Just Wait For Me
By Zero-onE001
RYUUZAKI RESIDENCE
January 13; 07:04pm
*sigh*
"Ryoma-kun..." Sakuno said with a sigh. She had been sitting on her bed and clutching her pillow while staring at the wall for a couple of hours.
*sigh*
"He'll leave a couple of hours from now," she said to no one in particular, "he must have been packing by now. I knew it. America, huh?" she said as she lay down her bed, facing the ceiling.
*FLASHBACK*
January 11
07:54am
A 17 year-old Sakuno was skipping and passing through the ocean of people of Seishun Gakuen in order to get to the tennis courts. She smiled happily as she saw him.
"Ryoma-kun!" She shouted as she ran towards him. Said Ryoma-kun turned, and watched as the auburn-haired girl panted as she reached him. The girl beamed a cheerful smile.
"What's up, Ryuuzaki?"He asked as he turned and drank his half-drunk soda.
"I have something to tell you, well, to remind you, that is," Ryoma's head shot up, and then he looked at her, "come to think of it, I have something to tell you too," the girl chuckled.
"Uh huh… okay, you first", she said.
"Iie, you're the first one who talked to me, so, you first," he protested.
"Iie, it's fine by me, you first," she stated.
Ryoma sighed and rolled his eyes as she chuckled. "Fine, me first. I have a tournament, US Open," he said and her eyes widened as she bounced up and down.
"When? When?" she ecstatically asked. Ryoma smirked.
"This 14 and I'll leave in 13," he stated. Her heart skipped.
'No.' She frowned. Ryoma noticed it and his smirk grew wider. He linked his arm around the girl's shoulders, making her look up at him.
"Now, now, Ryuuzaki, don't frown. You'll look older if you continue doing that, you know?" he said with a wink. Sakuno pouted.
"Don't worry Sakuno-chan, it's only a tournament, it's not like I'll live in America for the rest of my life," he teased her, making her smile a bit.
'But….You….You...'
Ryoma doesn't like it anymore. She's still frowning. He mentally sighed. "I know…I know you'll wait for me. It's only a week, Sakuno. I know you can," he said in a serious tone but with a reassuring smile plastered on his face, "but—but if you don't want me to leave, then I won't," he told her.
"Iie, that's fine by me. I know that that's your dream, Ryoma-kun. And I want you to fulfil it. Don't worry about me," 'But' she said, forcing herself not to cry. Ryoma's eyes widened. He grinned and hugged her, much to her surprise.
"Thank you Ryuuzaki! Thank you Sakuno! I knew you will understand! I promise, I'll win my games for you, for the two of us," he released her in his hug. "Well, um, you have to tell me something too, right?" Sakuno's eyes widened, and she shook her head.
"Betsuni, it's not that important anyway, bye Ryoma-kun, see you later!" she said as she waved a hand and walked away.
"Aa."
*END*
"Silly me, I knew Ryoma-kun will forget about that. It's not that important, anyway," she said, still staring at the ceiling. She bit her lip, forcing herself not to cry, but no use. Tears streamed down her face, wetting her bed as she continued gazing at the ceiling as if it amused her. Minutes later, she had been drifted to land of dreams.
ECHIZEN HOUSEHOLD
January 13
11:37pm
Ryoma tilted his head, looking around his room in a bored manner. "Am I forgetting something?" he asked to no one in particular.
"Ryo-hunnie, we're going," his mother shouted from the first floor.
"Later, Kaa-san!" he shouted. Then he noticed the framed picture of him and Sakuno sitting quietly on top of his bedside table. He smiled softly. 'Ryuuzaki, wait for me...no, scratch that...Sakuno, wait for me.' He then noticed the calendar beside the picture. He scanned the dates with red marks and momentarily stops on one. January 14.
'Shit.'
He dashed out of his room and ran outside.
"Kaasan, I'll just buy something," he shouted
"But Ryo-dear, it's late and...we're off...later," Rinko said, but too late, Ryoma was nowhere in sight.
"Don't worry Rin-chan, he might have forgotten to bid his goodbye to that cute girlfriend of his," Nanjirou said as he hooked an arm around his wife's shoulder.
"But...I feel something bad will happen," she muttered.
Later,
January 13
11:57pm
A seemingly happy Ryoma is seen walking with contentment as he gripped his newly bought dozen of white roses in hand.
*FLASHBACK*
January 7
03:45pm
"Ryoma-kun!" Sakuno yelled as she ran towards him. Said boy grinned.
"What's up, Ryuuzaki? You seem happy today," Sakuno nodded.
"Next week is my birthday, well debut, January 14," she said cheerfully at him. He slowly nodded.
"Oh, here I thought that Sakuno-chan doesn't turn old, so, what about it?" he teased. Sakuno sweatdropped at the unexpectedly expected answer.
"Mou, Ryoma-kun, I just want you to be my last dance and... Eto..." she hesitated at the last part. Ryoma smirked.
"You want me to be your last dance and..." he teased. He gave Sakuno a 'Just spit it out' look. She blushed.
"I...I want you to... to... be..uh... I want you to...sing for me," she stated, cheeks redder than red. Silence. Ryoma was in a deep thought. Sakuno was being uneasy.
"You know Ryoma-ku-"
"Okay." he said, making Sakuno sweatdrop for the second time around.
"Thank you Ryoma-kun."
"Betsuni."
*END*
He is now excitedly running towards an empty street as he was heading to the Ryuuzaki Residence. A quick look to the left, and to the right, and then again, he is crossing a street. Being excited as he is, he didn't notice a black car in a furious speed speeding to him and-
CRASH.
RYUUZAKI RESIDENCE
January 14
12:00am
"Ryoma-kun!" Sakuno yelled on top of her lungs. She is sweating bullets and breathing heavily. Tears streamed down her pale face. "No, that's not true. Calm down, Sakuno. That's only a nightmare. Yes. Ryoma-kun will not leave you. Calm down. Calm down." she desperately calmed herself down. She clutched her heart. "But, what is this feeling? I am not..." she sighed. She decided to sleep again. As she was being drifted to the land of dreams, meaning half-asleep, she could hear faint creak of her window sill, but thinking of it as a dream, she ignored. Suddenly, she felt something cold on her left cheek and a faint song and hum played. Her favourite song, her and Ryoma's theme song is being played. She cracked her eyes half-opened and saw a lone figure of Ryoma sitting at the edge of her bed and singing their theme song like he promised a week ago. He stopped singing and looked at Sakuno with his golden, but slightly dulled, eyes. He smiled and caressed Sakuno's cheeks as he continued singing the song. Sakuno smiled back at him, however, like a mother's lullaby, Ryoma's singing that is, Sakuno had been lifted in the land of dreams.
"Aishiteru, Sakuno," the smiling figure of Ryoma muttered, as he kissed Sakuno's forehead. Standing up, he immediately vanished.
January 14
06:37am
RRRINNGG...RRIINNGG...
Sakuno shot open her eyes as she heard her house phone ring. She stared at it for a minute before deciding to pick it up.
"Moshi Moshi," she sleepily asked. She could hear faint sniffs at the other line.
"Hello? Doushite?"
"Sa-sakuno-chan?" the person at the other line said between sniffs.
"To-tomo-chan? Doushite? What happened?"
"R-Ryoma-sama…he…he", Sakuno could hear her heart beat. She could. The uneven beats. Like the one she felt the night before.
"Tomo-chan? What happened to Ryoma-kun?" she asked, keeping her cool, trying not to jump to conclusions.
"He…he…Ryoma-sama…He's dead", Tomoka hesitantly said. Sakuno's heart momentarily stopped beating.
"No…That's…That's not true…He just…Last night…AH!" she dropped her phone. She remembered. His cold hand. Tears started pouring down he cheeks. His pale face. She fell down on her knees. His dull eyes. His lonely and bitter smile. She picked up the phone.
"Tomo-chan?" she said, her voice cracked.
"Daijoubu, Sakuno-chan? Do you want me to..."
"I'm fine, bye."
She hung up. She buried her head in her pillow. She cried, uncontrolled tears rushing out. A faint creak of her window made her stop. She shot her head up and looked at the window. There, sitting was a dozen of red roses. She walked towards the window and picked them up. She bit her lip and stared closely at the roses. There are 5 red roses, 6 red-white roses, and a single white rose. A single white rose that is left unstained…by blood. She noticed the faint pink slightly wet paper sticking at the bottom of the roses. She hesitantly opened to read the note and welcomed by black ink with some red at the bottom. It read;
Ryuuzaki,
Happy birthday. I'm sorry if I forgot your birthday and instead decided to join the Open even though you're sad. I'm really sorry. And thank you for appreciating my dreams. Thank you, Sakuno.
She finished reading the note written in black ink and script text and then proceeded to the messy, red ones.
P.S- At least I fulfilled my promise do sing a song for you, Sakuno-chan. And even though it's a bit out of tune, I still did it, right? I just didn't fulfil my promise to dance with you, but I will do that, by the time you're here with me, but that's too soon, so just wait, neh? Oi, hush, I know you're crying now, stop that, I told you, you're looking old. Ha-ha... By this time,Sakuno, I'm the one who will wait for you, so mada mada dane! Just think of it, I'll love you and I will wait for you until the last of thedozen rosesdied.
Ja!
Goodbye for now, Sakuno...
Aishiteru...
~Echizen Ry...
Sakuno looked again at the roses and noticed that the unstained white rose was made of plastic, and obviously, will not die. She smiled bitterly as tears continued to flood her room.
"Ryoma-kun, I love you too, just wait for me."