and I traded rackets once, I thought, looking at the initial on the end of the racket. BURNING! I swung. I was indoors and I wasn't using a tennis ball yet…but it felt right to see Taka's racket complete the Hadokyuu.
I swapped rackets again. An hour later I had given up swapping rackets (seeing as I had only gone through three. I stopped when I got to Niou's. At that point I just stared at the racket and laughed.) I wondered what happened to all of my rackets. Had the others kept them as memoirs? Or were they all forgotten or up on eBay by now?
I was out of energy again…guess Seichi didn't calculate a couple games of tennis into those two days. I lost conscious, but I still know that I should have cleaned my room because I fell right on top of Atobe's racket. Pure hard gold…it was so ironic, I would have laughed.
Thanks for reading, it makes me happy to know that even one person is reading this story! ) If you have any questions, comments, suggestions, whatever please send me a message or just review. Actually it's faster if you review…I actually check those once in a while. ) You guys can vote for whomever you like…but one of the pairings that will come out in the end (no matter what) is Niou X Yagyuu. Sorry, I'm a huge fan. Otherwise…
Ryoma with:
Tezuka
Fuji
Yukimura
Akaya
Atobe
Other: please state.
Lols. It looks like a test. If there's another pair you'd like me to add just tell me!