Title: Understanding Love
Summary: It takes a single moment for a person to realise that they love somebody and before they know it, everything about the other person becomes dear to them. Ryoma is not different being a human so why is it taking him so long to understand what love is?
Genre: Romance; K+ → T
Pairing: R. Sakuno x E. Ryoma
Author's Note: Nanjiroh and Rinko have settled in Japan, back at the temple because of a mutual decision to be near their roots, considering that Ryoma can now very well take care of himself with Ryoga tagging along whenever he is free or feels like it. The other Echizens will in general act homely towards Sakuno because they like her; at least in my interpretation they do …
The mode of communication would be as follows:
→ E-mail or letter
→ IMing
*bodily response/reaction* (asterisks' enclosed)
→ Use of general emotes at certain times
→ 'Ryoma's/Sakuno's thoughts while replying to each other' (single quotation marks)
One last note: Regarding the Tennis related knowledge presented here, from what I have observed and read, up until you're 16, you aren't allowed to participate in the main events of US Open and only in the Junior US Open even if you're extremely good and all that. The youngest player to actually win one of the Grand Slams (Wimbledon) was Boris Becker (Germany) at the age of 17 and his matches were amazing so keeping him in mind, I have shown that Ryoma will be 19 for his very first title finding it not at all out of reason. Oh and sorry but I won't be using the names of any real players here and will just replace them with 'xxx'.
Most of my explanations to characters lie on scientific basis and so I apologise if there is still a hint of out of character behaviour for the characters included. I tried my best to satisfy everything. Having said all of that, I hope that you enjoy this and offer criticism on my work; constructive or destructive, I have to heart to take it all but please do justify your opinion too. I hope I am not asking for much though. And sorry for the long Author's Note! Sorry … Sorry!
Please enjoy and don't forget to leave a review!
So, without further ado, I present: Understanding Love
Disclaimer: Prince of Tennis and all characters are © Takeshi Konomi. I just played with some ideas.
Tomorrow's the semi-final. I win that, I am one step closer to winning the US Open. However, I am not out for the title only. You know what I mean right?
Ryoma
Just as he hit the 'Send' button, he wondered why he did that. This would be the first time in the past seven years that he would have replied to any of her messages and this wasn't even a reply. This was a sort of memo to her about the match, not that she wouldn't have known of it, she being completely clueless, in his perspective, about pro tennis and all. And why did he add that last sentence. How would she know what he was after when they hadn't even talked that much. Echizen Ryoma felt like an idiot for the first time in a lot of years and felt that he had made a huge mistake in sending her that response. Added to that, he was now not sure of what her reply would be; if she gushed like his fan club members usually did or acted uncommonly hyper, he would not know how to handle it and if she actually made some sense in her reply, he'd be equally surprised at that. Still, putting his laptop on standby mode, he grabbed his cellphone and made his way towards the tennis courts around the corner of the street, hoping to let off some steam and focus on his match.
Noticing the mail icon flashing on her phone, Ryuuzaki Sakuno, typed her password and sat down to answer her mail on one of the nearby university benches. To say that she was shocked to see who the sender was would be an understatement. However, her shock soon gave way to happiness and she thought about her first reply to the Prince of Tennis considering that all she had done in the past was impart him with information regarding everything related to Seishun Gakuen. She decided on not showing her happiness however in extreme tones in the message for fear of embarrassing herself or Ryoma-kun and typed in the following response:
Ryoma-kun, I knew about the semi-final. You're playing against 'xxx' right? I'll be rooting for you. However, I realise that you're not only after the title. The title is just a reward, a trophy in itself for you. I know you actually want to be the 1st Seed in the world and meet all sorts of players against whom you can have fun playing tennis while beating them. Best of Luck for tomorrow Ryoma-kun! Your journey in surpassing higher seeds starts from here.
Just as she pressed the 'Send' button, she realised one more thing. That was the first response Ryoma-kun had given to her in all their years of knowing each other. Smiling, she made her way to the university gates where her Obaa-chan would be waiting for her to go back home together.
His phone buzzed in his pants pocket. If it were Ryuuzaki's reply, it was a fast response considering that he had not even gotten out of the door of his building. Otherwise, it would be one of the many reminders of his manager or the few people who had his number or personal e-mail. For some reason, unknown to himself at the moment, he hoped for it to be Ryuuzaki's response. Thinking about that, he realised that he had never really had a proper conversation with her in real or cyber life. He had replied to most of her mails in the past when he first went to US after the Nationals in Freshmen year but he stopped that after he left a second time after their Senior year in Seigaku, not because he was annoyed of them but because his schedule got far too busy for some time and after that, it became a habit to read her mails and then smile/smirk in reply according to their content. If he were being true to himself, he would have been a little disappointed if she would have stopped sending them but even when he didn't reply, she still continued. Either she knew that he still read them or she must be really persistent to give up on their friendship.
Yep, friend is how he would define her even though they never talked. Friend because she didn't gush over him like others did, friend because she didn't care if he was a celebrity of sorts and still treated him like a normal human being in her mails, friend because she didn't bother with unnecessary praise and decorum with him … friend because he felt at home with her, just like he did with his family. And he was officially craving for human company now, except he wanted normal company, not that of reporters or superficial people.
He once made fun of a teacher in high school in his mind when she said that sometimes, people wanted to be near others just because they feel like it, for no particular reason and this happened especially near or around important events for them. Now that he was in the same situation, he felt surprised that it did not disgust him or make him feel weak. In a manner, he was proud to know one person apart from his family with whom he could be natural. Anyhow, putting these thoughts aside for the moment, he unlocked his phone and checked the notification … And Score! It was a reply from Ryuuzaki and that put an instant smirk on his face.
Her response put him in a momentary shock! She had nailed the reason he was playing! Tennis was not just titles and trophies for him, it was being the best of the best and she knew what he was talking about.
"Heh … Ryuuzaki, not bad. You make sense when you're not stuttering," he said to himself in his usual tone.
Pulling the brim of his cap near his face, he stopped near the vending machine just outside his building and started replying while pushing in a coin for a drink. He could be sentimental in his response to her or he could actually pick on her in that response. Feeling that he actually wanted to talk to her for a little longer without feeling the need to possibly gag later, he chose the obvious course for a prolonged conversation:
My journey in surpassing higher seeds starts Now, Ryuuzaki?! What do you think I was doing in these past years, drinking Ponta or sleeping and wasting my time watching the stars?!
Ryoma
Satisfied that his response would send her into an instant dogeza of apologies, he resumed his journey towards the courts all the while waiting for her reply.
Sakuno's phone beeped once just as she was sitting inside the car. Greeting her Obaa-chan with her smile and a nod of the head, she threw her bag in the backseat while making herself comfortable in her seat. She started on the stories of how her day had been while her Obaa-chan drove them home.
The elder Ryuuzaki listened to her granddaughter talking about her classes and friends. It was a habit of them, she listening to Sakuno talk while on the way home when the younger girl would recount even the slightest incident that had happened. It seemed like a pretty normal day for Sakuno and when she had finished, a peaceful silence enveloped the car. The silence was broken however, when Sumire heard her granddaughter say very softly something about replying and mails.
"Huh? What are you saying Saa-chan? I didn't get you the first time," she asked her young ward.
"Ryoma-kun replied to my mails today Obaa-chan," Sakuno repeated, "Well not technically replied but he sent me a message some while ago and just now if I am correct, I haven't checked the message I received just while sitting in the car."
"Well, why don't you check it then?" Sumire asked the younger girl as she noticed her from the side.
"I don't know … why did he message me so out of the blue anyway?" Sakuno asked her grandma turning towards her with pleading eyes.
"I don't know Saa-chan and you wouldn't too unless you reply. You know what I told you last time too, right? Ryoma is just a little slow when it comes to social interactions and maybe he just felt lonely. Besides, I also remember telling you that if Ryoma were annoyed with your mails, he would have told you directly to stop contacting him. The fact that he never said that and just stopped replying meant that he was not annoyed and in fact okay with you sending him mails. That's just the way he is, you know," Sumire replied to her granddaughter understanding the pleading tone in her eyes all too well. She knew that Sakuno was dejected when Ryoma had stopped replying to her yet she continued to tell her to talk to him because she knew for sure that he didn't find her annoying as Sakuno seemed to view it.
Sakuno seemed to understand what her Obaa-chan said and proceeded to check the notification. Her initial happiness at getting a letter from Ryoma-kun had faded away to be left with a more rational feeling of curiosity as to why he replied. She understood that he had a busy schedule, far busier than most of them ever had but when he had stopped replying, she still felt a little sad. For some reason, she blamed it on herself when he had done that however, her Obaa-chan had told her to continue doing that and for some reason the Echizen family too so she had complied with all of their wishes and continued with the daily mails lessening their frequency to once a week only when she had entered university five months ago. Taking a moment to rationalise her feelings, she took out her phone and checked the message.
Sumire noticed the young girl giggle as she read the message and a smile spread across her face. It had been a long time since she had seen her granddaughter smile like this. Sakuno had always been a calm girl, mature for her age, always reserved but ever since Ryoma had stopped replying when they started High School in different parts of the world, she had become more reserved and quiet. It pained Sumire to see her like that but she knew that Sakuno was not one of those empty-headed girls but rather those who appreciated once and held their opinions so seeing her laugh now at a single message made her feel happy for her too.
Sakuno giggled at the obviousness of the response she had received and proceeded to reply:
I don't know Ryoma-kun. I didn't realise that stars came out during the day in States. From what I remember, you only stared at the sky or napped on roofs during the day and let's not start on the Ponta, shall we?
-Pok-
What was taking her so long?
-Pok-
All she had to do was type in a little response, a small sorry.
-Pok-
She really is taking her time replying isn't she? Trying my patience.
-Pok-
buzz
-Pok-
buzz
-Pok-
buzz
-Pok-
'Oh, she sent a reply,' Ryoma thought as he caught the ball coming towards him in his hand, 'And I am acting like a lovesick teenager because of just a reply,' he added for good measure at himself berating himself because he was thinking not of his match tomorrow but something else.
He checked out the reply and could not help but laugh at the response. He expected two or three 'Sorry(s)' at the least not a witty response.
"Ryuuzaki, when did you get this much confidence," he said to himself in a small voice, "I'm going to have fun teasing you now," he added as his eyes narrowed, a glint in themselves and shining at what was going through his mind now.
Why? Are you afraid that you'll lose to me in an argument on Ponta?
No! I won't lose to an inanimate object in an argument. You and I both just know about your obsession with Ponta and so I decided to not talk about it.
Sakuno replied frowning a little. She knew that she might lose if Ryoma started giving answers on why he drank a lot of Ponta but she was not about to tell him that. For some reason, she got the feeling that he just wanted to tease her and she wanted to do nothing more for the moment than show that she was not to be teased easily.
Does this mean that you'll lose in an argument against me?
'Shoot! Why did I send that response? What is wrong with me,' Ryoma asked himself a few seconds later as he realised what he sent her as a response.
Practicing stopped, Ryoma sat on a bench in the grounds waiting for the dewdrops to disappear as he saw the sun rising up. The setting and his mood led him to contemplate about himself and things related. He had never had such a nonsensical conversation with anyone except for Momo-senpai, especially one that he enjoyed so much. By the time he had left Japan, he was aware of the changes taking place in all his classmates but never in his dreams would he have realised that the usually soft-spoken, shy Ryuuzaki would one day turn into this girl who was giving him straight answers.
He was looking forward to her reply with each passing moment that was for sure, however, he also knew that he couldn't afford to be distracted by them a lot because he had to prepare for an important match. A sense of loss also filled him for all the years lost that he could have spent talking to her when she mailed him. When her responses had stopped coming daily, he had thought that she had finally stopped talking to him. For some reason, he felt sad at that but when he saw her mail on Saturday, all was right within him.
She never talked about herself or him, about things in general and he always saw her updates as an escape, an escape from the things that were so superficially around them. He didn't know that when he stopped replying, she had felt sad but he knew that if anything were to happen to anyone of their acquaintances, he could count on her for keeping him aware. In a sense, he depended on her for information regarding what was happening at home.
She was actually one of the countable people who had his personal ID and he actually did not regret her having it considering she never abused his inbox with unwanted forward messages. Moreover, she did not demand anything as a response from him. He concluded that he could be his usual self around her and she won't say a word about it because she was Ryuuzaki, his one friend who understood a lot about him despite saying a word to him on his face. Maybe he was being irrational but he had a feeling somewhere deep down that if he ever wanted somebody to spend his life with him, he would choose someone like Ryuuzaki. It was then that he found himself asking the question:
'Why someone like Ryuuzaki, why not Ryuuzaki herself?'
'Because it's just the setting making me think like this and some nostalgic feelings for home. Now get up Ryoma and make your way back to your room,' his more conscious, more rational part of him answered that question as he made his way back towards his apartment.
'You know if your words or actions were as thorough as your thoughts, you wouldn't be agonising so much over something small like this. Instead you'd be enjoying the dawn with thoughts of Ryuuzaki.'
'And I knew that our coach was an idiot for asking a psychologist to give us seminars on conscious and subconscious thinking. Sportsmen, do not need any of that nonsense, period!'
'You're escaping from the truth, you know. You like her company.'
'Never denied that,' the rational part added with a scoff.
'Nay … you like her more than just for her company. You like the idea of her.'
'Naturally. She doesn't fawn over me like the others do.'
'I might as well just spell it out to you that you love her.'
'Don't be ridiculous. I haven't even seen her in four years or so …'
'So? Love isn't all about looks, you know.'
'Stop it.'
'And you're in denial.'
'I won't dignify that remark with a response.'
'You just did.'
Inui-senpai, please send me Ryuuzaki Sakuno's number. ASAP!
Ryoma
And before he knew it, Ryoma had sent an email to his senpai requesting information regarding the subject of his thoughts. If anybody, the Data King would have known that information even if he had gone out of touch with all the old Regulars which seemed a little unlikely though. That was his second impulsive mail of the day and he was still trying to lock his subconscious from popping out again saying stuff about him being in love. This day was not going to proceed smoothly, the teenager thought as he entered his apartment.
Back in Japan, two people stared at their respective inbox in shock.
Sakuno Ryuuzaki, blinked her eyes in wonder as a small 'Hai' escaped her and she slid out of the car, reaching her home. She had no suitable reply for the moment and so tried to focus on her routine activities on returning home while trying to ignore the last reply.
While in a dorm in the University of Tokyo, a spiky-haired man in bifocals muttered something about Echizen not being completely dumb but a little slow after adjusting his glasses on the bridge of his nose as he recovered from a shock due to the mail he received from his kouhai. Giving the information asked of him, he took out a small green notebook and wrote something in it declaring:
'Probability that Sakuno-chan will receive a long distance call tonight: 100%."
A/N: The idea for this came while watching the end of Prince of Tennis: Nationals Tournament. I am not sure if anybody has already written something like this or not but it was an original for me at least. However, contrary to the usual scenario of PoT, there will be a few changes to the characters and scenario:
Both Ryoma and Sakuno are around 19 years of age in this and it has been assumed that they have been pen pals ever since Ryoma left- well at least one-sided pen pals initially. Even though Ryoma met Sakuno after he left, their face-to-face interactions have been pretty much like those of the anime. However, Sakuno is bolder when it comes to writing letters possibly because they both grew up or because she is confident when not facing him.
Having known Sakuno via letters, mails and messages all through his teenage life, Ryoma is comfortable with her to the extent of what will be his written response in the following letters. That along with the fact that it is easier to converse or say things when you are not able to see the other person's face is my justification for the way they interact. Oh, and it is my personal experience that in such interactions, even the most reclusive (read: asocial, absorbed in his/her world) person can be quite talkative as my friends tend to point out so Ryoma's replies for me were justified at least.
Oh, and it might sound crazy to you guys but for people who don't talk a lot in real life, having conversations in two different tones like these in their minds is pretty normal.
Please, be nice as this is my first fan-fiction for this pairing. I'd love to receive your feedback. Thank you!